Fordham Notes: Father McShane's Bucket List for Graduates

Friday, May 6, 2011

Father McShane's Bucket List for Graduates

At the beginning of the academic year, Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, addressed the class of 2011, sharing with them a few ideas for making the most of their last year as Fordham undergraduates. Here are his suggestions.

1. Thank your parents—before graduation day.

2. Take your best friend to dinner and pick up the tab.

3. Take in a game at Yankee Stadium.

4. Eat in an ethnic restaurant that serves food you've never eaten.

5. Take a ride on the Staten Island Ferry.

6. Walk on the promende on Roosevelt Island or the Esplanade at the Battery—after sundown—with the love of your life.

7. Take a walk through the financial district and through Times Square before 11 on a Sunday morning so you get a sense of the place.

8. Volunteer to help.

9. Go to a Fordham basketball game and make the rafters shake with your cheers.

10. Prepare for the future by doing the following:

a. Make a retreat.
b. Develop a habit of giving to others.
c. Prepare for the job interview.
d. See the Atlantic and visit the Hudson Valley so that your heart knows what wonder is all about.
e. Pray at Ground Zero, at St. Patrick's Cathedral and at the Jesuit cemetery on the Rose Hill campus so that you know what real prayer is.
f. Thank your favorite teacher for all he or she has done for you.

Gratitude is a large part of this, and one of the most Ignatian of all things. To become a virtuoso at gratitude, develop a habit of reflection: experience, reflection, gratitude, praise should be the rhythm of your life. As the Country Priest observed: All is grace. Grace is everywhere. Do it. Live in it.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well stated, well-reasoned, advice worth taking seriously by every caring Fordham graduate. Just what we would expect from our Jesuit President, Fr. McShane whose leadership has done so much to enhance the image of a Fordham University education.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful bucket list!

Elaine Conod TMC'68

Anonymous said...

Keep your good image!
Hope, the origional Jesuit Spirit
prevails in your academic endevour!!

Unknown said...

In an ontology class,(1950) Fr. Donceel taught that,"the ontological nature of goodness is diffusive. Good things should be shared not hoarded."
Fr. McShane's list embodies the concept which all persons should practice before "hitting the bucket!"

Joe Masciandaro, BA,'51;MA,'62

Bill McGuth FCRH '56 said...

In my mind I can run the clock back 55 years and hear Fr. McShane's words and apply them to our class as well.
Meaningful, memorable words never lose their "freshness".

Anonymous said...

I did all of the above, save for praying at the Jesuit Cemetery.

I would add:

Visit the Botanical Gardens on a crisp Autumn day.

Visit a poor neighborhood in the Bronx and say Hello to a few folks.

Visit all five Boros on a single day, without a car.

Visit a museum in Harlem or the Outer Boros, you'll likely have the place to yourself, but get an amazing experience.

Walk around the old neighborhoods of NYC and appreciate the history and architecture.

Walk into a church that is not of your faith, if permitted.