Feb. 15, 2011
Bronx, N.Y. -
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On a day when the NFL crowned a champion, Fordham University recognized 319 student-athletes as champions, including 19 women's swimming and diving student-athletes. The Rams in attendance were honored for compiling a 3.0 cumulative GPA or higher at the Eighth Annual Breakfast for Champions in the McGinley Center on February 6th. The event was sponsored by the Fordham Athletic Department with assistance from the Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) and the Office of Academic Advising.
The 319 in attendance represented over 57% of the student-athletes at Fordham and is the largest number of student-athletes to attend a Breakfast for Champions.
Jarrett Anistranski, FCRH '11, President of SAAC and a member of the Cross Country/Track and Field programs, welcomed the crowd and introduced Monsignor Joseph G. Quinn, Vice President of University Mission and Ministry for the invocation.
Following breakfast, Frank McLaughlin, Executive Director of Athletics, provided opening remarks, noting how the breakfast was being held on the day the NFL was going to award the Lombardi Trophy to the Super Bowl championships team, an award named for one of Fordham's most famous alums. He also noted that if the Breakfast for Champions existed when Lombardi was a student at Fordham he would have been in attendance.
McLaughlin explained the meaning behind the "Proud to be a Ram" message that had been printed on the back of Fordham's practice t-shirts. It comes from one of the Seven Blocks of Granite, Al Bart, who visited Fordham in 2002. He told the story that when Fordham football routinely played in front of a sold out Yankee Stadium in the 1930's, the last thing then head coach Jim Sleepy Crowley would tell the troops before the left the locker room was "to remember to be proud to be a Ram!".
After Director of Athletic Administration Charlie Elwood recognized the top team performer for each varsity program, Brendan O'Morchoe, FCRH '11, Vice President of SAAC and a member of the men's Swimming program, introduced the keynote speaker, Mobolaji Akiode, GSB '03, Founder and Executive Director of Hope 4 Girls Africa, a USA-based, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the increased participation and empowerment of disadvantaged young African women in sports and education.
Prior to Akiode's speech, a video, produced by ESPN and narrated by Robin Roberts of ABC's Good Morning America, was played for the audience. To watch the video, click here.
Akiode was a standout player for the Fordham women's basketball team from 1999-2003. She became the eighth player to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in her career, and ranks among the top ten all-time scorers and rebounders in the program's history with 1,167 points and 554 rebounds.
After her playing days for the Rams were over, Akiode played for the Nigerian National Team from 2004-07, that included a trip to the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.
But her Fordham career didn't start as planned as Akiode told the crowd when she took the podium. When she arrived at Rose Hill as a freshman she was alone and things didn't get much better when the coach who recruited her was dismissed at the end of the year.
Akiode thought of transferring but talks with Marianne Reilly, Senior Associate Athletic Director, and the Athletic Academic Advising Office convinced her to stay at Fordham and she went on to have a successful career on the court and graduate with a degree in Accounting. But it was an astronomy professor who first saw a different side of Akiode.
"I had an astronomy professor who spoke with me after class one day and asked me my major," said Akiode. "When I told him I was an accounting major he said that he thought I had more talent than to be a number cruncher."
Despite that conversation, Akiode graduated with her degree in accounting but deiced to play professional basketball for three years before returning to Fordham to speak at a Career Night for student athletes, even though she was unemployed at the time. At that event, she met Christine Driessen, an Executive Vice President for ESPN, who offered her a job.
After a few years at ESPN, Akiode decided to leave the comforts of a secure job to become a "jobless philanthropist" and follow her heart to Africa, where she hoped to help underprivileged girls and share with them the tools for success that had helped Akiode. She soon set up the Hope 4 Girls Africa charity.
"The idea of Hope 4 Girls Africa is to give them the tools for survival and success that I learned at Fordham," said Akiode. "Right now we have two young women in college now in Texas and three teenagers in Africa who are hoping for a college scholarship in 2011. We also have a Princess Academy that offers after-school programs, teaching leadership skills."
O'Morchoe and Paulina Strzelec, GSB '11 and SAAC Event Coordinator, then presented Akiode with a $2,000 check on behalf of SAAC for Hope 4 Girls Africa.
