New clubs tabled at the Fordham College Lincoln Center (FCLC) Club Day on Aug. 29. The clubs represented a wide range of hobbies and student interest groups including Film Photography, Media Agency and 11 others.
The annual fair held on the Outdoor Plaza showcased the student body’s creativity, spirit and enthusiasm as the campus came together to celebrate and learn from each other. It was held in the heart of the campus, transforming the area from a usually still outdoor place to a bustling hub of excitement. Students approached lines of tables surrounding the plaza, with upperclassmen ready to greet and recruit them.
“There was a lot of paperwork and bureaucratic processes that delayed it, but we did it!” Liberty Stam, FCLC ’26
The event offered a wealth of opportunities to kickstart their extracurricular journey at FCLC, whether students arrived knowing what clubs they wanted to join or happened to walk past the various tables.
Liberty Stam, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’26 and president of Film Photo Club, shared they first tried to found a Film Photography Club during their freshman year and waited two years to receive official status.
“There was a lot of paperwork and bureaucratic processes that delayed it, but we did it!” they expressed.
Gabby Nguyen, FCLC ’26 and president of Media Agency Club (MAC) is enthusiastic about the club’s potential to provide valuable experience in media and design. Nguyen said that her fellow E-Board member Barry Zhang, FCLC ’25, saw there was space missing in Fordham’s portfolio for development and collaborative digital design work.
“Barry had experience with starting another club here at Fordham, and pitched me the idea for this club. Its purpose resonated with me, and I was energized to create it,” Nguyen said.
MAC’s main focus is to foster a diverse community where students from all backgrounds can work on projects that align with their future goals and aspirations. It is designed to be a mock agency that gives students the opportunity to collaborate with each other while enhancing their skills and building their portfolios.
“As a media and design student looking to pursue digital design as a career, it is important for me to have skills and a working portfolio. MAC came to fit exactly what we need,” Nguyen said.
Similar to Nguyen, Stams’ passion for visual arts, and especially film photography, motivated them to found the Film Photography Club. Stam’s desire to find a community that shared their interests informed the club’s mission to make a welcoming environment for students who want to create art. Stam said they also hope to make participation in film photography more accessible for those who haven’t in the past.
“I really wanted to join a club my freshman year that correlated with my major (visual arts with a concentration in photography), and when I found out that there was not a photography club on the Lincoln Center campus, I decided to start one,” Stam wrote in an email.
Kara Best, FCLC ’28, became interested in the affinity clubs on campus when she applied. Best intends to join multiple clubs. In joining Black Student Alliance, she found a space on campus that grounds her.
“It was really nice to see that Fordham offered the same opportunities in high school. Especially ones that make me feel united with my identity on campus,” Best said.
Best also said that she was not interested in starting her own club, unless she found an inherent need for one.
For now, Fordham undergraduates have started to fill the spaces and create communities within the Lincoln Center campus.
