Growing up in Florida, Christina Leavenworth always knew she wanted to go to college in New York City. "Fordham had that small town feel within a big city," she explained, "I fell in love with it the moment I stepped foot on campus."

At Fordham, Leavenworth played scholarship tennis, met lifelong friends, and discovered her passion for journalism after interning with ABC's 20/20 and Primetime Live during senior year. After graduation, she headed to Ghana, Africa, where she gained on-air experience as the host of Good Morning Ghana. Returning to the United States, Leavenworth spent a year as a reporter for Blue Ridge Communication's TV-13 News in Pennsylvania. She also worked as an anchor, reporter and producer of CNN Headline News Local Edition for the Poconos.

Looking for a change of scenery and the chance to cover hard news, Leavenworth moved to Mobile, Alabama, to work for Fox 10 News – WALA, the number one rated station in the market, covering West Coast Florida, Mobile and lower Mississippi. Focused on breaking news and investigative reporting, her story, "Driving while InTexticated," spurred legislators to review laws banning texting while driving.

Station management soon promoted Leavenworth and offered her a greater opportunity and challenge—to run the Pensacola News office. As the Northwest Florida Bureau Chief, she is the lead reporter on breaking new stories, responsible for assigning coverage to the station's several reporters, under her news judgment.

"In this line of work, you need to know a little about everything," Leavenworth said, "Fordham's strong core education provided me that broad knowledge and prepared me to deal with various situations and types of people."

Passionate about her work, Leavenworth enjoys the day-to-day excitement of the job. "You never know what news is going to break next, where and when," she said. "I report and go live on a daily basis. It's the job of my dreams and I couldn't have gotten to where I am today without my start at Fordham."

Lauren Cunningham, CBA '05
Young Alumni Committee Member

Born in Trinidad and raised in Long Island, Josette Robinson came to Fordham University in 1997, majoring in communication and media studies. As a HEOP (Higher Education Opportunity Program) student and an active member of the Fordham community, Robinson cultivated a deep passion for finding creative ways to help the public.

As an undergraduate, Robinson served as a tour guide and docent for prospective students, and an orientation leader for the Office of Student activities. She also held the positions of treasurer and PR representative for the former International Black Student Union of America, now renamed to Asili, thanks in part to her involvement in the rebranding of the organization to include all ethnicities and groups.

"I've always liked helping people," she said, so it was easy "to get into the Jesuit spirit" while at Fordham. In addition to her commitments within the Fordham community, Robinson also dedicated her time to students at the neighboring Roosevelt High School, helping them with homework.

Now working at the public relations and investor relations agency CJP Communications, Robinson has not forgotten the importance of community service that she developed while at Fordham. In her past five years with the agency, she has already developed a program called "Give Back," which has been in place for three years. The program rallies employees from her company to participate in various community outreach opportunities, from serving at soup kitchens to helping students with September 11th murals at their schools. Other commitments include the Harlem Educational Activities Fund and New York City's Partnership for the Homeless.

Robinson knows the value of her Fordham education has helped her get to where she is today. "The Fordham name holds a lot of weight. I'm happy I received the education that I did," and, she added, "the ability to communicate with any type of person is even more valuable. I have the ability to draw people in."

Stephanie Scorziello, FCRH '06
Young Alumni Committee Member

It seems fate is playing a role in Ashling Colton's post-undergraduate life. The 2009 College of Business Administration graduate, who majored on marketing and minored in communications and media studies, says she had life after Fordham mapped out.

After spending a good amount of her junior and senior undergraduate years at WFUV-FM (90.7) as the host of the Ceol na nGael program, Colton was determined to pursue more education. She was accepted into Fordham University's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and hoped to continue on at WFUV as a graduate assistant (thus being able to afford her graduate studies). However, Colton had to postpone her graduate studies because she would not be able to serve as a graduate assistant until fall 2010.

Nonetheless fate stepped in. While conducting an interview at WFUV, Colton learned of the International Rose of Tralee Festival, a fête, she describes, as similar to a beauty pageant. She says it provides an amazing opportunity for young Irish women to showcase their individual aspirations and promote their Irish heritage and social responsibility.

