As Fordham University seniors get ready to end their undergraduate careers and embark on new adventures, they have reflected on the past four years.
Mia Guzzo, FCRH ’25, is an English major with minors in women, gender and sexuality studies and marketing. She says that she has tried to prioritize herself and the things that make her happy during her time at Fordham.
“I really tried to prioritize, maybe not like the most conventional things that other people prioritize in college, but I made sure to do the things that made me happy. So, like, I put a lot of my heart and energy into doing my thesis last semester, and when I was abroad I really focused on my academics,” she said. “I think one of the main things I would say to other people as well is just to focus on what fills your cup and what fills your heart, because you’re here, these four years are for you to do what will help you grow, but also what will make you happy and keep you sane while you’re here.”
When asked what advice she would give underclassmen, she said that it is important to try new things.
“I would say that my biggest piece of advice, and it sounds cliché, is to just like put yourself out there,” she said. “Try as many spaces and as many clubs as you think you would like, because you can go to one meeting and meet new faces and decide that that’s like your passion, and you would never have known that.”
Lily Paturzo, FCRH ’25, is a journalism major with minors in women, gender and sexuality studies and marketing. She said that college has been difficult at times but that she has learned that everything will work out in the end.
“I’ve loved it here. I’ve definitely had my ups and downs,” she said. “I think freshman year is really scary, and you’re gonna want to transfer, you’re gonna be confused, you’re gonna not know what you want to do … just kind of lean into your interests and you’ll find your path. It will be okay. And I’m just saying this as someone who just figured out it’s gonna be okay like two months ago. So like, even if you’re a senior, you’re still gonna be okay. Everything will work out. I know it sounds scary, but just do what you love and keep going for it.”
When asked what advice she would give underclassmen, she said that it’s okay to not know what you want to do..
“It’s never too late to try something new,” she said. “I think when we come to college, we think we have to know what we’re doing and have to have everything planned out. We really don’t. I switched my major like four million times, and I joined WFUV my senior year, which is like something that I feel like you’ll never like, that’s kind of really late to start something, but I just asked and got myself in the place where I wanted to be. And it’s not too late to figure out where you want to be. Just ask and just do it, because you’ll actually maybe find out something that you really, really love to do, or maybe figure out your career path or figure out what you don’t want to do.”
Grace Glennon, FCRH ’25, is an integrative neuroscience major with a minor in women, gender and sexuality studies. When asked what advice she would give to underclassmen, she said that it is important to be kind to oneself.
“I think my biggest piece of advice is to be kind to yourself,” she said. “I think freshman year can be really difficult, I know, I came in, I thought, you know, this is gonna be my time, I’m going to study all the time. I lived in Walsh Library, and I think that you’ll have to come in and know that everyone’s on the same playing field. You’re all new to this. You know this is a new experience for everyone, and you really just have to take it day by day with everything, whether it be the social scene, whether it be academics, all of that kind of stuff, and I think also to kind of help with that, and I told this to my younger sisters when they were going into college, whatever it is you have to join something. You have to find your community. Because especially at a school like Fordham, I think clubs are really what define our culture, and that’s where you meet your people, your friends, and you know, school can’t just be about academics, you also have to find, you know, the place where you can forget about all the crazy things going on in your school life and in the world and find your happy place and find your friends and just have a great outlet.”
Sydney Flood, FCRH ’25, is an English major with minors in medieval studies and religious studies. When asked what advice she would give to underclassmen, she said that you shouldn’t compare yourself to others.
“I think my biggest piece of advice is to not worry about being on the same track as everyone,” she said. “I took a semester off, and I was really worried about not being able to graduate at the same time as my friends, but it all worked out, and it really wasn’t that big of a deal. And I was also worried about, like, all my friends were studying abroad, and I didn’t really want to study abroad, so I didn’t. But yeah, everyone’s on their own path, and it’s okay.”
Adeyinka Maddy, FCRH ’25, is a digital technology and emerging media major with minors in marketing and business administration. He said that during his time at Fordham, he has learned how to keep a balance between academic life and social life.
“I think I had years, like freshman and sophomore year, where I was totally social and less academic and educational and I didn’t find that fulfilling,” he said. “And then I had stuff junior year where I was completely academic, extracurriculars, everything I was doing had to have some type of purpose, and that also wasn’t fulfilling, I got burned out by the end of it. But I think coming to senior year and truly having like a Monday to Thursday afternoon to keep it fully, everything I do has a purpose, to like Thursday to Sunday, try to be more social with my friends. Once I hit that place, I found out that I really loved everything I was doing.”
When asked what advice he would give to underclassmen, he said that it is important to stay true to yourself.
“Just be you and do yourself,” he said. “It’s really easy to get lost in the sauce, just with everybody having everything going on and the opinions of everybody that’s watching you because I feel like we’re on a pseudo small campus. So it’s easy to get wrapped under people’s opinions of others and opinions of yourself. But I think the biggest thing that I realized is that you kind of just keep doing you and not really giving a care about what other people think of you or what they think you should be doing.”
