Miguel Sutedjo, FCRH ’23, is an honors student majoring in Music and International Political Economy, and minoring in Mandarin and English. He will teach English in Taiwan on a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Award from August 2023 thru June 2024.
“As an Indonesian American composer, lyricist, actor, and jazz pianist of Chinese descent, I am passionate about increasing Asian representation in the arts, specifically musical theater,” said Miguel.
According to Miguel, under the mentorship of Dr. Eric Bianchi and Dr. Nathan Lincoln-DeCusatis of the music department, he has received two research grants.
“Last summer, I traveled to the Narni International Vocal Arts Festival in Narni, Italy to attend the New Voice Composers Studio and study theatrical vocal composition under Jake Landau of the Juilliard School’s faculty. I premiered two new vocal works: Theseus and Ariadne (a musical theater scene) and Waiting on the Winds (a classically-influenced art song).”
Miguel says the training and connections he made helped him work on his senior Honors Thesis: writing the book, music, and lyrics to a 90-minute original musical entitled Fly Me Away. The musical follows teenage jazz pianist Frank and his father as they move from Shanghai to New York City in pursuit of a better life. He partnered with the Museum of Chinese in America to mount three staged readings of the show featuring an all-Asian cast and creative team on April 14-16.
The Spring 2023 Undergraduate Research Grant funded stipends for the director, music director, five additional actors (in addition to himself), and two pit members.
“After performing the piece to 300 audience members over the three performances and receiving positive reviews, I hope to revise the piece even further to one day mount a fully-staged professional production,” said Miguel.
Each year the Fordham College Alumni Association awards a Fordham armchair to a senior who has achieved an outstanding record of service to the college and whose academic career exemplifies the Fordham spirit. The award is for students who thrive academically, are ethically responsible, and who enrich the lives of others. The winner of this year’s Alumni award was Arthur Ze An Liu.
According to FCRH Dean Maura Mast, Arthur more than fit the bill. “Arthur completed two majors and two minors while obtaining competitive internships. At the same time, this awardee’s contributions to the Fordham community have been immense and powerful,” said Dean Mast who cited the following examples: president of two student organizations and programming coordinator for another; member of Fordham Club and Alpha Sigma Nu, and Wikipedia editor and writer.
Arthur’s work has been recognized in many ways including being awarded “Club Leader of the Year” and as a member of Fordham Club, where Dean Mast said she was able to see, firsthand, the kindness and joy he brings to all that he does.
More informally, Arthur was known at Fordham as a mentor, role model, hard worker, problem solver, conflict mediator, and “amazing friend.” A fellow student wrote: “Despite the hardships of the pandemic and student involvement on campus, [Arthur] has worked tirelessly to ensure that Asian students on campus have a space to call their own and foster identity development, especially while attending a predominantly white institution.”
Another wrote that he is, “someone who has been committed to promoting Asian American Pacific Islander culture, along with the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion during his time at Fordham.”
Said Dean Mast, “this person is the type of leader who brings others along with him, who leads to build community whether in the Asian Cultural Exchange or the Ascend club, or in advocating for an Asian American Studies program at Fordham.”
Arthur is from Hong Kong. In a thank you note written to the FCAA for his award, Arthur wrote, “When I first arrived at Fordham’s gates in 2019, I knew precisely no one. However, the school and its students embraced me with open arms and gave me a home away from home, 8,000 miles from my family. It was then that I learned the importance of being able to feel a sense of community and belonging wherever you are, no matter how close or far away from home. Since then, I have endeavored to make Fordham as welcoming an environment as possible for all other students, as I know what it feels like to be an outsider.”
Olivia Frantzeskos and Rachel Leva of Larchmont, both Class of 2023, are the recipients of the FCAA Legacy Endowed Scholarship, a needs-based program that was established in 1961.
“I am immensely grateful for the academic and professional opportunities I’ve been offered during my time as an undergraduate, as well as the support along the way from my professors and peers,” said Olivia.
“This opportunity also complements a majority of courses I have taken centered on legal principles and justice studies, such as the Development of Human Rigths Law and Environmental Justice,” she said.
Olivia, FCRH ’23, is from Chappaqua, NY. She is an environmental studies major and American studies minor on a pre-law track. During her time at Fordham, Olivia has been a published writer with the Fordham Undergraduate Law Review (FULR) and vice-chair of the United Student Government’s Sustainability Committee. Last fall, she was one of two writers on the FULR chosen to present their published article at the first Intercollegiate Undergraduate Law Review Conference. Off campus, Olivia has wored as a Legal Research & Writing intern for Her Lawyer and was a Community & Constituent Intern for NYS Assembly member Linda B. Rosenthal.
Emma Kim, FCRH ’24, is the recipient of the 2023 FCAA Jim Dwyer Journalism Scholars Award. Emma will use the funds to support her unpaid internship this summer in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette newsroom near her hometown. The award is named for Jim Dwyer, FCRH ’79, who was a longtime columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner for The New York Times and Newsday.
Currently news editor of The Fordham Ram, Emma is majoring in economics and English and has been on the Dean’s List twice. She has also been a staff writer on the Fordham Undergraduate Law Review and is a member of a number of clubs on campus.
Cole Mullins, FCRH ’24, is the recipient of this year’s George McMahon, S.J. Travel Fellowship. Mullins, who said he was “honored and ecstatic” to receive the award, will use it to study in Taiwan this summer where he will conduct research for his American Studies Senior Thesis on the U.S. role in the cross-strait relationship between China and Taiwan.
“I am particularly looking at the actions taken by the U.S. with Taiwan surrounding the Nixon, Carter, and Biden Administrations,” said Cole. “I will study the effects of these actions and gather information for my research project.”
Said Cole, “During my time in Taiwan, I will visit national monuments, try new foods, explore the different cities, and speak with the people from Taiwan to learn their stories. I look forward to exploring the beautiful country and collecting hands-on research to enhance my thesis. I am thankful that this fellowship award is available, as it will allow me to live out my dream of traveling to a beautiful country!”
In addition to American Studies, Cole is studying International Political Economy and is on a pre-law track. Originally from Coronado, California, he has been involved in a variety of activities at Fordham, such as the Fordham Club, Fordham Hot Notes Acapella, New Student Orientation, Fordham United Student Government, Intramural Co-Ed Volleyball, Rose Hill Society, and other engaging extracurriculars.
The Rev. Joseph M. McShane, SJ, Student Achievement Award is designated for a student, not already on scholarship, who demonstrates extraordinary academic and extracurricular accomplishment during his or her time at the university. The FCAA Board of Directors voted to name the honor for Fordham President Father Joseph McShane after he presented the idea for an award noting a student’s development at the university.
The most recent McMahon recipient is Michelle Moughan, FCLC ’23. Michelle is from Kingston, New York, where she was her class valedictorian at John A. Coleman Catholic High School. She was also active in theater and worked at the Rhinebeck Center for the Performing Arts and at the Anne Hebart School of Ballet. At Fordham, Michelle is studying communications and culture. She is a student ambassador in the Lincoln Center Society and performs with the Splinter Musical Theatre Group.