Meet Brian Doty, an uber-involved senior at Fordham College at Rose Hill. His motivation, dedication, and incredible people skills help make Brian an awesome member of the Fordham community. Currently celebrating his last year here at Fordham (and perhaps more significantly, his last year as President of Colleges Against Cancer), Brian will certainly be missed come the end of the school year, but his legacy here will never be forgotten!
Name: Brian Doty.
School & Year: FCRH 2016.
Major: Political Science.
Where are you from? Staten Island, New York
What are you involved in on campus? I’m the President of Colleges Against Cancer and event lead for Relay For Life. I’m also a member of Alpha Sigma Nu (the Jesuit Honor Society), Fordham Club, and I’m a FASA.
What makes you so passionate about Colleges Against Cancer?
First and foremost, the main reason I’m so passionate about Colleges Against Cancer is the same as everyone else’s: I know far too many people who have had their lives tossed upside down by cancer. It seems like every year I have to add people the list of reasons why I Relay, and I want to see a day when that’s not the case anymore.
My second, more personal reason for being so passionate about CAC and Relay For Life is my cousin, Colleen. She was always actively, passionately involved in her community Relay before I ever got to Fordham. Unfortunately, about a week before my Freshman Move-In Day, my cousin Scott, Colleen’s brother, passed away from a heart attack. Colleen obviously had other things to worry about at the time and couldn’t focus on Relay anymore. So when I got to Fordham and saw the Relay For Life table at the Club Fair, I decided I would be the one to carry on the Relay torch in order to honor Colleen and remember Scott. After explaining this story on my Relay page Freshman year, I had several people come up to me and tell me that my story inspired them to be a part of Relay as well. That’s the thing I’m most proud of, because it’s the way that we’re going to beat this disease. Cancer is ruthless; it’s always willing to motivate us to get involved in Relay by coming after our loved ones. If we allow it to do that, we’ll always be a step behind. But if we Relayers use our story to motivate others before cancer ever gets that chance, then we will be the generation that puts an end to this disease.
What should students know about this organization?
There are two things I’d like for everyone to know about CAC. The first is that our work doesn’t just happen on April 22nd at Relay. We’re working all year long to recruit participants, raise money, and raise awareness about cancer, and we need the Fordham community’s help in doing the same. Cancer isn’t waiting around until April, so neither can we. We need everyone to sign up for Relay and begin sharing their fundraising links, sending emails asking for donations, etc. now so that we can reach our goals by April 22nd.
The second thing I’d like everyone to know is that this year we’re doing so much more than just fundraising. We’re planning tons of events like a visit to the American Cancer Society’s Hope Lodge, visits to cancer patients in the hospital, and awareness events to help teach the Fordham community how to reduce the risk of cancer. So if you want to get hands on in the fight against cancer, keep an eye out for these events between now and April 22nd!
Favorite place to eat around campus? Full Moon. Staten Island is known for having some pretty great pizza, and Full Moon is the place that most reminds me of home.
If you had to pick one, Conway Twitty or Waka Flocka? Actually, I’m a big country music fan, so I’m going to say Conway Twitty.
Do you have a “dream job” that you always wanted when you were a kid? Is that job still the same now? When I was a kid I always wanted to be either an Astronaut or the Shortstop for the New York Yankees. Unfortunately I struggle just flying on airplanes and I kind of missed the job opening for the Yankees position, so now I just want to work somewhere in government where I can make decisions that improve people’s lives.
Favorite class/professor during your time at Fordham and why? Dr. Cohen. I’ve taken him for two presidency classes and an economic policy class, and I loved all of them. Politics can be a very frustrating field, but Dr. Cohen always brings a lot of humor into his classes and makes it entertaining.
Favorite thing about Fordham? My favorite thing about Fordham will always be the people I’ve met here. As I mentioned earlier, the week before I moved in was pretty rough, and it left me in no mood to deal with the whole college transition. But I met some amazing people during my first few weeks here who really helped to bring me out of that funk, and now I’ve really come to love this place.
Look out for CAC’s upcoming events! Remember, the Relay is April 22nd. If you’re interested in joining a team, please click here.