Whether you know her as the bright, friendly personality at the forefront of many Campus Activities Board (CAB) events, or the cheerful, personable tour guide showing families around campus, the name Jade Petalcorin, GSB ’25, is recognizable to hundreds of Fordham University students who have had the pleasure of knowing her friendship and kindness.
Petalcorin is very involved on campus through clubs such as CAB, Smart Women Securities and Rose Hill Society. Through this she shows high involvement and passion in her life, always putting her best foot forward and showing up, even on the rainiest of days, with a smile on her face.
Although she claims she’s “never moved in silence,” one of the many remarkable things Petalcorin has accomplished in her years at Fordham is something that, until recently, was unknown to many of her friends. “Special Lunch,” a term coined by Petalcorin for her gatherings, was formed during her sophomore year at Fordham from a spur-of-the-moment opportunity.
“The premise of Special Lunch is simple; I invite about five individual friends to come over for lunch, and I’ll cook,” Petalcorin said. “The goal is that they don’t know each other, but I do it in hopes that they all become friends afterwards.”
Petalcorin said that the first special lunch arose unexpectedly after inviting three friends to her Walsh Hall apartment for dinner in her sophomore year. “I invited three people who [I thought] didn’t know each other at all but that they would be great friends. If they’re friends with me, they’re definitely good people,” she said.
Petalcorin scrolled through the notes app in her phone, adorned with a sunshine yellow case — because what else would be on brand for the human persona of sunshine — and went through the lists of people she’s invited to her past 11 special lunches. She shared that forming a guest list for one of her special lunches is more complicated than it seems. Petalcorin carefully considers the group dynamic to ensure personalities mesh well and that there will be an equal number of guests at the meal.
“I always think I’m a person who likes to connect people together, and my love language is acts of service and quality time,” Petalcorin said, adding that “being able to cook for people and have them in a room together makes me happy.”
The concept of special lunch is perfectly on brand for Petalcorin. She is a kind, friendly soul open to meeting new people. Most importantly, she ensures everyone feels involved and included in group settings, while still being able to formulate real connections with individuals. Even while studying abroad in London her junior year, Petalcorin still found the opportunity to host a special lunch across the pond. “It was my first time doing it with non-Fordham students … two of the people I invited actually lived in the same flat and took the same commute, same bus, walk, elevator, and eventually realized they were both coming to my apartment when they went to the same door,” she said.
The stories don’t end there. She shared that during her sophomore year, she hosted a Friendsgiving in her Walsh apartment and invited her across-the-hall neighbors. In one case, her “roommate hit it off with this one guy who lived across the hall, and then right after, she transferred schools … She came back to visit four months later and they started dating.”
But the benefits don’t stop with the guests being able to make new friends and share a home-cooked meal. “I also invite people I’m not that close to, so I can get to know them better. Life gets hard sometimes, so it’s nice to have something like this to look forward to,” she said.
At first, guests didn’t realize they were being invited to a special lunch, now Petalcorin’s friends expect to see many place settings when they’re invited to her apartment. “Bringing everyone together is really special,” Petalcorin says.
Graduation is in just a few weeks, and Petalcorin is trying to host as many special lunches as possible. She hopes special lunch will continue post-graduation. “It will be harder [to host] but it’s something that I think will be more appreciated post-grad. It’s hard for adults to make friends, when you do it’s pretty individual,” she said.
