e-Newsletter for alumni

Alumni Spotlight:
Softball with the NYC Alumni Softball League

The Graduate School of Business Administration’s second softball season with the NYC Alumni Softball League has come to a close. The 2009 season was an exciting one for the GBA team, which joined 25 other schools for a few months of good sportsmanship and competitive games in Central Park.

The softball team launched in 2008 with four Fordham GBA students and three of their friends. The league was in its infancy, so it took a lot of hard work and finessed scheduling to coordinate the games. Thankfully, in late 2008, Mark Khurt, the then-president of the Student Advisory Council, along with Arvind Singh, GBA ’07, sent out e-mails to students and alumni promoting the new team. They heard back from 80 interested people. Things got official when Tom Hart, GBA ’09, designed the team jerseys. Even though the team didn’t bring home the championship trophy this year, the GBA’s second softball season was full of exciting plays, close games, lots of laughs and more than a few wins.

“Playing in the alumni softball league introduced me to new people from the school,” said Mark Kuhrt, GBA ’09. “Each week, it is great to spend a few hours in Central Park. I encourage more people to support the team and get involved.”

Greg Bergida, GBA ’09, agreed. “The alumni softball league offered a great way to spend time with other Fordham alumni, and more importantly, a chance to network with alums from other schools,” he said. “I can’t say that softball is a demanding physical activity, but any chance I can get to spend some time outside playing in the summer and fall, I’ll take it!”

Of course the team worked to win every game, but team members also formed new friendships, reconnected with alumni and supported Fordham under the banner of good sportsmanship. The season ended with a friendly game against the University of Chicago, whose captain, Dereje Ambatchew, commented, “the Fordham team has a great attitude and every player comes out with respect for the fun of the game.”

In the end, that’s what it’s about - but the team does plan to raise that trophy in the fall of 2010!

Planning for the 2010 season is already under way. Team captain Soo Choi, GBA ’08, has started working with GBA Alumni Liaison Stephanie Cziczo to promote this exciting program and discuss the possibility of branching out into other sports in the coming years. Both parties see the benefit of the softball team as a valuable networking channel between current students, Fordham alumni and alumni from other universities. For more information, e-mail Stephanie Cziczo at cziczo@fordham.edu.

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Dean’s Forum

Each day I realize what the Graduate School of Business Administration has accomplished since I was last interim dean in 2005. We have a vibrant, growing alumni outreach program that has engaged thousands through LinkedIn, career events and networking opportunities. We have launched the second full-time cohort MBA program; and we are in our third year of the master’s degree program in quantitative finance. Our efforts have resulted in recognition from prestigious publications such as Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and US News & World Report. These are tremendous advances of which we are all proud.

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On February 24, 2010, the Graduate School of Business Administration will host the Third Annual World Wise Network Alumni Reception at Fred’s at Barneys. The past two years, more than 100 alumni have attended each event and mingled with board members, administrators, recent grads and experienced alumni. We hope that this year is an even greater success! For more information about upcoming WWN events, please contact Stephanie Cziczo at cziczo@fordham.edu.