Student Culinary Council

Hello friends,

To those of you who were at the Admitted Students Day, I hope you enjoyed the wonderful weather and learned a lot. Please comment on this post if you have any further questions.

Another of the many activities with which I am involved at Fordham is the Student Culinary Council, which works with Fordham Hospitality Services, run by a company called Sodexo, to improve food services on campus. Some of our many accomplishments include: insuring daily grilled chicken in the caf, fresher pizza dough, and baked potatoes for every dinner. I really like being a part of the Council because I came into Fordham with a lot of ideas for how to improve the cafeteria and dining services.

This week, SCC has a lot of events coming up. Starting tomorrow, SCC will be hosting our annual Jeopardy tournament in the cafeteria. After that, we will be hosting our second semi-annual SCC dinner in the cafeteria, where SCC members work in the cafeteria and serve menu chosen entirely by the SCC. On April 20, the SCC dinner theme will be Hawaiian Luau, with Pineapple/Ham Pizza, tropical shrimp dishes and a plethora of fruit salads. Leis for all!!

I'm Back

I apologize loyal readers (HA!) that I've been away so long. I've actually been to Beijing and back, and I'd like to give you a few updates on the biggest things I've done since last I updated.

-RHA ran a really successful Benefit Week, culminating in a Haiti Relief Auction that raised over $14,000, among the biggest prizes were: the #1, 2, & 3 housing lottery numbers, a dinner with our President Fr. McShane, tickets and backstage passes to Mamma Mia on Broadway (donated by my dear friend Alyse Alan Louis, who currently stars in the show), and many more. I hosted the live auction, which was a bit tiring, but loads of fun. As an Executive Board member, I could not have been more pleased with the work done by our General Board members. Throughout the week, they stood up and took control of events in countless ways. The RHA is a really great opportunity for underclassmen (especially freshmen) to get leadership experience very early on, and this week reminded me of why I love it so much.

-Over spring break (March 12-20), I went to China with the Global Business Honors Program. Throughout our jam-packed week, we saw the Great Wall, Tian'namen Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Silk and Pearl Markets and much more. We also heard lectures on the Chinese culture and economy and met with business people who tried to paint a picture of what it's like to do business in the ever-growing nation. For me, the highlights were probably: sledding down the Great Wall on my elbows and stomach (there was a snowstorm), eating fried snake, shark, starfish, silkworm, centipede, bee cocoon and scorpion, and touring through the absolutely spectacular Summer Palace. It was my third trip with GBHP (previously, we visited London and Buenos Aires) and it has been an incomparable experience. Friend me on fb to see some great pictures.

-The third highlight of my March was our first Musical Improv show. I've previously spoken a bit about the club, but this was our first performance with an audience. The suggestion we received for our title was "minefield" and the song we were asked to perform was "That Hurt a Little." In the show, I played the evil villain, Mr. Johnson, the CEO of the Crocs corporation. I sent my minion, Jean, to find someone who would help her blow up mines, in order to inspire fear in the American people and to push them to buy the new mine-proof Crocs. It was a laugh-filled evening for all involved and I can't wait to do another.

I promise I won't make you wait as long next time.

Benefit Week

This week is RHA's annual Benefit Week and I'd like to tell you about the three events we already have held.

On Saturday afternoon, we held a Volleyball tournament for the Incarnation Children's Center, a place where orphans infected with HIV/AIDS live. We've donated to them for years and it was exciting to do so again this year. They're a particularly great place because they use all of our donation to give directly back to the kids (with toys and events and such) rather than adding it to overhead costs.

On Monday night, we held a Battle of the Bands in the Ramskellar. Five bands performed and brought a really great array of talent to the stage. My good friend Rebekah Choi hosted the event and remained appropriate the entire time, which was both a shock and a relief. Through the Battle, we raised money for Operation Shoebox which is a charity for the troops.

Earlier tonight (I know it's now Wednesday, but it's basically Tuesday, still), we held a Poker tournament in O'Keefe Commons which raised money for Parents of ANGELS (an autism charity). We had a great turnout and saw some very intense poker playing. I'm not much of a gambler, so it took me a while to get into it, but eventually everyone was psyched to see the final showdown. In a heated, three person final, Freshman Nick Geraghty ended up winning the tournament and $500.

Now, we're gearing up for our Video Game Tournament and Beer and Wine Tasting on Thursday!

