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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MANHATTAN UNIVERSITY | SINCE 1924
Volume CX, Issue 9
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NEW YORK, OCTOBER 29, 2024
Alumna Rosalia Cefalu, ‘23, Gives Current MU Students a Talk About Her Career at KPMG Rev. Robert Joerger, C.P., and Rev. Beck, C.P. are Manhattan University’s new chaplains. @MANHATTAN.EDU / INSTAGRAM
Staff Writer
Meet Manhattan University’s New Campus Chaplains! Manhattan University appointed two new campus chaplains, Rev. Robert Joerger, C.P., and Rev. Edward Beck, C.P., on Sept. 18. The pair also serves as co-directors of Campus Ministry and Social Action. The new campus chaplains conduct masses every Sunday and offer spiritual advice on campus. Both Joerger and Beck are a part of the Passionist order of priests, which was founded by St. Paul of the Cross and strives to tend to the suffering of marginalized and disenfranchised people, and seeing how those qualities connect to the suffering of the cross. They also have a unique focus on environmentalism and caring for the earth. Not only are Joerger and
Beck of the same order of priests, but they also entered into the priesthood in a similar way. Both went to the same high school, Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, where they embarked on a retreat to the Passionists’ retreat house on Shelter Island, during different years. There, they were both inspired and felt a certain connection to what they experienced, and after a few more visits, both decided to enter the priesthood. “I thought the priests and brothers who led that retreat had a special kind of connection and power that I saw, even as a highschool student,” Beck said. “So in college, when I was having that kind of disillusionment with studying to be a broker and [realizing] that would not be quite satisfying, I called up that retreat house and said ‘can I come back and visit for a weekend?’ [The priest] didn’t tell me there was no retreat
IN NEWS:
IN FEATURES:
Mary Haley
Marketing Chair / Asst. Features Editor
Talk from Alumna Rosalia Cefalu, ‘23. pg. 1
Voices on the Quad: Lotus Halloween Bash pg. 5
Laili Shahrestani
that weekend, so it was just me and five Passionist priests and brothers. That same sense that they had something I wanted that I didn’t feel had returned, and I thought, ‘I have to investigate this, what is it?’ By the end of college, I decided yeah, I was going to do this, and I went to the novitiate and took vows when I was 21 years old.” Beck’s 40 plus years in the ministry has not only consisted of working at churches. He also worked in mainstream media for over 20 years, working at ABC News, CBS News and CNN News as their faith and religion commentator. Beck explained to The Quadrangle that he’d never expected to go back to working in campus ministry, especially as he preaches at St. Monica’s parish on the upper east side of Manhattan. “I didn’t really intend to do campus ministry at this stage in __________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Rosalia Cefalu ‘23, a Manhattan University alumna and current data analytics associate for KPMG, held an event on Oct. 22 in De La Salle Hall, where she spoke to Jaspers about her career. Cefalu graduated from MU in 2023 with a major in business analytics and a minor in computer information systems. Following her graduation, she was initially hired to become a tech and data associate at PwC. After a year in the position, she landed her new role at KPMG. Both PwC and KPMG are a part of the “Big Four”, which are the world’s four largest accounting firms, according to Cefalu’s presentation. She expressed her gratitude for getting to work for both of these companies. However, she also spoke about how her first job at PwC did not feel well suited for her and that she felt as if she needed a shift in her career. Cefalu explained to attendees that it is probable that their first job will not be a perfect fit and that it may take time to navigate where they truly belong after they graduate. She encouraged students to be honest with themselves and acknowledge that there is no shame in taking
time to figure out where they belong. “It’s okay if you start your first job and it’s not your favorite thing ever,” Cefalu said. “I was so convinced that I was going to spend my entire career at one company, and that it would be perfect, so switching was the scariest leap, but my entire life is different now. I feel like a different person. Now that I am two months in, I am definitely way happier, and it is a way better fit that actually utilizes the skills I learned during my undergrad.” After Cefalu shared her experience with navigating through feelings of uncertainty she faced prior to working for KPMG, students at the event expressed that her insight provided them with reassurance that everything will fall into place as they transition into the workforce. Sophia Khosrowshahi, a senior majoring in computer information systems and data analytics, spoke to The Quadrangle about how comforting it was to hear Cefalu discuss her journey and successes. Khosrowshahi mentioned how she felt inspired after hearing from an MU alumna who majored in the same fields as her and is now working for one of the Big Four accounting firms. “Speaking to or listening to alumni is important, simply __________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
IN A&E:
IN SPORTS:
MU Players Fall Cabaret pg. 7
MU Students Gather at Annual Manhattan Madness
pg. 9