DeLaSalle Dinner Raises RecordHigh Donations
AlumnaFionaKoh BecomesFirstMU GraduatetoParticipate inSchwarzmanScholar Program
Mack Olmsted Senior Writer
Manhattan University’s former Division I athlete, Fiona Koh ‘21, has been selected as a Schwarzman Scholar for the upcoming 2025-2026 academic year.
This prestigious program, established by Stephen A. Schwarzman, offers a oneyear, fully-funded masters
degree in global affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing. Koh is the first student from Manhattan University to be accepted into the program, and is only the third citizen from Switzerland to attend.
After she graduated from Manhattan University with Magna Cum Laude honors in business analytics, Koh attended Universität Liechtenstein for a Masters of Science degree and received an award for the
Greek Club Attends Greek Independence Day Parade pg. 5
Most Innovative Masters
Thesis. Koh also frequently volunteers, providing mentoring and coaching services to young and motivated students looking to further their career path, all the while working for one of the four largest global professional service networks, Deloitte.
Koh spoke to The Quadrangle about her excitement in joining the
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Isaiah Rosario Senior Writer
Manhattan University’s annual De La Salle Dinner resulted in even more success than expected this year after raising a record total of $4.1 million. Delta Airlines CEO Ed Bastian was honored during the event with the Manhattan University 2025 De La Salle Medal.
Interim President Frederick Bonato spoke to The Quadrangle about how the money that was fundraised will go directly to scholarships which will help students fund their education. Bonato spoke to The Quadrangle about how the university is not raising money to make money, but raising it to give back to students.
“It’s direct,” Bonato said.
“We talk about a college or university, we talk about raising money, we’re not raising money to make money. We’re raising money to put it back into the mission and give it back to students. That’s what I told the group on the night of the dinner. I said, ‘Everything we do is for students,’ and I got
a resounding response to that because they agree with that.” Director of Institutional Giving and Special Programs Catherine Hernon spoke in detail about how the massive donation was attributed to many key factors, specifically highlighting two people close to MU.
“The record-breaking $4.1 million raised at this year’s De La Salle Dinner can be attributed to several key factors, primarily the influence of the award recipient, Ed Bastian, and the Chair of the Committee, Steve Squeri ’81 ’86,” Hernon wrote in an email to The Quadrangle. “Both individuals have earned immense respect in corporate America, not only for their leadership in Fortune 500 companies but also for their personal commitment to faith, family, and community. Together, these factors— coupled with a well-executed event—played a critical role in raising a record-breaking $4.1 million for the university.”
Hernon also wrote about how the dinner helps strengthen the university’s relationship with corporate and philanthropic partners by providing and creating a platform for connection,
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In Memoriam Aaron Schoepf pg. 6
Manhattan Rowing Beats Iona pg. 8
Volume CXI, Issue 11
APRIL 8, 2025
The Editorial Board
Grace Cardinal Editor-in-Chief
Emmanouel Sofillas Managing Editor
Laili Shahrestani Features Editor
Leyla Mercado Arts & Entertainment Editor
Owen McWalters Asst. Sports Editor
Amy Forster Asst. Production Editor
Mary Haley Marketing Chair
Brooke Della Rocco News Editor
Mary Haley Asst. Features Editor
Andrew Mannion Sports Editor
Barbara Vasquez Production Editor
Barbara Vasquez Web Editor
Thom Gencarelli Faculty Advisor
About The Quadrangle
A tradition since 1924, The Quadrangle is a news organization run by the students of Manhattan University. We strive to cover news around campus and the greater community, publishing weekly in print and daily online. Our goal is always accuracy, relevancy and professionalism.
The opinions expressed in The Quadrangle are those of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board, the University or the student body.
Join The Quadrangle
The Quadrangle’s staff holds weekly open meetings on Tuesdays at 4 p.m. in Kelly Commons Room 4.12. All are welcome to come and join the club.
LETTER from the EDITOR
Dear Readers,
Welcome to issue 11.
This week on campus, we received devastating news regarding the loss of Manhattan University junior Aaron Schoepf. In his time on campus, Aaron was involved in many activities across the performing arts and far beyond. He was a familiar face to many on campus, and his loss has been felt heavily in our community. On Friday, campus held a prayer service honoring Aaron’s life and his family, and the turnout certainly reflected Aaron’s monumental impact at MU. You will notice that this week, on the pages that would usually contain our Arts & Entertainment section, The Quadrangle staff opted to create a memorial page of photographs. Aaron was at the heart of the performing arts program here, and we hope to honor him and his work this week and for the many more to come.