The international festival is a competition for young women, known as "roses," from around the globe the chance to earn the crown of the Rose of Tralee, a title that provides them the opportunity to travel the world promoting and engaging in charitable work. When Colton learned of her educational setback, she set out to become the New York State Rose. After a daylong grueling series of intricate competitions, Colton was chosen to be the New York State Rose. In August 2009, she headed to Ireland for the international festival where she competed against the 49 other "roses" in hopes of becoming the 2009 Rose of Tralee. In the end she didn't win, but Colton enjoyed the worldly experience and plans to see where fate takes her next.

Gloria Chin, FCRH '00
Young Alumni Committee Member

Originally from Connecticut, Amy Cimino graduated from Southern Connecticut State University, and then worked for the Department of Children and Families (DCF), in Connecticut, where she worked with adolescents, families and the judiciary court system. She went on to attend Fordham University's Graduate School of Social Service, where she earned her Master of Social Work from the school's advance study graduate program in 2001.

Cimino continues her passion of working with children, now as a certified school social worker at the J.M. Wright Technical High School in Stanford, Conn., where she was recently honored with the Certificate of Excellence Teacher of the Year award. "I wouldn't be where I am today without Fordham," she said.

In her position, Cimino interacts with students and teachers, arranging and overseeing parent-and-student support counseling programs. She is also entrusted with the responsibility of making critical and crisis referrals to outside agencies, such as the DCF. In addition, Cimino helps to recruit and enroll recent junior high school students into the high school.

"I love working with children, families and with engaging social services," Cimino said of her plans to continue in her current profession. "Fordham University really prepared me for this kind of work." According to her, this was because the institution offered an array of courses that carefully focused on clinical and procedural aspects of social work.

Meeting other Fordham students and professors who expressed a genuine interest and devotion to social work and helping other, was satisfying and uplifting for Cimino. "Fordham, to me, was an excellent individual experience, and specialized education," she said, "and I was extremely honored to have graduated from there…as so was my family."

JM Mariotti, FCRH '04
Young Alumni Committee Member

A native of Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mark C. Smith entered Fordham University at Rose Hill in 2000 as a red-shirt member of the Fordham Rams football team, and went on to double-major in history and sociology, with a minor in African American studies, before graduating in 2004.

While at Fordham, Smith was an accomplished and active student. He served as a Ram Van driver, commuting students between Fordham's two campuses, and was a research assistant and videographer for the Bronx African American History Project, which is headed by Mark Naison, Ph.D., professor of history and African American studies at Fordham. Smith also received a scholarship to play the trombone with the Fordham Band, and he was a member of the prestigious Rose Hill Society, a select, volunteer group of students who assist the Office of Undergraduate Admission in all on-campus events for prospective students. He participated in the society for three years, serving as the co-chair his senior year.

As an undergraduate, his acts of service also extended beyond Fordham's walls. Smith mentored students at Regis High School in Manhattan, and he volunteered with Fordham's Global Outreach, traveling to Belize to help re-build homes for the indigent and terminally ill natives.

Smith appreciates all that he learned at Fordham. According to him, the University challenged him in ways that he could not see other institutions doing. As he explains, "Fordham taught me how to question life, rather than just accepting things as they are, and for granted."

When asked, what values do you accredit most to Fordham, Smith said, "Making part of my life to serve others." That is why, he added, "I am a present and active member of several different nonprofit organizations in New York City, for which I help fundraise and raise awareness." One such group includes the 100 Black Men of America, Inc., through which he serves as a mentor to inner-city high school students.

In addition to his enthusiastic involvement with local community organizations and charities, Smith is a young, but rising financial advisor at UBS. He also recently helped open and continues to help run, with his mother, Supreme Fish Delight, in Harlem.

JM Mariotti, FCRH '04
Young Alumni Committee Member

Janine Maclaren's roots in Fordham University extend back as far as the 1930s, when her grandfather, Philip Joseph Maclaren, M.D., graduated from Fordham College at Rose Hill in 1933. Janine Maclaren joined her Fordham family—her father, brother, sister and two uncles are also alumni—when she earned her B.S. in business administration in 2005.

