Junyu Zhang

Freshman Seminar was certainly an interesting class and I’m glad I got a chance to learn from it. One of the major things I’ve learned about was some of the organizations in Baruch and what they do. I was extremely glad to learn about VITA… it really seemed like a great opportunity to get involved. It makes sense business-wise and also seems like a meaningful experience to be a part of.

Speaking of community service, I learned a lot in the process of coming up with the group project. Researching the organization took time and effort, but it really was worthwhile. I got a chance to become closer friends with those in my group and I’m glad for the chance to get involved.

The fact that community service is a requirement for the honors program is quite interesting. It kinda forces us to start doing something for the community, in hopes that we would be inspired to continue doing so even after Baruch. I feel that I’ve learned a lot about the need for community service and the honors program certainly will help me towards that.

As a Baruch Honors student, I know there’s a lot of pressure to keep up academically, which would certainly entail many hours of study and work. Nevertheless, I know that I have other roles to fulfill other than being a full-time student.

In terms of community service, I’m glad I have a chance to serve together in a group with a few kids from my LC. I’m sure that such an experience will help cultivate deeper friendships and help the community as a whole.

On the side, I’m also involved with other community service endeavors. For instance, this January, I will be going with a group of 10 other college students and 8 adult chaperones to Nicaragua. There in the small village La Chureca, “the Dump,” we will be helping the poor and needy there (that would be everyone living there).

As a part of the efforts of Forward Edge International, we’re there to help build up the community there as well as helping a designated group of girls. Because the girls are all in high risk of having to sell their bodies in order to help feed their families, FEI decided to intervene by building a small place just outside La Chureca. Nicknamed “Villa Esperanza” or “Village of Hope,” FEI takes a small group of girls from the dump and raises them up to be educated women with some real hope in their lives.

As part of the team going to help in January, I’m excited for this chance to step outside of my comfort zone and really help people!

The experiences that shaped my life are many and varied, but there is undeniably a central “theme” in my life. That is my Christianity. I started going to church with my parents since I was little, and I hated it. There seemed no point in going to church on Sundays nor did I have any interest in reading the Bible. Yet, I went.

It took until only roughly 2 years ago that I began to question my faith and come to grips with what I believed. I went to a short-term mission trip to Arizona to serve the Navajos on the Reservation. During that time, I struggled with my faith, or lack of, thankfully to some avail. I came back that summer a little more mature, and promptly began to see a change in the way I served in ministries and even just my entire attitude about Christianity. I had discovered something, a glimpse of something eternal, and good, something heavenly.

Now, as a student in Baruch, I’m excited to see the challenges that await me. I’m ready to take on hard classes and tackle the workload. I’m just a little nervous about the first semester as I struggle to find a balance between school, work, and church. But I’m excited and hopeful.

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