For Caleb McGrath, GSB ’26, the journey to join the Ramily was full of ups and downs, skepticism and redirection.
After being recruited to play baseball at Occidental College in Los Angeles, McGrath transferred out and took a gap year in 2022. It was during this break that McGrath joined Cleana.inc, a start-up designing self-lifting toilet seats. There, he learned invaluable business skills that he’s translated into his coursework at Fordham University.
After moving back to his hometown of Brookline, Massachusetts, McGrath took on a new endeavor as the head of growth at Cleana, where he worked until the summer of 2024.
“I experienced what it was like to do B2B sales and then operate an entire marketing campaign from start to finish,” McGrath said.
McGrath was drawn to the hands-on experience he knew he would gain from the opportunity, where he not only gained business experience but realized the inherent challenges of building an idea from the ground up. “There are elements of just plain getting kicked in the mouth and having to figure out where to go and how to react,” McGrath said.
“The big thing for me was getting to experience multiple types of business segments, and understanding how they work on a really intimate level when it’s you and the CEO working together,” McGrath said. “You’re not gonna get that at a corporate bank or in any sort of actual internship.”
In addition to having the greatest first name of all time, McGrath excels in the classroom and on the diamond, pitching for Fordham Club Baseball and taking advantage of Fordham’s location in New York as he majors in business administration with concentrations in management and finance.
While initially skeptical of how critical a role Manhattan trips on a whim would play during his college career, McGrath has found Fordham’s campus in New York City paying massive dividends already.
“Frankly, I wasn’t really sure how much of a role being in the city would actually have on the student experience,” McGrath said. He admits that while he was aware of Fordham’s location, he wasn’t sure of how involved the city would be in his day-to-day experience as a Ram.
“Knowing that you can, at any point, get on the Metro North or D train and be in the city in 25 minutes is not something I was expecting to feel or to have, but I’m very glad that I do,” he reflected.
After returning home to play ball, McGrath has found a new level of camaraderie and cohesion with his new club teammates. “Honestly, I’ve probably had more fun with the club team than my entire NCAA collegiate experience as a whole,” McGrath said. It’s the balance of high-quality baseball and a tight-knit environment that has made McGrath confident that he’s made the right decision in taking his talents to the Bronx. “It’s a great group of guys,” he said. “We have a blast competing together, and just going out there on a weekly basis with them has been a ton of fun, and I’ve developed a lot of great friendships out of it.”
