2023 Cohort
44
edits
Changes
<br />
=<span style="display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(29, 28, 29); font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Strategy 1: Directory of Recent Alumni (2023 Fellows)</span>=
<span style="font-size:x-small;"><big><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left; color: rgb(29, 28, 29); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 0px; display: inline !important; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; float: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span>While there is already an alumni mentorship program offered through Fordham’s Career Services Office, it is only available to Juniors and Seniors. While the final two years of college is an appropriate time to have mentors when applying to jobs, finalizing minors, and participating in other programs, we found that it may also be helpful for first year students to have alumni mentors because many are curious to find a career path to pursue and have ambitious career goals that they need to prepare for early on. This alumni directory would be online, and willing undergraduate business alumni can add their bios and LinkedIn to the directory. Students would be able to look through the directory and filter alumni by tags to find someone in a role, career path, or company that they’d be interested in learning more about. The first-year students could then schedule a coffee chat with an alum of their choosing, and the alum could share information about their career path, helpful classes and faculty members, helpful programs, their experiences working in certain fields and companies, etc.</span></span></span></big></span>
=<span style="display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(29, 28, 29); font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Strategy 2: First-Year Roadmap (2023 Fellows)</span>=
<span style="font-size:x-small;"><big><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left; color: rgb(29, 28, 29); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 0px; display: inline !important; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; float: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span>We feel that first-years often feel completely lost upon entering their university. We think students have existential anxiety linked to uncertainty surrounding their professional development and what they should be looking to achieve each year at Fordham. To mitigate this problem, we would create a brochure for Gabelli School of Business first-years that will provide a rough roadmap of what they should strive to achieve each year. Short synopses of helpful, career-oriented resources would be included as well.</span></span></span></big></span> <span style="font-size:x-small;"><big><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left; color: rgb(29, 28, 29); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 0px; display: inline !important; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; float: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span>These pamphlets would hopefully be distributed to students in mass during their first months at the university through career services, PPD (a Gabelli-focused department), first-year faculty, and/or freshmen orientation. The brochures may also include relevant information for students interested in diversity, equity, and inclusion specific resources.</span></span></span></big></span>
=<span style="display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(29, 28, 29); font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Strategy 3: Career Insights Video Gallery (2023 Fellows)</span>=
<span style="font-size:x-small;"><big><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left; color: rgb(29, 28, 29); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 0px; display: inline !important; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; float: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span>Many underclassmen report feeling anxious and unprepared for their impending career requirements (internships and technical knowledge expectations). With the help of a Fordham First Look Video Gallery, Fordham can provide videos narrated or contributed to by students, alumni, industry professionals, and professors which explain different industries and/or their respective roles. Using YouTube or another easily accessible video creation platform, Fordham will be able to streamline and amalgamate a breadth of knowledge and expertise for underclassmen to take advantage of. Internship recruitment has also been cited as a particular stressor for both first-year and sophomore students. So, the video gallery can help shed more light on what certain industries are really about and what many jobs actually entail. As the business sector in general, and finance sector in specific, can seem endless in its subsection, underclassmen students can feel overwhelmed and underprepared. The Fordham First Look Video Gallery’s purpose is to address this. </span></span></span></big></span>
=<span style="display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(29, 28, 29); font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Strategy 4: Industry Open House (2023 Fellows)</span>=
<span style="font-size:x-small;"><big><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left; color: rgb(29, 28, 29); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 0px; display: inline !important; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; float: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span>With more than 200,000 Fordham alumni located all over the world and its strategic location in what we can easily define as the capital of the world, Fordham University should create on-campus Industry Open House events. “Once a Ram, Always a Ram” - Networking is an essential part of the job search process. Fordham should gather alumni from all industries imaginable for a day or a weekend of networking and genuine conversation. Imagine this as a different homecoming, a call for a specific group of professionals who can also entertain stimulating talks with fellow alumni in the same industry. We firmly believe in the impact that these kinds of interactions can have on a student’s academic and professional journey. Being able to speak freely to several professionals who have been in the field for less or more years would considerably help a student in crafting the best version of themselves. This would take out all the formality and fear that we always find in the average career-related events.</span></span></span></big></span>
