Belong in Every Room
~ Lily Baughman
Seeds of Success was the first “networking” program that I have ever actually enjoyed. All the alumni who participated were more than happy to help us out and shared countless “seeds” of wisdom that I didn’t even know I needed. For English students at Fordham who were unable to participate, I recommend two things:
1) Be part of a group chat in your English and Creative Writing classes whenever possible. Even organizational work or getting together to complain about an upcoming assignment will grow your community: these are the people that you will graduate with, work with, and become alumni with. In a city like NYC, which can feel incredibly lonely, it’s important for writers to stick together and create community where they can.
2) Reach out to Fordham alumni that have experiences that you are interested in or jobs in fields that you are passionate about. As you embark on the #RoadTo500Connections on LinkedIn, shoot me (Lily Baughman) (and the rest of the senior Creative Writing class) an invitation—and don’t forget to post about the things that are happening in your life, even if you don’t think you’re as successful as that one Gabelli kid you kinda-know that won’t shut up about his post-grad job with Deloitte.
I would be remiss to not shout out my mentor in this program, Synclaire, who was utterly gracious, personable, and excited to help. She met Katherine and I for coffee in Argo, where we discussed how storytelling can be simultaneously incredibly personal and a catalyst for change. Immediately, I could see why she was successful; her everyday stories held a weight behind them that made me want to sit up in my chair and listen. One message that I will pass along is this: you—as Synclaire does, as she told me I do—belong in every room that you enter.
I had the chance to put this advice into action the day after Blooming Together, when I sat down for fifteen minutes over Zoom with the assistant director of admissions at Harvard Law. Never in my life did I imagine that I would have this opportunity, and I had to make use of a Career Center interview room due to the unfortunate state of my mouse-ridden room in a fifth-floor-walk-up, but, regardless of the outcome or my anxieties, I belonged in that room. You do too, whether it’s a job or an interview or a school or a writers’ retreat or the illustrious (I hear) Iowa MFA program. Don’t forget that!