Bronx, N.Y. – Fordham student-athletes are quite used to taking instructions from their coaches. Last night the Rams took directions from a different group, former student-athletes. The former student-athletes returned to Rose Hill to impart their post-graduation experiences to close to 100 current student-athletes for Student-Athlete Career Night in the McShane Center Great Hall. The night was sponsored by the Fordham Career Center and the Fordham Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).
 
The night opened with a panel of former student-athletes in various professional positions. They included:
Rachel Hubertus (Softball) – Baseball and Softball Development Coordinator, Major League Baseball
Mark Gennarelli (Cross Country/Track) – Director, Corporate Partnerships, New York Football Giants
Connor Fuller (Baseball) – Prime Brokerage Sales Associate, J.P. Morgan
Nick Alemann (Swimming) – Manager, Revenue Management, Jet Blue Airways
Shawn Chekmayan (Baseball) – Vice President, Multi-Platform Advertising Sales, The CW Television Network
Morgan Williams (Volleyball) – Freelance Producer/Production Coordinator, V. Maria Consulting
 
The panel was hosted by current SAAC president Julia Petrovich, a member of the softball team. The topics discussed included how being a student-athlete translates into the real world, any characteristics that the former student-athletes took to the workplace with them, and challenges they faced when transitioning into the work force. The Fordham alumni all mentioned how the time management skills and working together as a team while student-athletes helped them adjust to life after school. They also stressed the importance of networking and how the night was a good first step in that process.
 
After a Q&A session with the panel, Annette McLaughlin, Director of the Fordham Career Center, spoke the student-athletes on the services offered by the Career Center. She also pointed out the strong ties that exist between Fordham students and Fordham alumni.
 
"Don't be afraid to reach out to Fordham alumni," McLaughlin said. "I've found that Fordham alumni are very receptive to requests from Fordham students. I know it's not like that at every school but Fordham alumni are very responsive to Fordham students."
 
Following the panel discussion, the student-athletes were able to speak one-on-one with the members of the panel as well as other former student-athletes during a networking hour. The former student-athletes who assisted with the networking hours were:
Christina Siesta (Softball) – Associate, Holland Capital
Maria Timepiece (Softball) – Multimedia Journalist, The Patriot League
Danielle Padovano (Basketball) – Portfolio Manager, Stores Strategy and Growth, Target
Jordan Bledsoe (Football) – Owner/Director of Performance, Velocity Sports Performance
Matthew Dengler (Football) – Associate, Dash Financial Technologies
Emily Aponte (Soccer) – Vice President, Human Resources, BSE Global
Kara Field (Swimming) – Dir. of Athletic Development, Assoc. Athletic Director, Fordham University
Lindsey Scott (Cheerleading) – Marketing Analyst, Danone