Christopher Markos ‘21

City: New York, NY

Tenure: 2017-2021

Number: 215-834-2455

Email: cmarkos98@gmail.com

Linkedin: Christopher Markos

Bio: After graduating from Colgate, Chris moved to the Grand Canyon and lived in the park while serving food and studying for the LSAT. After Arizona, he moved to D.C. and worked in a restaurant. In August of 2022, he started at Brooklyn Law School in New York City in pursuit of a J.D..

Advice/Memory: “ To the students:
Sometimes you have to beat a dead horse to get your point across and "you get what you put in" is no exception. During my tenure at HFD, I went through many phases of participating heavily or sometimes pulling back. That said, your time in the department is going to be what sets you apart from the people you meet socially or professionally after Colgate. It is a critical example of your work ethic, your commitment to public service, and your discipline while pursuing higher education at the same time. So my message is to those students out there who love and care deeply about the department but sometimes struggle to balance it all - you may never figure out how to attend every call or get your ass out of bed at 4:00AM and that's okay. But because you have gone through so much to get here and have a drive to continue serving, use the department as a way to ground yourself and exercise your discipline. There is always time to change your habits and commit yourself further to the work you love.

To the non-students:
Sincerely hope you all are doing well. As I look back at the short four years I was in HFD, I am reminded of you giving so much more than a lifetime of service to your community; you accepted students like myself with open arms and took us under your wings. Thank you all for always being welcoming and helpful. I learned so much from you all, whether about the fire service, DIY projects, or life advice, and wish you all the best.

Funny memory:
For some reason it was always cats who got the short end of the stick. I wasn't on these call, I'm sure their stories are exaggerated, and I apologize to the cat lovers out there. But when I was a junior, there was a working house fire. I think it was Mike Shea who climbed in to the second story with Ethan, but when they were sounding the floor it was squishy. As they made their search and proceeded to fight the fire, it became clear that there were dozens of cats that had either died from smoke inhalation or were trying to get out of there. Problem was, they were running into the hose on the first floor, resulting in them being blasted back into the building.
Also probably bullshit but when I was a freshman the seniors said one time a cat died and Pete Coladarci stuck it in a pillow case and proceeded to walk out of the building saying "cat's in the bag." Unknown to him the owner was within earshot.“