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Vermonter Mixes Theology Studies with
Ballroom Dancing at Fordham
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Britannia Tatko was the first student from Lincoln Center to pursue the certificate in American Catholic studies from the Curran Center.
Photo by Ryan Brenizer
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By Joseph McLaughlin
When asked why she chose Fordham for her undergraduate education, senior Britannia Tatko responds plainly: “Because I am a Catholic and I wanted a Catholic education.”
Tatko looked at universities in Boston and Washington, D.C. as well, but said she felt the strongest sense of community at Fordham College at Lincoln Center.
“The Jesuit message of cura personalis was what sucked me in,” she said.
So strong was the attraction that Tatko ended up majoring in theology and adding a certificate in American Catholic studies from the Francis and Ann Curran Center on the Rose Hill campus.
She was the first student based at Fordham’s Lincoln Center campus to attempt the Curran Center’s certificate program, but since then, several others have followed in her footsteps.
“Father Mark Massa, one of the co-directors, has been the most amazing professor and mentor,” she said. “He’s so dynamic; when he teaches he has a way of explaining the material that’s unlike any other teacher—so funny and yet so clear.
“I don’t know how to explain it, except to say that he’s a Jesuit.”
Although college in Manhattan might seem like a big adjustment for someone from the heart of New England, Tatko said she felt right at home in New York due to the camaraderie of Fordham students, and also because her older brother had also attended school in the city—at Columbia.
“New York was a lot friendlier than I thought it would be,” she said. “I love living in the dorms; I have a kitchen to cook and bake in. Plus, I’ve had the same roommate for three years.”
While other students may be slacking off in their final semester, Tatko decided to take a graduate-level class in Hebrew in Fordham’s Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education, “so I can read the Bible in something closer to its original text.”
When she’s not reveling in Biblical studies, Tatko is pursuing the other passion she acquired while attending Fordham – competitive ballroom dancing. A ballet student since she was five years old, Tatko blew out her knee the summer before she came to Fordham. But instead of giving up on her love of dancing, she channeled it into a new dance form.
“You have to do what makes you happy and what’s in your heart,” she said. “If you have the passion in your heart, you have to let it out.”
Tatko practices with a coach in New York and travels to about four competitions each year, usually with a different dance partner.
She credits her family with giving her the support she needs to pursue all of her dreams. After graduation, Tatko said she will head back to Vermont and plan the next stage of her life, which probably will include pro-life work for the New York Archdiocese or working in tribunals to get an inside look at canon law.
Later, she wants to return to academia to pursue a degree in canon law or biblical studies.
“I’d like to attend Fordham, or possibly some theology schools in Boston,” she said. “I wish I could go right back into grad school, but work experience never hurts.” |
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Copyright © 2008, Fordham University.
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