=<span style="display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(29, 28, 29); font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Strategy 1: Cultural Food Festival (2022 Fellows)</span>=
<span style="font-size:x-small;"><big><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left; color: rgb(29, 28, 29); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 0px; display: inline !important; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; float: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span>Many students, especially those with dietary restrictions, believe that they do not have enough options for campus dining. Additionally, many former freshmen talked about their struggles when they were adjusting to campus life, as it was their first time being truly independent from their families and away from their hometowns. Our solution for increasing diversity and inclusion and helping those whose diets are incompatible with campus dining is to hold an annual cultural food festival on campus. This festival will include tabling events held by both students and local restaurants. Doing so would increase cultural representation and inclusivity, promote local small businesses, and promote community across campus overall.</span></span></span></big></span>
<span style="font-size:x-small;"><big><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left; color: rgb(29, 28, 29); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 0px; display: inline !important; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; float: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span>To execute this idea, we would need to contact the Deans as well as the executives who manage campus dining to make sure that this festival complies with campus policy and can be feasibly held. Vanditha and Julia would handle contacting the Deans, while Eden and Ojaswi would contact campus dining and other staff on campus. We would also need to find students and local restaurants who are interested in hosting tables at the event. Student representatives could include leaders of cultural clubs and Fordham's Office of Multicultural Affairs committees. As someone with experience in the restaurant industry, Eden would take the lead here, with the rest of the teammates focusing on cold-calling, research, and gathering student input. Additionally, due to the potential for this event having high costs, we would need to figure out if admission fees and payments to table hosts are necessary, which may or may not affect the the level of interest for potential attendees.</span></span></span></big></span>
=<span style="display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(29, 28, 29); font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Strategy 2: More Vegan/Vegetarian Options (2022 Fellows)</span>=
<span style="font-size:x-small;"><big><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left; color: rgb(29, 28, 29); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 0px; display: inline !important; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; float: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span>While Fordham hosts a diverse group of students on campus, they don't adequately nourish each type of person. Many vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free students struggle to enjoy their food experience because of a lack of quality and /or a lack of choice amongst the food options that are currently offered. This issue leaves students unsatisfied and constantly worrying about their nutrition, when their focus should be on their school work and trying their hardest. To alleviate some of this stress and promote a healthy, balanced diet for all, our solution is to introduce more inclusive food options to campus. This solution will help these special diet students enjoy meals more, but it will also benefit the greater group of students to have more options for healthy eating/alternative meals. This solution is 2 -part: the one part is the creation of new menus at the existing dining establishments that will be specifically for special diets, and the second part is introducing more Veganvegan/vegetarian/gluten free brands and items into the POD grocery store on campus.</span></span></span></big></span>
<span style="font-size:x-small;"><big><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left; color: rgb(29, 28, 29); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 0px; display: inline !important; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; float: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span>Student involvement is essential to properly carry out this idea because without the students feedback and ideas, we will have little direction on what these students truly enjoy eating. To test the waters, Eden began including students that have special diets. She conducted separate interviews with students from different grade levels who are gluten free, vegan, and vegetarian. The feedback confirmed our assumptions and fears. The students all separately mentioned that they feel like they are at a disadvantage because of their lifestyles, and that they wish they were offered the same amount of choices as someone who can eat things like bread or meat. Due to their passion in the subject, Eden and Julia will be leading communication with the Deans and the head of dining services to understand what is currently working and what indeed is not. Vanditha will be running point on the focus groups; gathering opinions and asking the needed questions to find out what kids need to have a better on campus living experience. Ojaswi would play the role a middleman on the team. She will take the feedback that Vanditha gathered, research the answers to any lingering questions, and organize the data to hand off to Julia and Eden to parlay to the Deans.</span></span></span></big></span>
