Farzana Ali, better known as Spyder, sure is one busy collegiette! From Gabelli to CSJ, Spyder is involved in tons of activities, and is Fordham’s brand ambassador for ReadyU to boot! From makeup to mouthwash, ReadyU products have been there for college students. As brand ambassador, Spyder brings samples and makes events revolving around the needs of college students. Some products tied to ReadyU are: Old Spice, CoverGirl , Herbal Essences, Tide, Duracell, Pantene, Gillette, Venus, Secret, Always. From Tide pods to Tampax tampons, ReadyU promotes things all of us collegiettes use!
Where are you from? The rooftops of Park Slope, basements of Brooklyn, cafés of New York City. My parents are from Bangladesh.
What year are you? Sophomore, GSB 2015
What is your major? Applied Accounting & Finance.
What activities are you involved in? I am a freelance writer for Gabelliconnect, a mentor for the Compass Fellowship, an associate in Smart Woman Securities, a social justice leader for the Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice, a note-taker for ODS, and of course, ReadyU brand ambassador! Shout-out to: MSA, FUSE, ACE and ALPFA! I’ve also been published in the Fordham lit mag, The Ampersand. Nerdy confession: I also love going to office hours, because professors here are awesome!
How did you decide to come to Fordham? Fordham has incredibly unique opportunities and quality faculty. The fascinating mix of business and liberal arts pulled me in. The Rose Hill campus is a castle kingdom, so it makes me feel like a princess when I’m walking to my classes. Plus, my dad got his Ph.D. here, so I’ve been here in a stroller. By senior year of high school, it was very obvious that I’d feel at home at Fordham. (Which is amusing because I don’t even live on campus, I’ve never been to private school, and I am not a Jesuit!)
How did you get involved with ReadyU? I wanted the funnest job ever, and with ReadyU, mission accomplished! I get to play with Facebook, Twitter, Photoshop, awesome products, and best of all, people. My responsibilities are creative, convenient, and cool. Who could complain when they’re taking photos of girls wearing Covergirl or guys wearing Old Spice? Besides bolstering my marketing skills, ReadyU empowers me with an entrepreneurial experience by letting me make all the artistic and financial decisions.
Do you have any tips for students who are trying to balance schoolwork, extracurriculars, and other obligations like internships? If you have a lot on your plate, do work in the five minutes between classes. Meet new people in between classes. Quiz yourself on school stuff while waiting for food, walking to the bathroom, or running on a treadmill. Use Wunderlist, a weekly planner, or an online tasklist. Nap tons!? Grow with a club rather than jumping between too many organizations. Time box –it’s easier to promise to work on something for 20 minutes than to promise yourself you’ll finish it in one shot. For me, it was important to pray, stay spiritual, and remember a higher purpose to this all. Enjoy everything you are doing! Know that balance is possible.
What’s your favorite thing about NY? New York City streets sell rubicund beads, sliced mangoes, gum stuck to sidewalks, quiet laughter of the Taiwanese, firm handshakes of Latinos and the shish kabobs of Indians. The world gives birth to eclectic tastes and refined perception, fostering fecundity.
“The city, however, does not tell its past, but contains it like the lines of a hand, written in the corners of the streets, the grating of the windows, the banisters of the steps, the antennae of the lightning rods, the poles of the flags, every segment marked in turn with scratches, indentations, scrolls” (Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities).
What’s your least favorite thing about NY?
Sometimes: “12. We’re feelings junkies. When we walk out of our door in the morning, we want our brain to be assaulted by a myriad of things. We’re not ready to feel balanced and healthy yet. Burning the candle at both ends still fills us with an intoxicating combo of joy and dread. We are like a strange mix of resilience and ultimate fragility” (Thought Catalog).
Do you have a favorite NYC memory? Either prom at Waldorf Astoria or sneaking into Waldorf Astoria to practice presenting for JPM IB Risk Competition…. or art gallery-hopping in Chelsea.
What’s on your NYC bucket list?
- Lunch with a famous actress/singer (at La Tarte Flambée?)
- Performing at the Bowery or Nuyorican Poets Café
- Concerts in parks with friends
- Make a Cole Haan ad [pagebreak]
Do you have a favorite Fordham memory? Definitely Compass Fellowship Retreat/ Shift Series. Speaking at Admitted Students Open House Day, and remembering what a difference it made when I was in their seats the year before. Seeing the future of Fordham…not to be corny.
What’s your favorite class you’ve taken at Fordham? Ground Floor, Intro to Theatre, Comp II.
What’s your least favorite class you’ve taken at Fordham? Calculus (again).
Where’s your favorite spot on campus? Everywhere, and Meg Farmer’s place.
If you could give one piece of advice to a Fordham collegiette, what would it be? Be curious, try everything, know your teachers, be every person you wanted to be as a kid. It used to be “when I grow up, I’ll be…” but now we ARE grown up(ish)!
What’s your dream job? Social–Entrepreneur CFO Actress-Singer-Fashion Designer-Illustrator.
What do you think the best part of a Jesuit education is? Magis, moremoremore, always strive for more. It’s heroic leadership.
Who is your favorite professor at Fordham? Professors Werner, Gregor, Gil Sheridan, Porco, Ziegler, Dilorenzo, Cosenza, Mierzejewska, Romeo, Defiore.
What’s one thing everyone would be surprised to learn about you? I can dance. I’ve got moves ;)
Pick one!
Bronx Zoo or Botanical Gardens? Botanical Gardens
Arthur Ave/Fordham Road? Fordham Road: real life, alive life, hip tides. The Bronx is brimming with beauty.
Cafeteria or Grille? Grille
Conway or Dr. Jay’s? Conway, we have history.
RamVan or Subway? Subways are a must for any New Yorker. It’s cheaper, sometimes faster, and I’m more productive on it. (Free RamVan passes are a different story!)
Met or MoMA? MAD Museum, right by Columbus Circle. (MoMA though).
Hot Dog or Bagel? Hot Dog
Broadway or Off-Broadway? Off-Broadway. Speaking of which…
Radio City or Madison Square Garden? I interned closer to Radio City…
Central Park or Brooklyn Bridge? Brooklyn Bridge. So many memories. The Brooklyn Bridge is poetry.