Naiya Rookwood is the co-president for Fordham Experimental Theater (FET). They balance a busy academic and extracurricular life, thriving in performance, leadership and community-building roles across multiple clubs on campus. Tucked on the backside of Collins Hall is the one-and-only Blackbox, a small, simple performance space and the home of FET.
This week, I sat down with FET’s co-president Naiya Rookwood, FCRH ’26, from White Plains who wears many hats. Literally, you might find them in a crown, wig or top hat as they grace the stage. Rookwood also wears many hats as they juggle a busy class schedule and impressive involvement in many Fordham clubs.
Rookwood is majoring in English while double minoring in philosophy and French. “Ambition” might just be Rookwood’s middle name. Outside of the classroom, they are an active member of the Fordham community.
Impressively, they juggle their responsibilities as co-president of FET and a member of one of Fordham’s a cappella groups, Hot Notes. They also share their passion for helping others as a Humanities Student Ambassador. Across the many extracurriculars they engage in, they are fully present and enthusiastic about everything they do.
But how did they get to this point of so much involvement in the Fordham community? During their freshman year, Rookwood was pursuing a philosophy major on the pre-health track. On top of the already overwhelming transition to college, Rookwood’s workload was almost unbearable. Th.
