2004 Fordham Valedictorian Provides
Service Through His Love of Science

Senior biology major Christopher Valente came to Fordham looking for a solid education that would put him on the path to a career in the sciences. With a 3.993 grade-point average—the highest in his class—he’s achieved that goal and, along the way, learned lessons that have gone well beyond the biology lab.

“I knew that by coming to Fordham I couldn’t go wrong, but it’s only now that I realize the significance of my decision to come here,” said the 22-year-old Hopewell Junction, N.Y., native, whose parents also attended Fordham. “The breadth of the Jesuit education and the philosophy of working for the good of others, for justice and peace, is what I have really learned here.”

Valente, the 2004 Fordham College at Rose Hill valedictorian, plans to attend medical school in the fall, at either Columbia or New York University. About a dozen Fordham students go on to medical school each year, many of them attending schools ranked in the top 20, according to Berish Rubin, Ph.D., professor and chair of biological sciences.

“I think Chris will excel in medical school and be at the top of his class, as he is at Fordham,” said Rubin, who has worked closely with Valente since 2000, when Valente joined the biology honors group as a freshman. “There is a level of commitment that Chris gives to anything that he undertakes that makes him special.”

This commitment translated into extensive volunteer work. Not only did Valente perform about 12 hours of service every week, he also took ownership of projects and, in the process, strengthened the University’s volunteer efforts.

“Chris has been a godsend,” said Seth Cohen, a volunteer coordinator for God’s Love We Deliver, an organization that delivers meals to AIDS sufferers in the New York metropolitan area. Cohen met Valente during Fordham’s annual volunteer fair two years ago. He said Valente not only expressed an interest in working with the organization, but also volunteered to coordinate the God’s Love volunteer corps at Fordham.

“A good volunteer is someone who is reliable and who fulfills his commitment,” Cohen said. “Chris went way beyond being a good volunteer.”

When Valente realized last semester that the number of Fordham volunteers tutoring students at St. Martin of Tours was drying up, he personally recruited several freshmen to carry on the program. He also started an after-school basketball program at the school. These days, Valente donates his time playing squash with students at Bronx Public School 45 and chaperoning recreational outings for mentally disabled adults.

Valente capped his Fordham service experience by traveling to Guatemala this year during spring break to help build homes through Fordham’s Global Outreach program, which enables students to travel domestically and abroad for volunteer projects. He considered spending a year doing service work overseas before starting medical school, but decided instead to pursue an international assignment during his medical training.

“It is going to be a very arduous four years, but Fordham has prepared me both academically and mentally,” said Valente. “I love science, and this is my calling. When I am done, I will be able to serve others through medicine.”

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