Maclaren grew up learning all about the University through her family. Attending Fordham was a tradition and honor to them. Her father, she said, would often share his reflections on the University: "Fordham equipped us with the tools to succeed in life and it imbedded a sense of community, hard work, good ethics and a desire to pursue our dreams."

Gifted in art, Maclaren often received first place in art competitions including the Annual Congressional Art Competition hosted by the U.S. House of Representatives, and was offered full scholarships to different art schools across the country, but she chose instead to continue the Fordham legacy. Upon graduation, Maclaren went to go work at Bloomberg, where she quickly excelled as a full-time employee in the company's competitive sales department. Her position there, which continues to this day, entails a series of responsibilities including traveling. During her work trips to develop strong business accounts and networks, she also gains insight and exposure to different world markets and stock exchanges.

But without Fordham, Maclaren would not have been as prepared for this profession. She credits the University with instilling the necessary tools to be able to communicate and work effectively with others. And because of Fordham, Janine said, she is "very happy, with a strong sense of personal growth and development." This, along with her personal sense of accomplishment, is something for which she thanks Fordham.

JM Mariotti, FCRH '04
Young Alumni Committee Member

In 2005, after a year at Loyola College in Maryland, Ryan Ruocco transferred to Fordham University. "That was one of the best decisions I've ever made," he said. "My experiences at Fordham were absolutely fantastic."

The underpinning of Ruocco's enjoyment at Fordham came from his time working with the sports staff of WFUV (90.7 FM), the University's award-winning public radio station. A sports enthusiast, Ruocco always wanted a career in the industry, and Bob Ahrens, executive sports producer at WFUV, helped train the aspiring sports broadcaster.

While part of the student staff of WFUV, Ruocco hosted a number of live sporting events for One on One, WFUV's weekly sports call-in show. He covered events including the NFL Super Bowl, the NFL Draft and Old Timer's Day at Yankee Stadium. As a beat reporter, Ruocco interviewed star athletes, such as Yankee's second baseman, Derek Jeter. But his most passionate work was doing the play-by-play for Fordham basketball and football on WFUV.

"I take so much pride in the Fordham connection in sports and broadcasting," Ruocco said. "I think that lineage provides a foundation of belief that I can make it too."

Ruocco continues to follow his passion for sports. As a sports update anchor for 1050 AM ESPN Radio in New York, he does the radio play-by-play for the National Invitation Tournament basketball games and for the CBS College Sports Network. And during the Major League Baseball season, Ruocco is an in-booth statistician for all telecasts of Yankees home games.

JM Mariotti, FCRH '04
Young Alumni Committee Member

Before taking up residence at the Yale University School of Art, Rory Mulligan, FCLC '07—one of nine students selected for the school's MFA program in photography—found his interest in the subject at Fordham College at Lincoln Center.

Fordham's Department of Visual Arts served as a backbone, Mulligan said, helping him develop his talent and fully realize his passion for black-and-white and color photography. He was inspired and motivated by his professors, including Joe Lawton, associate professor of visual arts, who worked with Mulligan on several projects at the Black and White on White photography studio in Manhattan.

Fordham also instilled in Mulligan a sense of personal responsibility toward others, and the world as a whole, he said. Through the University's Global Outreach (GO!) program, he traveled to Nicaragua and to a reservation in the Navajo Nation, where he lived and worked with other students on various social justice projects in the community. As a board member of GO!, he led a group of students on a service-immersion trip to Jamaica.

"Fordham prepared me for the real world," he said. "It taught me how to establish and build upon relationships with others. It shaped and molded me."

Fordham's influence runs in Mulligan's family, too. His grandfather, the Honorable William Hughes Mulligan (FCRH '39, LAW '42), was a former dean of Fordham Law School; his father, William Hughes Mulligan Jr., earned a B.A. from Fordham College at Rose Hill in 1970 and a J.D. from Fordham Law in 1974; and his sister, Katherine, graduated from Fordham College at Lincoln Center in 2004.

JM Mariotti, FCRH '04
Young Alumni Committee Member

Mike Yam is a rising young talent with the ability to work as a radio and television host, anchor, and play-by-play announcer.