On this note, I would like to remind all students and those on campus that the Counseling Center currently has extended open drop-in hours available in Miguel Hall, Room 501. You can also make an appointment with the center by reaching out to Julie Egan at jegan01@manhattan. edu or (718) 862-7394. The Counseling Center will also be hosting a Grief Support group tomorrow, Wednesday, April 9 from 12:00-1:00 pm for all who are grieving Aaron’s loss. Additionally, Campus Ministry is available for drop-in hours in Cornerstone. It is more important than ever for us to lean on one another for support – do not hesitate to reach out for help if you need it.
In other news this week, campus held our annual Springfest event on Saturday with headliner 3OH!3. After a difficult week, the event provided a wonderful opportunity for campus to come together for a night of music and community. More to come on this in next week’s issue!
This week in features, you may also notice a newly relaunched column entitled “Quad Staff Q&A”. This was a column The Quad featured a few times a year up until 2020, and I’m happy to say that this will be the first of more to come! With many new members joining our staff in the past year, this column serves as a great opportunity for you to get to know some of the faces behind the bylines you read each week. Be sure to check it out, along with everything else we have for you in issue 11.
Hold your loved ones and friends tight. Appreciate the good, bad and everything in between of each day. And above all, please take care of yourselves.
Until next time,
Grace Cardinal
DeLaSalleDinnerRaisesRecord-HighDonations
collaboration and giving back. The attendance of leaders from major corporations shows the university’s prominence in the business and philanthropic world.
Vice President of College Advancement Thomas Mauriello also gave high praise for the success of the dinner. He additionally wanted to thank Squeri and Bastian for their help in making the dinner a huge success.
“The remarkable success of our 2025 De La Salle Medal Dinner testifies to the enduring strength of Manhattan University’s Lasallian Catholic educational mission—and the universally high regard in which it is held among alumni, friends, and distinguished public figures,” Mauriello wrote in an email to The Quadrangle. “Above all, it was our privilege to honor
a renowned Catholic leader in Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines. We are especially grateful for the leadership of our distinguished Board chair, Stephen Squeri ’81, ’86, CEO of American Express. Thanks to Ed, Steve, and our Advancement Team, this year’s dinner adds special strength to our mission.”
Dinners like these also create valuable memories and moments. President Bonato said that the moment that stuck with him was when he was having a conversation with Bastian.
“It was very interesting to get to know him,” Bonato said. “He comes from a very modest, working class background. He’s made his way in the world, and I come from that, as many of our students come from that, and it kind of struck me, really you can do anything you set your mind to.”
AlumnaFionaKohBecomesFirstMUGraduateto ParticipateinSchwarzmanScholarProgram
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Schwarzman program.
“I just really want to learn about China, China’s
economy and China’s stance on cyber security,” Koh said. “I want to learn, in general, about China’s culture, travel around the country and build
a really strong network in East Asia.”
In addition, Koh spoke about her inspiration to apply for the program.
“At my office, we have people from 70 countries, so we’re super international, but I just always thought back to, ‘oh, I want to do something more global.’ I want to do something with Asia. My husband is from South Korea, so there’s a bit of connection there as well.”
Koh is thankful for her time at Manhattan University, and believes it helped contribute to her achievements she has made since she graduated.
“I am 1,000 percent thankful for Manhattan [University],” Koh said. “First of all, moving abroad when you’re so young is really impacting you on a really big scale, I didn’t have parents or anything near Manhattan [University] that I could just go to on the weekends. So I had to grow up really fast in order to be independent really quickly. I feel like Manhattan really has a lot of people that are super driven and connected. Now looking back, I started to realize that, and started to appreciate how the institution has really great people, and I’m still in contact with a lot of these people. They all made it really far, and I think they were also the ones who drove me to go and
achieve my dreams.”
Last year, Koh mentored current Manhattan University senior business analytics and computer information systems double major, Giana Homan. The pair grew close over the course of their mentoring relationship and still remain in contact. Homan spoke to The Quadrangle about her admiration for Koh.
“I think that she is particularly amazing,” Homan said. “She [Koh] had told me a little bit about the program before she began applying. And, of course I was rooting for her. Just seeing her credentials, and all the extra stuff she’s done besides just pursuing full time employment, is really inspiring and amazing. I think it’s really well deserved in this case.”
Koh’s former professor, Musa Jafar, Ph.D., wrote to The Quadrangle in an email stating his excitement for the scholar.
