By Briana Scalia
It is no coincidence that Danielle Cammarosano, GSB’ 19 chose Fordham University. Both her father, Joseph Cammarosano Jr., FCRH ’78, and her aunt, Nancy Hartzband, FCRH ’77, attended Fordham, at the undergraduate level and for law school. Her grandfather, Dr. Joseph Cammarosano, FCRH ’47, has been teaching economics at Fordham University for over 65 years and serves as one of her most influential role models.
Following in her grandfather’s footsteps, Cammarosano is majoring in finance and minoring in economics, making her a third-generation Ram. With guidance from her brother and grandfather, she is excited to begin her career at HSBC this summer as a CMB analyst.
However, she would argue that her most crucial role on campus is not only leading, but also founding Fordham’s own chapter of international organization Best Buddies.
She explains that Best Buddies is a volunteer group formed to maintain one-to-one friendships with young adults from the Bronx with I.D.D. (Intellectual Developmental Disabilities). However, Best Buddies was not Cammarosano’s first interaction with the mentally disabled.
When she was about 14, Cammarosano applied to Camp Anchor, a program dedicated to helping both children and adults with special needs. She worked alongside other volunteers for three summers before being promoted to a paid position at the camp. She worked two years as paid staff before retiring to pursue her career in finance. “It was an amazing experience,” Cammarosano said, detailing how her time spent at Camp Anchor not only helped to shape her as a person, but also made her realize how fortunate she was.
Flash forward to her first year at Fordham, where she and her three friends Rachel Recker, Allison Bloss and Andrew Seger — all FCRH ’19 — were forming plans to start their own club: a chapter for Best Buddies. Unfortunately, the group had not realized how monumental of a task they were undertaking.
“We needed to find a site to host meetings for the group. We needed to fill out paperwork for the initial approval.” Cammarosano was already finishing her sophomore year when the club was finally approved, and by then, she and her three friends had discussed their plans to study abroad for the next semester.
“They helped as much as they could, but it was difficult to delegate with so much distance separating us.”
Luckily, she managed to find some indispensable aid in getting the club off the ground. In her junior year, Sean McLaughlin, GSB’ 19, and Bella Adams, FCRH’ 19, joined the e-board of Best Buddies, helping to pick up whatever slack they could.
“By the time the club was approved we had already missed the Fall Club Fair, so it was difficult to recruit new members.” The trio did whatever they could to get the word out — talking to RA’s, hosting tables and talking about it whenever possible.
“Excitement is contagious, and we were so proud of what we had made, of course we wanted to tell everyone we could!”
Fordham’s Best Buddies not only brings awareness to those living in the Bronx with I.D.D., but encourages strong relationships between them and the students in the club.
“We aren’t baby sitters. Club members have organic friendships with their buddy, just trying to help them lead a more normal life.”
As president of the club, Cammarosano and her fellow e-board members have several responsibilities. They host the club for two kinds of members: the associate members that provide general help at events and peer members in the ‘peer-buddy system.’ After meeting the teenagers with I.D.D., these members are paired up with a buddy, who they then keep in contact with on a weekly basis.
The events Cammarosano and her board host are planned well in advance and provide funding for not only Fordham’s chapter, but for the entire Best Buddies organization. Currently they have two events coming up: a Valentine’s day basketball mixer and a baseball scrimmage and game in late April.
When she left for college, Cammarosano missed the sense of community she had gotten familiar with during her time at Camp Anchor. Instead of seeking out that feeling for herself, she and her friends created another opportunity for Fordham students to experience lives different than their own, and provided a wonderful service for the young adults the chapter works with.
“It’s a way to let your humanity come through, to step outside of your bubble.”
To anyone looking to start their own club at Fordham, she offers this advice: “Keep pushing.”
Email [email protected] or [email protected] if you’re interested in joining!