I'm going to see a new show called "The Temperamentals" tomorrow at New World Stages. I promise to report back.

I'm Kind of a Big Deal

I might be a little bit famous. This article is about a trip I went on early this semester: http://www.fordham.edu/Campus_Resources/eNewsroom/topstories_1761.asp. One of the things I've learned about Fordham is that you have to find the really great opportunities and take advantage of them, they don't just fall into your lap. This was absolutely one of those things.

Back-a from NACA

I just got back from the National Association of Campus Activities. As Executive Secretary of the RHA, I went with much of the Campus Activities Board, my president, Mike Trerotola, and some members of the Commuting Students Association. The point of the conference is to advertise acts and other entertainers that you can bring to campus. RHA has been expanding in that direction a lot over the past few years and so we thought it would be valuable to go.

Some of the best things I thought we could actually bring are:
-Sustainable, customizable pens that I'd like to get for RHA to hand out.
-Many, many comedians (a lot helpfully based out of NYC)
-FUEL, a documentary that was a big hit at the Sundance Film Festival which is all about environmental sustainability and efforts across the country to improve. The narrator of the film was a huge proponent of Biofuel, but offered up a host of solutions to be taken in harmony in order to "greenify" the country. I adored the film and would love to bring it to campus. One of the things our students lack is concern for the environment, and I'd love to fix that. One of the coolest aspects of biofuel is that you can taste it without harm AND it can power your car. I was forcing biofuel upon my fellow conference-goers all weekend.
-I also saw an indie movie called The Scenesters which was surprisingly funny. It's not too expensive to rent the film from the distributor and I'd love to bring it to campus and give the filmmakers (whom I met) some exposure.

Overall, it was a fun and useful weekend, if a bit too long.

I'm psyched to get back into the swing of things on campus.

I'll update again soon, I promise.

Musical Improv

One of my favorite activities that I do on campus is Fordham Experimental Theater's (FET) Musical Improv group. FET has a number of interesting non-traditional theatrical groups including Sketch Comedy, Improv, and Theatrical Outreach. Musical Improv is one of its newest branches. We perform long-form improv shows, based on just a suggestion of a title and a setting with developed characters, major conflict and musical numbers. We're still getting our group together (over half the members are still pretty new, including myself), but we should be putting together a show sometime later this semester.

The most fun technique we developed last night was our song improvisation. Based on a single suggestion, someone would make up a chorus to a song off of which everyone else bases their own verses. It sounds difficult, but we actually did a really good job with it last night with topics ranging from a town without barbers to an unwelcome female race car driver. It's a little bit bizarre at first, but it's tremendously rewarding.

I also think that I was only cast because I can sing, seeing as I'm not great at improv. I love just singing really crazily and showing off a bit.

I'll let you know when we do a show. We're planning on going to see a musical improv show in the city sometime in the near future. There are a lot of professional and semi-professional groups that perform weekly.

First Update

This is my first post in my blog for the Admissions Department/Rose Hill Society. I'm going to try to update it regularly (daily?) to give some insight into the opportunities available at Fordham for all students. I do a lot, so chances are I do something that interests you.

I could try to reach back and talk about things I've done, but that may get complicated, so I'm starting with today.

This afternoon I got back from the Emmaus Retreat. Fordham owns a retreat house in Goshen, NY and I went with 23 others up for a weekend of food, fun and reflection (sorry for the terrible anticipated alliteration without the follow-through). Entering the retreat, I was in a confusing place, emotionally, socially and with my family and it was a wonderful time to clear my head. I also ate really well and met a lot of new people. It was a sort of unusual weekend for me, but it was fun and enlightening.

Another thing--that I don't think is reaching too far back--is a show I went to on Thursday night. I am a pretty big theater buff and I see about 14/15 shows each semester. Last week, I saw the City Center ENCORES! production of Fanny, a 1954 show based on a trilogy of French films from the 1930s. The ENCORES! series puts on three shows each year, generally favoring forgotten/under-produced works. Fanny was about as obscure as they come, but was still (as my grandmother would say) swell. Fred Applegate gave a really tremendous performance, and it was fun to see James Snyder (the title character in the close-too-soon Cry-Baby). I still have one of the songs ("Pannis and Son") stuck in my head. It's starting to get annoying.

Seeing as my weeks are sometimes repetitive, I'm only going to elaborate on a few things I do each week so as to make things a bit more interesting.

Tomorrow, expect an update on the Student Culinary Council!