From multi-cultural groups to fashion magazines, Nishat Baig, FCRH ’17, shares her passions for music, art and social justice with the Fordham community.
A communication and media studies major with minors in visual arts and marketing, Baig was born in Hyderabad, India, but moved to Minnesota as a baby. Since then, Nishat has lived in countless places, including California, Illinois and Switzerland, where she attended high school for two years. Now she calls New York home.
Nishat gravitated to New York in order to pursue education at a liberal arts school and ultimately pursue a career in communications. In high school, she took a class on media literacy and current events that piqued her interest in how media affects society.
She is an active member of Fordham University South Asian Entity (FUSE), who has hosted the popular Holi: Festival of Color event on Martyr’s Lawn the past two years. “Holi always brings a positive response, and it’s nice to see the Fordham community come together for such a cultural event,” Baig commented.
This year, FUSE hopes to hold a cultural show during the fall semester with food and dancing. Cultural events allow students of all backgrounds to come together and learn about new cultures. “Multi-cultural groups provide minorities on campus with a voice without which we might feel marginalized,” said Nishat. “Being able to form multicultural groups and clubs is also our way of showing the Fordham community that we do exist and we are a part of the community.”
Baig hopes students can learn from multicultural groups and embrace the diversity of the Fordham community and the neighborhood. “The diversity issue on campus starts with the mentality people have coming to Fordham,” said Nishat. “[I believe] that orientation for freshmen should focus more on diversifying students and their cultural exposure to the Bronx.”
Additionally, she is a member of the Muslim Student Association and works on Fordham’s campus fashion magazine Mode Magazine. She has also worked as a photographer for BLOK New York, a fashion company.
This semester she is working as an intern and contributing writer at Source Magazine. On a day-to-day basis, she writes articles about events that happen across the entertainment, music and fashion industry. “[The] most rewarding part of my internship is probably the events I go to,” she said. “I’ve got to meet legends like Nas and that’s basically made my life.”
“Honestly New York has opened my eyes in so many ways. I would not have had the internship opportunities that I’ve been fortunate enough to have had I not come to New York,” she said. “I would not have been exposed to such a diverse places and so many different mentalities if I wasn’t [here].”
