Inspired by blog queen KN, my Top Ten People at Fordham While I was There Excluding People I Lived With List (In No Particular Order)...
Joe McShane, SJ (former Dean of FCRH, current President)- So technically, he was there at FU when I was there, because in my freshmen year, he was the Dean of FCRH. That was before they shipped him out to the St. Joe's basketball team to recruit some new young point guards. Hopefully, he'll have similar success here. Seriously, though, this guy is the man for the job... probably the biggest thinker the university has ever seen, I'm confident he'll restore a lot of the greatness the school used to have. Plus, he offered to set me up with someone, too, so I can't knock him for that.
Gerry Blaszczak, SJ (Chaplain)- Two out of the three best speeches I've ever heard in my life have come from this guy, and I don't even remember what the third one was. He epitomizes the challenge yourself nature of what a Jesuit education is supposed to be.
Morris the Guard (Former Security Guard)- Morris used to be in Hughes in my sophomore year, then they moved him to Martyrs when I was a junior. Happiest guard on the planet. You'd walk in and all you'd hear for 10 minutes straight was, "I gotchoo Charlie, I gotchoo... we cool, we cool. Arrrright. We cool. I gotchoo." Plus, he used to hold the sign in sheet completely sideways and would write up and down on the page... I always found that fascinating.
Liz Valleau (Former RA)- She's gotta make my list, because she's probably been the most influential peer I've ever had--and I'm not one who is easily influenced. She opened me up to the idea of accepting other people who behaved differently than you if you expected them to be accepting of yourself. Plus, well... you know.. she's hot.
Steve Strong (former President of PSJ) - If half the rumored curseout of Jeff Gray is true, he makes the list. Ok, I wasn't one for being anti the Fordham administration, but I have to respect him for putting himself on the line for speaking what he believes. Plus, as liberal as he was, he said to me once, "I'm glad there's a you and I'm glad there's a me. The truth lies somewhere in the middle and you need extreme people on both sides to fish it out." Along the lines of Valleau, anyone who realizes they have to embrace those who disagree with them in order to have others respect there opinion goes a long way in my book.
MaryAnn Betsch (former CBA Business Journal editor, BAP officer, CBA '01 Salutatorian) - MaryAnn helped me out big time with the CBA paper as a sophomore, and then returned from study abroad to lead a retreat for business students with me, making her a part of two activities which were really meaningful to me. She's just a quality person... that's all I can say. Her Salutatorian speech was way better than the Valedictorian's speech.
Brendan O'Connell (Founder, the 6th Man Club) - I never lived with him, so he qualifies. Brenden is the outlier on the chart that correlates humor to size, throwing the curve off of all the funny fat guys. I think the only public crying I've ever done in my life is at his remarks to opposing players at Rams bball games... friggin hysterical.
Nancy MCarthy (CBA Senior Dean)- For almost the full four years, I was in that woman's office almost everyday--running ridiculous ideas off of her, asking for stuff, and she was always supportive. I still call her now for advice, and to let her know what ridiculous stuff I've gotten myself into. In a way, she's inspired part of what makes me want to work at a university--the idea that you don't have to be political, or a university bureaucrat.. that you can just care about students and be great at your job.
the paper Staff - In freshmen year, I posted the back page of the paper, with their Top Ten list regarding the new sign in policy. From the Wylde Bitch to Former Scrub of the Week, the paper was a constant breath of fresh air from the stale alternative. Each week, you couldn't believe they wrote what they wrote, and just waited for someone to shut them down. That's what a campus paper should be like.
Anton Dengler (Nicest guy in the world.) No, seriously, he is. One time, in freshmen year, he came up to our table in the caf and asked if we mind him sitting down. I said, "Yeah, we mind." I was totally kidding, yet, without hesitation he just said, "Oh, ok, I'll just sit over here then." We were like, "Nononono, come back!" Funny shit. Then, another time, I went to go talk to his roommate about possibly rooming together. I knock on their door. Anton welcomes me in, offers me chips, dip and soda. Offers me a seat. I'm sitting there munching away... he's asking me how I'm doing, and I totally forget why I'm even in there in the first place. He didn't even care. Now that's hospitality.