Spoiler Alert: The solution to the fall/winter puzzle is posted below. If you’d like to receive a copy of the print edition, write to us at [email protected].

How did you get interested in creating crossword puzzles, and how long did it take before you published your first one?
Growing up, I solved Sunday New York Times puzzles with my dad. Soon after my studies at Fordham, I found myself wondering what it took to make crosswords and started looking into it. I officially started constructing crosswords in November 2016. I was unemployed at the time and in desperate need of a distraction from world events.

Incredibly, I went from purchasing crossword construction software to getting my first puzzle accepted—a Sunday New York Times puzzle, no less—in just six weeks. I was guided by an incredible mentor, Nancy Salomon, and spurred on by an insatiable hyperfixation with the task of creating a satisfying, interesting, unique crossword. Since then, I’ve immersed myself in the crossword community, learned from so many people, and in 2022 began editing puzzles for two publications—AVCX and Puzzmo. It’s incredibly enriching work.

What do you think makes a crossword puzzle satisfying for people to solve? And what do you hope solvers feel when they complete one of your puzzles?
As a solver, I enjoy accessible, whimsical puzzles that balance wordplay, trivia, and pop culture references, so those are the kinds of crosswords I like to make. Crosswords are an art form, a means of expressing oneself. Each puzzle I make has personal touches and feels special to me. I hope that solvers learn a little something from my puzzles, have some nice “ah ha” moments, and finish with a smile on their face.

Do you have a favorite puzzle you created or some favorite clues you came up with?
I have a few standout favorites among the hundreds of puzzles I’ve made. One that comes to mind is a Sunday New York Times crossword called “All Aflutter,” in which I used grid art and the placement of a single extra letter in the grid to demonstrate the philosophical concept of the butterfly effect for the solver. I remember that when this idea struck me, it consumed a whole day—I sat in bed, obsessively designing the grid for hours and hours as it came together. I knew I was onto something special.

What’s your favorite clue and answer in the puzzle you created for the fall/winter issue of the Fordham mag?
I love the wordplay clue for WINEMAKER: “One working with vintage materials?” It’s always fun to come up with a fresh new misdirect, and I thought that was a clever one. I also enjoyed being able to be self-referential with the FORDHAM clue, putting myself in the same category as some major celebs! How fun is that?

Do you ever receive feedback on your puzzles, and is there a reaction or anecdote that sticks with you?
In April 2024, I attended the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament in Stamford, Connecticut, for the first time. We all had lanyards with our names on them, and I was totally starstruck by some major figures in the crossword community that I got to meet. It was surreal, then, to have a few people come up to me and tell me that they love my puzzles. Certainly that’s the closest I’ll ever be to experiencing fame!

You earned a master’s degree in mental health counseling from Fordham’s Graduate School of Education in 2015. Why Fordham, and what was the grad-school experience like for you?
After graduating from Vassar in 2013, I decided I wanted to work in higher education, and that a counseling degree was the way to go. The Fordham program appealed to me because of its focus on multicultural approaches to counseling, and I loved the idea of going to school in the center of Manhattan. I greatly enjoyed my classes at Fordham; the teachers were extremely knowledgeable, and I found the curriculum to be well-designed.

Crosswords can be mentally stimulating, even a kind of meditative experience for people. How do you view them when it comes to education and mental health? Is there a connection to your graduate studies at Fordham?
One thing I love about solving crosswords is that there are countless ways to get to the right answer. People come to the table with different knowledge and lived experience, which means that the way I solve a crossword will differ from how you might solve it. The experience is really an exercise in exploration, of uncovering the grid, piece by piece, until it all comes together in the end.

I see a connection here with mental health. Therapy is a tool we use to explore our beliefs, relationships, and traumas, unknotting the messy knots that we get caught up in. After an especially effective therapy session, I feel a sense of satisfaction, relief, and gained knowledge about myself and the world. It is an exercise in exploration, in discovery. I have experienced similar feelings after solving a crossword.

Anything you’d like to add that I didn’t bring up?
If you’re interested in following more about me and my crossword work, or want to reach out with a question or comment, please feel free to find me on Bluesky, under the username Livienna. You can also find my daily categories game, Overlapt, over at the Puzzle Society!

Interview conducted, edited, and condensed by Ryan Stellabotte.

Solution to the Puzzle in the Fall/Winter 2024 Print Edition of Fordham Magazine

In a conversation on Zoom, author Amy Dresner and clinical social worker Joe Schrank, hosts of the podcast “Rehab Confidential,” held a conversation on addiction, the uptick in substance use during the pandemic, and how social workers can help—now and in the future. The exchange, held on Nov. 5, was sponsored by the Graduate School of Social Service with several GSS students tuning in. Assistant Professor Sameena Azhar, Ph.D., moderated the dialogue in conjunction with a class she teaches on substance abuse treatment—a subject she has researched extensively.

“The true fallout to whatever this pandemic has done remains to be seen, but we do know that substance abuse and suicidal ideation have increased,” said Azhar. “We’re self-isolating for longer periods of time and it’s a lot easier to hide your substance misuse, because nobody is looking and everybody is in the same boat of working online.”

Dresner, a former comedian and author of My Fair Junkie: A Memoir of Getting Dirty and Staying Clean (Hachette, 2017), grew up in tony Beverly Hills only to find herself homeless and sweeping up used syringes on Hollywood Boulevard as part of a court-ordered punishment for a domestic violence violation spurred on by her addiction. She has been clean and sober for eight years. Schrank is a Jesuit-educated social worker based out of Los Angeles who liberally peppers his speech with Latin whenever the opportunity presents itself, in particular, cura personalis. He’s been sober for more than 20 years. The two podcasters helped promote the event, which was open to all.

