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Event Planner Extraordinare: Matt Grandchamp

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Fordham chapter.

Name: Matt Grandchamp

Where are you from? Bethesda, Maryland. Which is a few minutes outside of Washington, DC.

What year are you? Junior, GSB.

What is your major? Business Administration, Concentrations in Marketing and Management.

What activities are you involved in? NSO: Orientation Coordinator 2012, CAB: Weekend Activities Committee Chair, SCC (Student Culinary Council) Vice President.

Favorite movie: Wedding Crashers.

Favorite band/musician: Kelly Clarkson. There was a reason she was in the NSO flash mob.

Favorite book: The Nine by Jeffery Toobin.

Favorite TV show: I have a guilty pleasure for Revenge. The show is just so outlandish that it is so good.

Favorite Quote: “Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” Unknown.

How did you decide to come to Fordham? I just happened to visit the school on my way to go to another school. I was never going to come to the school, but I got a private tour from Father McShane, and I instantly fell in love. He also gave the tour without telling my family that he was the president. He was very welcoming and made Fordham feel like a place where you have your second family.

How did you become involved with CAB? They had the best giveaways at the club fair. However, I started getting more involved after I was encouraged by an old e-board member. She convinced me to apply for e-board, which was the one of the best decisions I made at Fordham so far. I started to fall in love with organizing events and this passion led me to apply for NSO coordinator. 

Do you have any tips for students who are trying to balance schoolwork, extracurriculars, and other obligations like internships? You should try to join some clubs, but only take on what you think you can handle. Joining clubs will actually help you with time management and make you get your work done so that you have time to plan your events. In addition, my saving grace has always been doing homework ahead of time. This allows me to have less stress. I interned for a small company called dbd Social, which was a free event planning service. A few weeks into the internship the company was acquired by Host Committee. This internship was the most life changing thing to happen to me. I started to fall in love with event planning, marketing, and PR. This internship led me to drop my accounting major and instead focus on marketing. In addition, this internship helped me figure out what I actually would like to do with the rest of my life (well I still have a lot of figuring out left to do).

What’s your favorite thing about NY? There is never a dull moment. I am able to do something every night and am able to live multiple lives. NYC really has everything and allows you to expierence many different lifestyles.

What’s your least favorite thing about NY? I am a very speedy walker, and I hate people that walk slowly on sidewalks. I get very impatient and annoyed when I have to walk behind a slow walker.

Do you have a favorite NYC memory? I think my favorite memory is when my older sister came to visit me and we had a “classy dinner” at the plaza and the n went to see Wicked.

What’s on your NYC bucket list? I have actually never walked the Brooklyn Bridge/

Do you have a favorite Fordham memory? This is the hardest question for me. I really have so many great memories at school, but I think my favorite memory is Move-in Day. I was impressed and so happy to be working with my staff of OL’s and OC’s. I have never had so much dancing the wobble and carrying fridges. Every OL and OC was amazing and I could have not asked for a better group of people to work with. They made me so proud to be apart of the Fordham Family.

What’s your favorite class you’ve taken at Fordham? This question is also hard, but I would have to say Marketing Research because I was able to do an actual project to help an actual company.

What’s your least favorite class you’ve taken at Fordham? Information Systems. I am really not that good with computers, so the class was kind of a bad combination for me.

Where’s your favorite spot on campus? I would have to say Keating because it is just the perfect center for our campus.

What’s your dream job? This has changed many times, but I know think I would like to own my own event planning company.

What do you think the best part of a Jesuit education is? Educating the whole self. I love the ability that you learn inside and outside of the classroom. [pagebreak]

Pick one!

Live on or off campus? Off Campus.

Bronx Zoo or Botanical Gardens? I like to run in the Botanical Gardens.

Arthur Ave/Fordham Road? Arthur Ave: I could eat forever on that street.

Cafeteria or Grille? Grille: not because of the buff wraps but I actually love the salads they have there.

RamVan or Subway? RamVan.

Met or MoMA? Met.

Hot Dog or Bagel? Bagel.

Broadway or Off-Broadway? Broadway, I have seen Wicked three times.

Radio City or Madison Square Garden? Radio City.

Central Park or Brooklyn Bridge? Central Park: I love to run in the park when I am able to escape for a couple of hours. 

Times Square or Union Square? Times Square.

Sarah is a member of the Class of 2013 at Fordham University, where she's a double-major in American Studies and Communication & Media Studies. A South Florida native, she is still adjusting to the cold and figuring out the basics of a winter wardrobe. A huge sports fan, Sarah watches way too much Sportscenter and compensates by watching copious amounts of E!, Gilmore Girls, and Pretty Little Liars. When she's not watching movies or staring at a television screen, she also enjoys blogging, photography, fashion, reading, and bring Pinterest pins to life. Follow her on Twitter @sari_ramirez.