“I would like to congratulate Fiona for her achievements and specifically for getting the Schwarzman Scholars award,” Jafar stated in an email. “That is a “Gold Medal” in education. I had Fiona in two of my business analytics courses that I teach as part of the Business Analytics and Computer Information Systems Program at the O’Malley School of
Business… Whether it is course work or athletics, she took her work seriously and she always strove for excellence.”
Koh told The Quadrangle advice she would give to students who would like to participate in similar programs as her.
“First of all, believe in yourself,” Koh said. “And then, second of all, really understand who you want to be and what your story should be, and you should be able to explain yourself in a minute or less why you are, who you are and where you want to go, because that’s what I spent a lot of time on, and I think it helped.”
Interim President Fredrick Bonato with 2025 De La Salle Dinner Medal recipient Ed Bastian.
Fiona Koh finished her degree overseas in Switzerland.
FIONA KOH / COURTESY
MUHellenicStudentAssociation
Marchesatthe2025Greek IndependenceDayParade
Barbara Vasquez
Production & Web Editor
On March 30, the Manhattan University Hellenic Student Association marched next to thousands of people in the 86th Greek Independence Day Parade to commemorate the 204th anniversary of Greece’s independence.
This parade is not a small event, pulling people from all around the tri-state area to celebrate.
According to the official NYC Greek Parade website,“More than 120 groups, with 52 floats and 15 bands will march up Fifth Avenue from 64th to 79th streets, including federations, societies, associations, professional groups, trade clubs, women’s organizations, businesses, schools, student associations, churches and religious communities from the New York metropolitan area, upstate New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Montreal, Canada. According to the New York Police Department, the 2025 parade is expected to be one of the largest in recent years.”
For MU’s student
association, which was founded newly this semester, this event served as an opportunity to further establish themselves as a group. President and cofounder of the club, Ioannis Rountos, a freshman civil engineering major, spoke positively about meeting people from other schools and organizations.
“Marching with fellow Hellenic clubs from other schools was an amazing experience, and being part of such an important part of our culture was surreal,” Rountos wrote in an email to The Quadrangle. “At the parade, I had the opportunity to speak with the presidents of the Iona and Fordham University Hellenic societies. We established a mutual goal of working together to plan great events, and I think that we will all benefit from the collaboration.”
The club’s primary reason for attending the parade was not to grow their group on campus, but rather for celebration, pride and community.
“Growing up in a Greek household, our heritage means an emphasis on the ones you love most and a strong sense of community,” Rountos wrote to The Quadrangle. “I want to
share our culture with all who want to experience it.”
Treasurer and other cofounder of the Hellenic Student Association Aristides Milonas, a freshman civil engineering major, reveled in the joy surrounding the parade.
“This was my second time attending the parade, but first time marching,” Milonas wrote to The Quadrangle.
“It was a surreal experience as I was able to march down fifth avenue in the middle of thousands of other Greeks, while being broadcasted on not only the news, but also on Greek television. Marching in the parade gave me a sense of pride and joy to be a Greek and to have so many people around me celebrating our culture.”
The group marched alongside St. Peter the Apostle Greek Orthodox Church,
though members carried a MU Hellenic Student Association banner with them to specifically represent their group and the university as well. The club was cheered on by university alumni as they marched, according to Rountos. Carrying this banner came with feelings of fulfillment for the members, Milonas specifically.
“A memorable moment was when I was carrying the Manhattan University Hellenic Club banner while marching, as I took a lot of pride in being the co-founder with my two other good friends Ioannis [Rountos] and Chryssanthe [Kontogianis] of the first Hellenic club at Manhattan University while achieving all of this as freshman,” Milonas wrote to The Quadrangle.
“This was a big event for our
club as it brought out members together to celebrate our heritage and take pride in not only our culture, but what we have achieved with the club in such a short amount of time.”
Attending this parade seems to be a landmark for the club, who plan on making it into a yearly tradition.
“I was extremely proud to be marching as our own club and I was so happy to see our members come and show their support,” Rountos wrote. “We worked together as a club to coordinate the day, and we are working from now to plan even bigger events for the parade weekend in 2026.”
The Hellenic Student Association will continue holding events throughout the semester and year, next participating in the Lasallian Day of Service on April 10.
Club members wore custom hoodies representing the group.