A Growing Online Recovery Community

Azhar noted that most recovery meetings have had to move online to a virtual space. But well before the pandemic there was already a growing digital recovery community, including a thriving scene of bloggers, social media influencers, and podcasters like Dresner and Schrank.

As people continue to cope with the stress of being cooped up at home, there has been a well-documented uptick in substance abuse, making the digital community all the more important because it’s accessible to anyone with a smartphone or computer, Azhar said. She organized the event because she wanted to familiarize GSS students with the burgeoning digital scene.

‘Mommy Drinking’ and More

Azhar asked the hosts what they were seeing on the ground in Los Angeles. In particular, she wanted to know whether people who did not have a prior substance issue are prone to developing one in response to the trauma of the pandemic, social unrest, and the continuous onslaught of negative news.

“Among my friends that are normies [i.e. sober] we know that people are eating more, we know that people are drinking more, we know that they’re drinking during the day, that there’s ‘mommy drinking.’ Drug use has gone up. Porn has gone up,” said Dresner. “Whether these people will come out of the pandemic and have an addiction, I don’t know. Can you drink yourself into having alcoholism? Sure. Just like you can get addicted to pain pills if you take them for too long. You’ll have a physical addiction, whether or not you have a psychological addiction.”

Schrank said that there are few absolutes when it comes to addiction, except for the dangers of being idle and alone.

“We know those are absolutes for any mental health issues, like anxiety, depression, substance misuse,” said Schrank. “So, do something,” he advised, “and do it with somebody—even if online.”

He recalled a recent incident at the supermarket that he feared was becoming all too common. He observed a young person in line with a jar of peanut butter, a loaf of bread, and a bottle of vodka.

“I said, ‘Are those your groceries?’ And he was like, ‘I know.’”

Schrank concurred with Azhar that the mental health issues related to the pandemic are only beginning to surface.

“I think that a lot of people are hiding out. So, if you just have to get on Zoom for 15 minutes with your boss a day, and then back to the couch in your jammies with your peanut butter and bottle of vodka, that’s not going to help,” he said.

Social Workers Can Make a Difference

Azhar said that there are many telehealth options that people could consider when seeking help for a growing problem, but she was also careful to underscore that in-person therapy will remain extremely important in the post-pandemic world. Whether online or in-person, the need for social workers will only grow in the coming years, she said.

Yet some social workers are feeling despondent, she noted, unsure if they can make a difference as the crisis grows. In the chat, one student questioned whether social workers could still have an impact as “lowly clinicians, nurses, counselors.”

Dresner cited her own experience as proof that they do make a difference.

“I’ve been in quite a few treatment centers and the way that you treat… I’m going to cry,” she said, collecting herself before continuing. “A lot of them were like, ‘Here’s your crazy pills.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, that’s not very cool.’ But there was one [nurse]who looked at me and treated me … with dignity and saw me like the person I could become. When I came out of that extraordinarily depressive, alcoholic, self-destructive place—I thanked him.”

A recent career workshop at the Lincoln Center campus aimed to answer that question for Graduate School of Education (GSE) students in the mental health counseling program.

“A lot of our classmates were curious around what different career paths they may have after graduation,” said Raya Abat-Robinson, GSE ’20. “This [workshop]helps us understand the different pathways that are possible.” 

On Nov. 21, a group of graduate students gathered in a Lowenstein classroom and listened to two people who once stood in their shoes: Fordham career counselors Bizu Solomon, GSE ’15, who studied counseling at Fordham, and Jorimel Zaldivar, who obtained his master’s in counseling in mental health and wellness from New York University and, as a graduate student, interned with Fordham career services. The event, which coincides with National Career Development Month, was spearheaded by Fordham’s Student Association for Mental Health Counseling (SAM). 

The mental health counseling program has been one of the school’s most popular programs for many years, said Joseph Ponterotto, Ph.D., a GSE professor who coordinates the master’s degree program, at the beginning of the event. About 140 people apply each year for 30 to 35 spots. 

“For 13 years, we’ve been a thriving, robust, program,” he said. “It’s still, though, a pretty new field, relative to social work and psychology … That’s why a presentation like this, in terms of careers and the way to go and what you can do with the cognitive skills and the license that you’ll have, is so important.” 

Fordham graduates have gone on to work at a variety of places, from LGBT support and counseling centers to Google to Mt. Sinai Medical School, Ponterotto said. 

In a PowerPoint presentation, Solomon and Zaldivar showed attendees some of their career options. They could become crisis intervention therapists who work with victims and survivors in emergency rooms or disaster relief centers. They could conduct mediation with couples who are close to the end of their relationships. They could also work as health educators in corporate wellness programs, which are gaining popularity, said Solomon. 

“So, for clarity, mental health counselors could, in theory, be financial aid counselors?” asked a student sitting in the audience. 

“You can apply those same skill sets. If you think about it, the students that they meet with are under a lot of stress and anxiety. Those types of skills that you’re bringing in would be invaluable,” Zaldivar replied. 

The November presentation was among career workshops that are given to other programs not only at GSE but also at the whole University. It was helpful for many students, including Jamez Anderson, a first-year mental health counseling student who wants to work with adolescents after she graduates in May 2021. 

“I want to work one-on-one and be a therapist,” Anderson said. “So it was really eye-opening to see that there are so many other jobs and positions that you can have with just this degree.”