Meet senior Taylor Panico, a.k.a. T-Pain from Dix Hills, Long Island. She’s a big fan of the Kardashians, the New York Mets, and the Katniss braid. Fun fact, Taylor and I were roommates our freshman year. She’s a tiny bundle of Cuban/ Italian American energy, who returned stateside in June from a semester down under in Sydney, Australia. She sat down with HC Fordham to talk about her study abroad experience, her current internship, and her adventures around New York City.
Where are you from? Dix Hills, Long Island!!
What year are you? Senior
What is your major? Communications with a psych minor
What are you involved in on campus? I’m the VP of Salice-Conley as a part of RHA and have done NSO for the past two years. I also just found out I’m GOing to San Diego in the spring!!
How did you decide to come to Fordham? I was deciding between here and Boston University and felt so comfortable at Fordham. New York has so much opportunity and I definitely made the right choice because it feels more like home than home actually does.
I know you had the opportunity to study abroad last semester in Australia, can you tell us a bit about that? Oh my, I can talk about this forever but it was so amazing. I lived in Sydney. More people should really study abroad there. Everyone is so friendly and beautiful and the sky is so blue that when I came back to NY I thought it was cloudy every day. I would go to the beach at least twice a week and got to travel a bunch. I camped in the Outback which turned out to be my favorite trip ever (if you know me, you know I’m NOT a nature person). I also visited the Whitsunday Islands which is the home of the third best beach in the world, and went to Fiji for spring break. And the accents!!! I really can’t say enough about my time there.
Do you have any tips for students who are trying to balance schoolwork, extracurriculars, and other obligations like internships? Blocking your schedule!!! It makes life so much easier. This year and last year I made my schedules so that I would only have classes on two days, so it gave me three days to do other things (interning, volunteering, clubs, free time…)
Speaking of internships… you’re an intern at the Wendy Williams Show! Can you tell us about some things you get to do at the show, and some of the best moments from the internship? I am literally obsessed with where I work, it is sooooooooo0o0o0o0o0o much fun and I’ve learned so much. I am a production intern so I do a lot of the lowkey things that make the show run smoothly like helping with the audience, organizing the rooms where the talents/celebrities stay before going on air, getting Wendy’s breakfast (lol)… I think besides working with some of the friendliest staff ever, getting to be around celebrities is pretty cool. So far I’ve seen French Montana, Paula Abdul, Kelly Ripa, and some other people I forgot… Actually Perez Hilton was there Monday when I was working and then I just passed him on the street this weekend so that was funny.
What’s your favorite thing about New York? It’s so easy to navigate and get everywhere once you get the hang of it. And every neighborhood has its own cute quirks.
Do you have a favorite NYC memory? One of my favorites was this summer when my friend Sam and I went to Prospect Park in Brooklyn and then went back to Manhattan and sat on the roof of the Empire Hotel in a cabana and watched the sunset… and then I think we got Mexican food.
What’s on your NYC bucket list? Not gunna lie, kinda wanna go to Staten Island just to see what the Snapchat geotag is.
Do you have a favorite Fordham memory? Not a specific one but just hanging out on people’s roofs on sunny Saturday afternoons, or any of the football games last year… or when I had pasta pizza from Bellini’s this summer for the first time in 7 months (there’s video footage).
What’s your favorite class you’ve taken at Fordham? I’m taking Men & Masculinities with Armando Fuentes this semester and I’ve never been more excited to go sit in a class for 75 minutes.
What’s your least favorite class you’ve taken at Fordham? Advanced literature sophomore year like ugh, no. One of our readings wasn’t even in English.
Where’s your favorite spot on campus? Honestly, my room has a pretty sick view. You can see the city from my desk and I have a floor-to-ceiling window so… Otherwise, the area near Dealy/Eddies because you’re guaranteed to run into someone you know when it’s busy.
What’s your dream job? Anything where I have my own assistant lol, is that bad? Like an executive producer of a fun TV show or something like that.
What do you think the best part of a Jesuit education is? It’s cool that every class we had to take freshman and sophomore year is somehow integrated into the classes you take for your major. I haven’t had one class where we haven’t referred back to something I learned in philosophy, for example. Also the core definitely helped me decide what I ultimately wanted to study.
What’s one thing everyone would be surprised to learn about you? I was scared of dogs until my sister adopted the cutest dog ever (Calvin). He’s part Pomeranian, Lhasa Apso, and Japanese Chin with mixes of Chow Chow, Dalmatian, and Boxer!!
Pick one!
Bronx Zoo or Botanical Gardens? Botans!!
Arthur Ave or Fordham Road? Arthur
Cafeteria or Grille? Grille
Conway or Dr. Jay’s? Gunna throw a curveball and say Easy Pickins
RamVan or Subway? Subway, ain’t nobody got time for the ramvan fare hikes.
Met or MoMA? Awks never been to either, but since Blair Waldorf sits on the Met steps I’m going with the Met.
Hot Dog or Bagel? Bagel
Broadway or Off-Broadway? I fall asleep during plays and movies but let’s just say Broadway.
Radio City or Madison Square Garden? MSG
Central Park or Brooklyn Bridge? Riverside Park!!!! It’s my NYC happy place.