IOANNIS ROUNTOS / COURTESY
The club marched with a MU Hellenic Student Association banner, representing the school in the parade. IOANNIS ROUNTOS / COURTESY
The parade marched along 5th avenue in Manhattan, where thousands of people participated and watched. IOANNIS ROUNTOS / COURTESY
In Memoriam
Aaron Schoepf
Photos courtesy of:
Manhattan Rowing Beats Iona in Men’s Varsity 4+ Race
Barbara Vasquez & Leyla Mercado
Production & Web Editor, Arts & Entertainment Editor
Manhattan University’s club rowing team attended their first regatta of the semester on March 29, where members secured a victory in the men’s varsity four plus race.
MU’s boat faced off against rowers from Iona University. The only two schools racing in the regatta were Iona and MU, so tensions were high, according to chemical engineering major Gavin Ward, coxswain of the winning boat.
“I will say there were a lot of nerves going into this,” Ward said. “It’s one thing to go to a regatta and race multiple boats, but this was more of a dual setup where it’s just one team versus another. So anxiety was high for sure, but there was also a lot of excitement to be had. There were a lot of first time rowers in a lot of the boats that we put out, so mostly people just wanted to get back on the water.”
It was a tight race from start to finish, but the Jaspers pushed hard in the final sprint to beat out Iona. Ultimately, MU’s approach proved to be more efficient than the Iona Gaels’, with the Jaspers winning by over two seconds.
“I think that one of the distinguishing differences that caused us to win was Iona calling their power too early,” Jason Matthews, civil engineering student and three seat in the boat, said. “I think
at the 400 [meter mark] they really called their power, and their guys were just too tired to handle that power. So at around the 150 meter [mark], which is not that many strokes away from the finish line, I don’t think they had the power to keep up with us. And that’s where we really pulled through.”
The race itself came as a bit of a surprise for the rowers, who found out about the competition about only two weeks beforehand. Still, they managed to achieve success.
“We didn’t have this event scheduled,” Michael Lee, a sophomore civil engineering major and 1 seat in the boat, said. “We found out like the Friday of [spring break] that we had a week to prep.”
Despite such short notice, the team’s ability to locate results led to the outcome they hoped for. Ward further explained what exactly led them to their win.
“I think starts set you up for a really good pace to win a race, I don’t think the start necessarily was the biggest contributor to the win of this heat, but I think our start off the line was pretty good,” Ward said. “We were solid. We beat them off the line and to the 500 [meter mark], so it definitely allowed us to have more confidence in ourselves than we had previously assumed.”
Team chemistry is another factor vital to a successful performance when rowing. For the MU rowers, team chemistry is built both on and off water.
“I think rowing is a sport that’s uniquely on its own
in a category, in which your movement, along with your teammates, is greatly impacted by each other,” Ward said. “Team chemistry has a big impact on how well a group can race. We’ve spent the last year together, and I think that’s definitely helped our chemistry. Just knowing each other’s habits in the boat, knowing when someone might adjust and by how much they might adjust, is definitely pivotal to us doing good.”
Jeremy Lee, a chemical engineering major, who serves as the boat’s seat two, shared the excitement he felt within such an important race.
“Seeing another boat next to you, and then you slowly start to pass them– there’s no other feeling like that,” Lee said. “It’s like you see them, and then it’s a matter of which team wants it more. And I think our team
really had the drive to just beat them…Gavin had a great call, really telling us to pick it up”
This win, though great, was not enough to satisfy the rowers. Instead, they’ll use it as motivation to continue working hard, lowering their times and securing more victories in the future.
“It [the victory against Iona] was definitely a really great confidence booster,” Lee said. “I think all of us now, especially, are feeling a lot more confident going into our next race. And I think it sets us up and the whole team as well, just seeing a victory. It’s really motivating us for the next race and anything we have in the coming semester. And even though we won, we saw our times, we know that we can improve. I think seeing that, it’ll just give us the hunger to do better than we ever have before
and keep on improving.”
The rowing team encourages anyone interested in joining to reach out, with positive assurances from current rowers about the team environment.
“We may be small and undersized [compared to other teams] but we use the power of friendship,” Francis Scullin, computer science student and stroke seat in the boat, said. “We’re smaller, that’s why we really hone in on technique. But, that’s what wins the races.”
“It’s definitely a great environment,” Lee said. “Everyone really helps. Even though our boat was the one that won the race, it really is everyone pushing you in the mornings and building each other up.”
The five rowers who won against Iona. From left to right: Michael Lee, Frankie (Francis) Scullin, Gavin Ward, Jason Matthews and Jeremy Lee. GAVIN WARD / COURTESY
The men raced against Iona’s rowers in the Varsity 4+ race.
GAVIN WARD / COURTESY