To answer what is my role in the Baruch and broader community as a Baruch Scholar, it is to adjust and orientate myself with my new environment so I can have a role later. As a freshman it is inherent that we focus on our duties. As a Baruch Scholar first and foremost that is academics.
What my role should be, or better yet will be(hopefully), is a leader. I applied to become a peer mentor and orientation leader. I like informing people that have to repeat what I did, how I did it, what worked, and how I should have done it. That is why this fits perfectly for me. But that is only my role in the Baruch community.
As for the broader community I do not think Baruch Scholars have any major role except as participants of preexisting initiatives. We are asked to volunteer at nonprofit organizations but I don’t think that is in any way an effective role in any community. There are plenty of high school, college, philanthropist, and bored people volunteering; so what sets a Baruch Scholar apart from them? Currently, absolutely nothing. What I think our role should be is an initiative generator or effective implementer. Baruch Scholars should form an organization and set up its own initiatives or make itself available to organizations that need a higher caliber of assistants. We shouldn’t go to organizations asking if they want our help, they should come to us asking for help. There should be a purely Baruch Scholars fraternity that picks for itself some meaningful, effective, or useful initiative that is not some sad excuse to say “look I volunteered and helped my community.” I am referring to the required hours the Honors Program imposes on us and the culture of service it promotes. It is not promoting anything more than a faux role in the community. Either we should be organized, and/or have a strong will to do it individually, without a required amount of hours, or what kind of organization we can apply our own initiative. Perhaps helping a non-approved organization can help the community more than spending 15 hours playing a mediocre role in a giant well established non-profit organization that makes itself look self righteous and an important part of the community.