Following the check presentation, Anistranski stepped up to the microphone to describe upcoming SAAC initiatives, including the ping pong tournament being run by each varsity team. The tournament are being run in conjunction with Brian Harrington, a Villanova alumnus who has promised to match the funds raised by the Rams with the proceeds going to Each One Counts, a charity that looks to ease the physical pain and suffering of chronically and terminally ill children who are receiving palliative or hospice care.
Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham University, wrapped up the brunch by congratulating the student-athletes for their exploits, both on the playing fields and in the classroom. He stressed that the students should thank their parents for all the love and support they have provided as well as their coaches, who play a large role in their success. McShane had the coaches stand to be acknowledged and thanked them for "remembering always that at Fordham a coach is an educator, first, last and always. A coach at Fordham is someone who believes in students, loves them to greatness, reminds them that athletics is a large part of life, but it's really much more, it's a part of preparation of life of service of others."
McShane wrapped up the ceremony with a closing prayer but instead of a traditional prayer he explained that as a Jesuit, prayer is about counting blessings. He invited all in attendance to look across their tables and around the room to see their blessings.
"Look around the room at all the men and women that God has given you as brothers and sister, friends, role models and inspirations," said McShane. "Thank him, praise him, bless him and ask him that you might every day be worthy of all he has done and that he continues to do."
Included in the 315 were 34 student-athletes who were recognized as four-year Breakfast for Champions attendees.
Allie Alessi (Women's Swimming)
Michelle Ancelj (Women's Soccer)
Jarrett Anistranski (Men's Track & Field/Cross Country)
Casey Barrett (Men's Track & Field/Cross Country)
Andrew Buemi (Men's Swimming)
Billy Colton (Men's Swimming)
Mark Connor (Water Polo)
DJ Corrao (Men's Soccer)
Ryan David (Baseball)
Martin de Jong (Water Polo)
Natazia Fistrovic (Women's Swimming)
Robert Gitman (Men's Swimming)
Augustus Gleason (Men's Track & Field/Cross Country)
Christi Griffiths (Volleyball)
Sherilyn Groeninger (Women's Track & Field/Cross Country)
Catherine Helmer (Rowing)
Brett Heyder (Men's Soccer)
Tom Kelly (Men's Track & Field/Cross Country)
Elizabeth Legan (Women's Swimming)
Kevin Maloney (Men's Tennis)
Katie McDermott (Women's Soccer)
Clarke Munson (Football)
Patrick Murray (Men's Soccer)
Lauren Nowakowski (Women's Soccer)
Gerard Rizzo (Football)
Joe Russo (Baseball)
Vincent Servello (Men's Track & Field/Cross Country)
Austin Shoup (Men's Tennis)
Johanne Sterling (Women's Track & Field/Cross Country)
Paul Szczepaniak (Men's Track & Field/Cross Country)
Brian Thompson (Baseball)
Kelsey Walker (Women's Soccer)
Michael Walsh
Beckah Wiggins (Softball)
Also recognized were the following that have the highest grade point average for their team:
Baseball - Ryan DeMartino
Men's Basketball - Ryan Hage
Women's Basketball - Kristina Bell
Cheerleading - Cindy Poiesz
Football - Craig Staub
Golf - Charles Smith
Rowing - Ursula Leone
Men's Soccer - Aaron Markowitz
Women's Soccer - Katie McDermott
Softball - Jen Mineau
Men's Swimming - Chris Schneck
Women's Swimming - Natazia Fistrovic
Men's Tennis/Squash - Eli Plangger
Women's Tennis - Bethany Boyle
Men's Cross Country/Track - Ben Delikat
Women's Cross Country/Track - Allison Russell
Volleyball - Megan Arend
Water Polo - Martin De Jong
Below are the 19 women's swimming and diving student-athletes honored at the 2011 Fordham Breakfast for Champions:
Alexandra Alessi *
Kelly Bunster
Annie Carter
Meg Conroy
Shannon Considine
Christina Cosentino
Rachel Deputato
Elizabeth Dorger
Kara Field
Natazia Fistrovic *
Guilia Kaftan
Tracy Karpinski
Andrea Krok
Elizabeth Legan *
Kellie Lyver
Megan McGorry
Victoria Myers
Lara Moseley
Brienne Ryan
* - Four-Year Honoree
