SOPHIA STEPHAN/THE OBSERVER

Liz Gannon-Graydon hosts her Communi-Tea parties once a week.

Liz Gannon-Graydon, Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’85, held her weekly Communi-Tea party in Bryant Park. This is Gannon-Graydon’s 11th year hosting, where she brings orange-cranberry muffins and bottomless vats of various teas to the park. 

She collaborates with her non-profit, What Better Looks Like, to run local workshops. Their goal is to aid in the “development of beloved community” by helping individuals imagine, articulate and create visions for a better world.

Gannon-Graydon said she holds the event to foster community within a city that she said can be intimidating for some. 

“I think of New York as a community,” Gannon-Graydon said. “(It) can be an intimate place if you create intimate settings. It can be big and scary, but there are always beautiful little places where you can find community.”

Arnav Bhutada, Fordham College at Rose Hill ’22, said how this event would have aided his acclimation to college.

“I think, like, finding people from diverse backgrounds because I think when you’re a freshman you’re still trying to establish people who you meet and who you enjoy talking to, and it’s just another opportunity to meet people and interact with others.” Amna Basra, FCLC ’28

“College in New York City is different than a lot of other places, so I think it would’ve been helpful to just get introduced to people and be able to see what the community is all about,” Bhutada said. “(Developing) a sense of comradery that like you’re not the only one going through such a big change going to college.”

As a born-and-raised New Yorker, Gannon-Graydon prioritizes finding hidden harmony and fellowship in a fast-paced environment.

“There are very few places around the world that don’t sit and have some form of breaking bread together … There’s something powerful … in sitting and having a cup of tea, because then you have to sit,” Gannon-Graydon said.

Amna Basra, FCLC ’28, spoke on the importance of establishing connections as well as finding home, especially as a first-year and international student.

“I think, like, finding people from diverse backgrounds because I think when you’re a freshman you’re still trying to establish people who you meet and who you enjoy talking to, and it’s just another opportunity to meet people and interact with others,” Basra said.

Gannon-Graydon’s father, also a Fordham alum, taught her the values of  Martin Luther King Jr. He was a civil rights activist in the 1960s, which planted significant seeds in her upbringing. Gannon-Graydon reflects on the impact that King’s and Robert F. Kennedy’s assassinations had on her father.

“I think what my dad saw in (them) were two fathers who didn’t go home to their children. And I think in that moment he made a decision to choose a different scale for his life … he became the best man, the best neighbor, the kindest soul,” Gannon-Graydon said. “He took a job (that) promised him academic freedom, and that he could be home with his kids.” 

She had brought her sons to the park since 2014 for the free Broadway stars events every Thursday. Gannon-Graydon described how Bryant Park became a “home base” for her children. 

“There aren’t a lot of spaces where everyone is equally valued … And because it’s free, because it’s open to everyone, and all I know is what you want to tell me. Everyone is equally welcome … and that’s the truth to community.” Liz Gannon-Graydon, FCLC ’85

“Bryant Park is really a crossroads of humanity. I’ve met people from all over the globe because they walk through here … and I think what I have learned (is) that we really, really, really need to connect with one another,” Gannon-Graydon said. “We all want to be seen, we all want to be heard.”

Gannon-Graydon’s Communi-Tea event is focused on creating a table for everyone to be equal and is attended by people from all walks of life.

“There aren’t a lot of spaces where everyone is equally valued … And because it’s free, because it’s open to everyone, and all I know is what you want to tell me. Everyone is equally welcome … and that’s the truth to community,” Gannon-Graydon said.

Aubrey Hankin, FCLC ’28, applies this to her everyday interactions in efforts to build a new community as a first-year student.

“I try to be bubbly and talk to a lot of people, and just bring out the most positive energy I can …  I try to just be friendly around campus,” Hankin said.

I think my father sensed that was my path … training with rigorous thought, rigorous morality, rigorous intellect.” Liz Gannon-Graydon, FCLC ’85

Zachary Lowe, Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center ’25, reflected on his first year at Fordham and how an event like Communi-Tea would have impacted him back then.

“My freshman year (I) wasn’t really involved on campus, I was more of the shy type, so, I was a bit scared to dip my toes into certain events, so I just think that having those events where you go and interact with people and put yourself out there, I think it’s important to have when you first come onto campus,” Lowe said.

Gannon-Graydon attributes her dedication to kindness and inclusivity to her father’s example.

“My dad was a really special man … I never heard (him) say an unkind word at anyone … And I think a lot that was that (Fordham) Jesuit education,” Gannon-Graydon said. “I think my father sensed that was my path … training with rigorous thought, rigorous morality, rigorous intellect.”

Gannon-Graydon reflected on her great experiences at Fordham, saying that she learned lessons and made friendships in and out of the classroom, which have remained constants in her life.

“I also find the thing about the Fordham community is there really is this being there for one another and it doesn’t necessarily have to be around class,” Gannon-Graydon said. 

Through the influence of her father, workshops and tea parties, Gannon-Graydon believes that “if you create conditions for community, the community happens.” 

She urges Fordham students to start where they are and actively work to cultivate the community they desire by pursuing their passions and staying present.