Reflections of Fordham by a new FCAA member

I am one of the newer members of the FCAA board. I attended my first meeting last month and look forward to the next meeting later this week. I am still learning about the prestigious organization that I have joined and the legacy that we are charged with maintaining.

As I walked on campus for the first time in a number of years, I found myself transported in time. I am sure that the young students and the faculty who passed by me thought perhaps I was crazy. I found myself smiling, no beaming as I recalled taking the very same steps more years ago than I would like to own to. I realized how much my Fordham education meant to me and how my life evolved because of it. Can I remember the details of my classes? Vaguely yes, but what I do remember was Fordham's promise to teach students how to think. Fordham was the foundation that I have bulit my life and career on. Throughout the years the one constancy has been my ability to think.

I want to be able to play a part in making this a reality for other young people who are very much as I was 30 years ago: fresh, vibrant, ready to take on the world but needing the polish and credibility that a liberal arts education can provide.

I am also a graduate of the HEC Paris and I would like to see Fordham adopt a philosophy similar to theirs. It is a fact that once you graduate from the HEC you can call on any other alum and they will take your call using the familiar "tu" not "vous". I think we all do bond as fellow alumni, but let's make it the Fordham "Tu".

Thank you Rich and fellow board members for allowing me to join you.