Since 2006, Mike Yam has been the co-host of The Mike and Murray Show, heard daily on Sirius Satellite Radio, and also hosts NBA Radio's Full Court Press. Previously, he was a host of the The Phil Jackson Show. Additionally, Mike can be heard on ESPN Radio as the host of Fantasy Focus. Outside of his radio work, Mike serves as the anchor for NBA-TV's Game Night and the host of Fantasy Hoops.

Before ascending to his current posts, Yam was the host of The Desk on Sirius and an anchor at College Sports Television (CSTV) where he provided daily sports updates for the network.

Yam started his broadcasting career at WFUV hosting One on One, (New York's longest- running sports call-in show) and covering the New York Knicks and Mets, where he followed in the footsteps of many great broadcasters who got started at WFUV. Following his run at WFUV, Yam worked as a correspondent for FOX Sports before coming to Sirius Satellite Radio.

Yam is a graduate of Fordham University, and the recipient of the Marty Glickman Award for Excellence in Play-by-Play Broadcasting.

Mike currently resides in New Jersey.

Since leaving Fordham and WFUV (where he broadcast Rams football and basketball, and covered the New York Rangers), Andrew has been a regular on SIRIUS NFL Radio since summer 2005. In 2006, his role expanded to become the weekend co-host of The Olympic Desk and co-host of Wimbledon All-Access. Currently he splits hosting duties on The SIRIUS Sports Action News Desk with fellow Fordham alumnus Mike Yam.

Away from SIRIUS, Andrew has been the Internet play-by-play voice of the US Open (since 2002) and Roland Garros (since 2005), and covered various US Davis/Fed Cup ties for the Tennis Radio Network. During the 2003-04 NBA season, he was heard on pre-game, halftime and post-game coverage of New Jersey Nets basketball on WOR Radio.

On a personal side, he married the former Kate Jaray on April 27, 2007.

Amanda Farinacci has been a reporter with NY1, New York's 24-hour news channel, since joining them as an intern in August of 2000. On September 11th, 2001 Amanda was among the first NY1'ers on the scene at the World Trade Center. She has since become NY1's 9/11 point person because of her close connection to the many families affected by the tragedy. She was a researcher for New York Tonight since the show began in the days after the attacks, and that has allowed her to provide extensive coverage of the rebuilding efforts, from the initial days of the tragedy to the final report of the 9/11 Commission.

She has since broken numerous stories for NY1, including several exclusive stories about the Fire Department, its incident command system and how it has changed in a post-9/11 world.

Amanda has also covered the Port Authority, the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the Office of Emergency Management. She has currently taken her skills to Staten Island where she has become NY1's primary reporter for that borough.

Entering his third season as the radio play-by-play announcer for the Lakers, Spero Dedes continues a long line of sports broadcasting excellence produced by Fordham University's WFUV Radio that began with the legendary voice of the Dodgers Vin Scully in the late 1940s. At the age of 27, he has already called games for three of the four major television networks, as well as the nation's premier radio network.

Dedes came to the Lakers from the YES Network, where he served as the voice of the network's collegiate sports coverage (football and basketball), as the fill-in play-by-play announcer on New Jersey Nets' telecasts and as a studio host for Yankees and Nets pre and post game shows.

In addition to his roles at YES in 2004-2005, Dedes handled NBA TV's first round playoff play-by-play duties from 2003-2005 while also hosting NBA TV's "Hardwood Classics" and the "Insiders" - a nightly, live, 60-minute interview program dealing with everything NBA.

His extensive resume includes serving as the play-by-play voice on CBS' coverage of NCAA men's college basketball and Westwood One's coverage of NCAA football and basketball. Dedes has also called NFL action on FOX and in August of 2004, was in Athens as a reporter / play-by-play announcer on NBC's coverage of the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Dedes began his broadcasting career at WFAN Radio in New York where he handled 20/20 updates and served as the Jets' beat reporter. Also in 2001, he worked as the radio voice of the Arena Football League's New Jersey Gladiators.

The Paramus, New Jersey native was the inaugural recipient of the Marty Glickman Award, given to the Fordham announcer who best exemplifies the standards set by the late sports broadcasting icon.

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Any questions or suggestions? Please contact Caitlin Ahern at cahern@fordham.edu or by phone at (212) 636-7068.