Photo by Fordham Athletics
More than 200 Fordham student-athletes who compiled a grade point average of 3.0 or higher were honored Jan. 27 at the fifth-annual Breakfast for Champions. The Fordham athletic department sponsored the event in the McGinley Center Ballroom with help from the Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) and the Office of Academic Advising.
Maura McGorty-Poiesz, FCRH ’90, GBA ’92, vice president of wealth management for Smith Barney, gave the keynote address. A former member of the women’s soccer program when it competed at the club level, McGorty-Poiesz spoke of her team’s dedication to the sport, which helped it attain varsity status in 1993.
After McGorty-Poiesz’s remarks, she received a bag of Fordham gifts from senior and SAAC co-vice president Bailey McKay. Fellow senior Marisa Colangelo, president of the SAAC, then spoke of the community service projects that SAAC had worked on over the year, including a three-on-three basketball tournament.
Colangelo then introduced Jamie Rocha, a sophomore marketing intern at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., who presented a video on the hospital’s important work and how it touches the lives of children and their families.
SAAC co-vice president Amen Igbinosun, a sophomore, gave Rocha a $1,500 check for the hospital from Fordham student-athletes, who decided to forgo the gift given to Breakfast-for-Champions honorees and dedicate that sum to the hospital instead.
Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, wrapped up the brunch by thanking McGorty-Poiesz for her contributions to the university and praising the student-athletes for their success.
In support of the Fordham student-athletes’ gift to St. Jude’s, the SAAC and the Sixth Man Club announced a fund-raiser for the Jan. 31 men’s basketball game against Temple University. The two groups sponsored a special pre-game dinner at the McGinley Center. For $5, students received an all-you-can-eat dinner that included hot dogs, baked potatoes, a nacho bar and popcorn. A deejay and face-painting stations were also on hand to help students prepare for the nationally televised game.
All proceeds from the dinner went to St. Jude’s; the Sixth Man Club and SAAC hope to match the $1,500 given by the student-athletes.
