Fordham University Student-Athletes Honored at 16th Annual Breakfast for Champions

Bronx, N.Y. – A week after the NFL crowned its champion, Fordham University recognized 416 student-athletes as champions. The Rams in attendance were honored for compiling a 3.00 cumulative GPA or higher at the 16th Annual Breakfast for Champions in the McGinley Center. 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 416 in attendance represented over 79% of the student-athletes at Fordham.
 
Following breakfast, Dave Roach, Director of Athletics, welcomed the crowd and acknowledged the athletic academic support staff, coaches and athletic administrators. He also echoed the message sent by Travis Roy, who spoke to the Fordham student-athletes on Monday night about his life.
 
"Travis Roy spoke about living each day with passion and being thankful for what we have," said Roach. "That is a message that everyone here should take to heart with everything you do in life."
 
After Deputy Athletic Director Charlie Elwood recognized the top team performer for each varsity program, Erika Selakowski, FCRH '20, president of the Fordham Student Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) introduced the keynote speaker, Jason Caldwell, GABELLI '10, a former member of the Fordham football squad and a current Associate at Goldman Sachs.
 
Caldwell, who earned All-America and All-Patriot League honors as a wide receiver with the Rams, spoke of his background. Growing up in Baltimore, he is the son of a single parent who did not know his father. Caldwell saw one brother murdered when he was 15 and a second the following year.
 
"When I was growing up there were basically three options in life," said Caldwell. "Jail, selling drugs or the cemetery. But I wanted to be successful, to make money like my uncle, the richest person I knew at the time."
 
The uncle Caldwell admired always had lots of money, drove nice cars and lived in a nice house. All fine and well until Caldwell found out that his uncle was a drug dealer. It was at that time that Caldwell was able to use his athletic ability to get a scholarship to a private high school, St. Paul's School. It was there that he encountered students from well-to-do families and Caldwell attempted to model himself after those students until he realized that it was not his classmates who were rich, it was their parents.
 
It was during his senior year that Caldwell was able to experience New York City for the first time. The school gave the seniors a week off and told them to do something they have never done before. Some student traveled internationally, or learned to play a musical instrument. But Caldwell didn't have the funds to do much and had never been outside the city of Baltimore.
 
"One of my teachers suggested I come up to New York City for the week and stay with his brother, who was a managing director at Merrill Lynch. His brother lived in a loft on the Upper East Side, overlooking Central Park, and was driven to work in a limo every day."
 

On two of the days, Caldwell spent the day on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange and fell in love with the atmosphere. He knew that was the life for him.
 
Fast forward 15 years and it's the life Caldwell is living. But he teased the crowd by telling them there was a flaw in his story.
 
"I was always looking externally for success. It wasn't until later that I realized that success was here, inside of me. It's the same for each and every one of you. My success now is giving back and I judge my success on how many people I can help."
 
Caldwell finished by letting the student-athletes know that he was there to help them. "We're all teammates; we just graduated in different years."
 
Following Caldwell's speech, Selakowski, along with Prokop Slanina, GABELLI '19, from the men's basketball squad, presented a check for $3,600 to Esthefania Rodriguez, Development Associate at New York Edge. The donation included monies raised by SAAC through various fund raisers, including school-wide dodgeball tournaments and bake sales.
 
New York Edge helps bridge the opportunity gap among underserved students by providing programs designed to improve academic performance, health and wellness, self-confidence, character and attitudes for success in life.
 
Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham University, wrapped up the ceremony by congratulating the student-athletes for their exploits, both on the playing fields and in the classroom, and praised Caldwell for his perseverance and his dedication to Fordham.
 
"Jason Caldwell is the most compelling speaker we've had in the 16-year history of the Breakfast for Champions," said McShane. "He was respected by his teammates and classmates because of who he is. His willingness to help others is a great example of what being a Fordham student-athlete is all about. And I know that each one of you share that attitude as true men and women for others."
 
Included in the 400 were 45 student-athletes who were recognized as four-year Breakfast for Champions attendees.
Baseball
Justin Bardwell
Mike Cowell
Brian Weissert
Anthony Zimmerman
 
Men's Basketball
Jesse Bunting
Chris Downing
David Pekarek
 
Women's Basketball
Lauren Holden
 
Football
Jordan Allen
Dylan Mabin
Lawrence Menyah
Noah Nix
Bryce Petty
Andrew Prince
 
Golf
Thomas Hayes
Joshua Madarang
 
Rowing
Erin Parker
 
Men's Soccer
Dan Miklos
Matthew Miller
 
Women's Soccer
Lane Cronin
Colleen Hickey
Keri Villano
 
Softball
Kylie Michael
Chelsea Skrepenak
Jordan Storm
Maria Trivelpiece
 
Men's Swimming
Ethan D'Arcangelo
Andrew Glockenmeier
 
Women's Swimming
Tara Brunner
Gabrielle Celia
Amie Ko
 
Women's Tennis
Gianna Insogna
Alexis Zobeideh
 
Men's Track & Field/Cross Country
Patrick Dineen
Sean Phillips
Louis Santelli (five-year honoree)
 
Women's Track & Field/Cross Country
Blake Elwood
Angelina Grebe
Maiya Larsen
Morgan Menzzasalma
Liz Morisseau
Julia Wiseman
 
Volleyball
Natalie Martinez
 
Water Polo
William Smoot
Ian Watson
 
Also recognized were the following that have the highest grade point average for their team:
Baseball – Billy Godrick
Men's Basketball – Peter Burquest
Women's Basketball – Zara Jillings
Cheerleading – Stephanie Plaza
Football – Edward Schwartz, Jr.
Golf – William Harrison
Rowing – Erika Selakowski
Men's Soccer – Liam Dougherty-Howard, Jack Murphy, Johannes Pieles
Women's Soccer – Clara Gastaldi
Softball – Julia Martine
Squash – Justin Esposito
Men's Swimming & Diving – Christopher Sleutjes
Women's Swimming & Diving – Natalie Ortof
Men's Tennis – Fabian Mauritzson
Women's Tennis – Whitney Weisberg
Men's Cross Country/Track – John Keegan, Alec Wargo
Women's Cross Country/Track – Neve Devine
Volleyball – Arabella Urena
Water Polo – Phillip Wang