Claire Beach Embraces Fordham University

Claire Beach has embraced life at Fordham University. The Huntington High School Class of 2013 member is a freshman at the highly regarded college in The Bronx and is loving life there.

Ms. Beach was accepted by many colleges, including Lafayette College, Binghamton University, Bucknell University, American University, George Mason University, Skidmore College and Fordham. She narrowed her choices to Bucknell and Fordham, eventually choosing the later and now being happy she did.

Huntington’s 2012 Homecoming Day queen was in the crowd of more than 4,500 that jammed into Jack Coffey Stadium to see the Fordham football team top visiting Rhode Island in the first game of the season, 51-26. Ms. Beach has adapted well to her classes and to living away from home.

“When we first got here we were moved in by the seniors,” Ms. Beach said about Fordham freshmen. “Parents were not allowed to touch a thing or even help carry anything up to the fourth floor.” That turned out to be quite a big help since the Huntington alum’s dorm doesn’t have any elevators.

“Orientation was fun,” Ms. Beach said. “We were put into small groups of about 17, so there were 100 different groups. During orientation one of the speakers was Ed Gerety, a motivational speaker who had the crowd going wild with his humor.”

The Huntington grad’s fall semester courses include: Medieval History, Computer Science, Communication and Media Studies, French and Philosophy of Human Nature. During their first semester, all Fordham freshmen must enroll in the language course of their choosing must take Philosophy of Human Nature. Ms. Beach doesn’t seem to mind either of these requirements.

 “Once classes began, the rest of the school filled up with all the upper classmen,” Ms. Beach said. “I’m extremely excited to be here and one of the best things about this campus is how amazingly beautiful and clean every building is, including the grounds. All of my professors so far seem to be good.”

Fordham’s dining services seem to be on the upswing, which suits Ms. Beach just fine. “The food has been improving immensely over the last couple of years,” she said. “This year we have a Cosi, Starbucks, Panda Express and Auntie Anne’s all on campus within 10 minutes of walking. It’s also rumored that a new Chipotle is coming to campus this spring, which will be completely packed if that happens.”

Elected J. Taylor Finley Middle School’s student council president as an eighth grader, Ms. Beach was re-elected the following year as Huntington High School’s freshmen class president. After that she held a student government position ever year, including serving as the high school’s G.O. vice-president last year.

Ms. Beach was a member of Huntington High School’s National Honor Society chapter as well as the French, English and science honor societies. She traveled to Peru with classmates as a junior and was even inspired to start a business after thriving in Huntington’s fashion design program. Claire’s Clothes for Change involved designing and sewing children’s dresses and giving them to children in need.

As a member of the St. Patrick’s Church youth group, Ms. Beach helped set-up dinner and shelter for the homeless. She was a contributing member of Huntington’s Habitat for Humanity chapter and was also a Natural Helper for three years, calling Robert Gilmor, the faculty advisor for both organizations a “mentor.”

Ms. Beach is an English major at Fordham and is interested in pursuing fashion law. Right now she is just enjoying life in The Bronx. “The campus is amazing and it’s an easy 10 minute walk from one side of campus to the other,” she said.