<span style="font-size:x-small;"><big><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left; color: rgb(29, 28, 29); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 0px; display: inline !important; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; float: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span>Animals have been used for therapeutic causes in various settings – mental health clinics, yoga centers, and even at some universities! At Fordham, however, that isn't a reality. Students complain about midterms and finals week just like they do everywhere else, but the lack of available appointments with Fordham Counseling makes coping with stress and low mental health extremely difficult. Our solution to this problem lies in the implementation of therapy dogs for mental health, particularly by partnering with local shelters and clinics and bringing the dogs over to campus during the last few weeks of the semester, which are often the most stressful times of the year.</span></span></span></big></span>
<span style="font-size:x-small;"><big><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left; color: rgb(29, 28, 29); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 0px; display: inline !important; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; float: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span>Specifically, our plan is to harness the power of student input – each of us will survey Fordham's student body at different points during the training in order to gain the widest variety of answers in terms of how students feel about therapy dogs. Vanditha's survey from 8/10 /22 indicates that almost 93% of students at Fordham (out of her 1,034 followers) support therapy dogs for stress relief, with only 7% feeling indifferent and a whopping 0% that disagree. Julia and Vanditha will be responsible for contacting the Deans and setting up meetings to discuss the idea, while Eden and Ojaswi will contact other staff, namely social psychology professors on campus and possibly the counseling department. We plan to continue surveying the student body to look for changes and are thinking about setting up a stand at the Club Fair where we would set up an "opinion jar," allowing students to silently contribute their thoughts on our solution.</span></span></span></big></span>
<span style="font-size:x-small;"><big><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left; color: rgb(29, 28, 29); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 0px; display: inline !important; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; float: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span>The next step is to arrange the dogs themselves, and we would work with local clinics and organizations for this. All four teammates would call and visit shelters and clinics, and we expect this process to take a while. Finally, if this idea works out and we are able to secure the dogs, we will all survey the student body and the end of the year to find out if our solution actually helped.</span></span></span></big></span>
=<span style="display: inline !important; float: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(29, 28, 29); font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Strategy 4: New Student Orientation: Focusing on Social Adjustment(2022 Fellows)</span>=
<span style="font-size:x-small;"><big><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left; color: rgb(29, 28, 29); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 0px; display: inline !important; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; float: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span>Being a freshmen is an intimidating and uncomfortable period. From moving into dorms, leaving family, and making new friends, adjusting to college life isn't always easy for all. To tackle this specific problem, many college campus'campuses, if not all, have new-student orientations at the beginning of the fall semester. These orientations vary between each campus, but most go over the importance of academics, time-management, and "putting yourself out there". At Fordham, new-student orientation lasts around 2-3 days, to which is not a lot of time given to freshmen to ease into the pace of college. Ideally, if new-student orientation at Fordham could be extended to 5 days, it would be very beneficial for over-whelmed freshmen and would allow them to take in what's expected at these institutions and to better assimilate into the campus community.</span></span></span></big></span>
<span style="font-size:x-small;"><big><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: left; color: rgb(29, 28, 29); text-transform: none; text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; word-spacing: 0px; display: inline !important; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; float: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><span>Our plan regarding new-student orientation is to reform and create an extended orientation period that alleviates new students of their concerns, fears, and uneasiness. To do this, we would think that sending out pre-orientation surveys would be beneficial to see what the concerns of each student is, these results will be shared with their respective orientation leaders which will help the OL's formulate the best interactive plan for their cohorts. Fordham does a great job at selecting upperclass student leaders to accommodate freshmen through an application and selection process for "OL's" (orientation leaders), however, some students have struggles with communicating and connecting with their orientation leaders. To accommodate both students and OL's, it should be emphasized that OL's should have a casual and easy-going attitude with the freshmen. By doing this, we are looking for less of a formal approach between OL's and students but rather a buddy system approach where students can easily talk to and rely on their OL's.</span></span></span></big></span>