The beginning of the sentence, “successful college students take the initiative to seek out resources they need,” encompass part of the responsibility belonging to a Baruch Scholar. Of course, we’re expected to do well in school and help out others but even as we do those things, we must also be humble enough to ask for help from the resources available to us, whether at school, our community, or our job. We must understand the importance of taking advantage of the resources the library has to offer us, from the study rooms to the plethora of computers, as well as the opportunities in the various student clubs. By completing this community service project, I’ve realized no matter how independent college may make you feel, the expertise of adults are needed (some of the time). For example, I needed to call the food pantry where my group and I are going to volunteer in the spring to ask an adult some questions regarding the program they run involving the food pantry. If there was no adult, where would I get the information from? Now, yes … you may think this is a trivial thing to need an adult’s help for but let’s say a group was volunteering at a hospital, playing and entertaining terminally ill children. These volunteers would definitely need the assistance of staff and the Baruch Scholars would be able to realize this because of their ability to be humble and ask for help when needed.
Speaking of asking for help, I just, well not just, but earlier today, had a math test in my Calculus 2610 class. Now, I had been going to tutoring for the past two weeks for about 90 minutes to two hours, starting at 8:00 PM. This type of dedication required me to stay in school for more than 12 hours (when I told my teacher after tutoring, he was flabbergasted!). This a prime example of when I made the extra effort to seek the expertise of my teacher. As a Baruch Scholar, I don’t know if we’re expected to know everything but I am certainly not afraid to ask for help when I need it, especially when my grades are on the line. I think this is the mark of a true scholar: the ability to ask for help, even when others expect you not to. The ability to stray from the norm and do what you know is right: in this case, asking for assistance.
Touching on the topic of assistance, I just wanted to express how this community service project opened my eyes even wider and bigger to the need to provide assistance to those who desire it. It creates a parallel between my teachers and me and me and those who are less fortunate than I. The same way my teachers help me, I take the same kindness and patience and help those less fortunate.