Monthly Archives: November 2010

College has been a roller coaster experience with it’s ups and downs.  College and family has put a lot of pressure on me to maintain a high average.  Throughout life my dad has always forced me to study and get high grades, if i got lower than a 90 I would be penalized.  The honors program has also put on increased pressure to maintain a 3.3 average.  The possibility of getting kicked out of the honors program, something i worked tremendously hard for in high school, is horrifying. But community service is something that doesn’t revolve around grades, but around me and my personal interests.  It gives me freedom and a sense of responsibility to accomplish a certain task that i want to fulfill.

The city is filled with endless possibilities for volunteering.  The librarian tasked to help honors students greatly helped my group approach a topic that we were interested in.  The library website itself has countless databases to find unlimited resources and knowledge.  The clubs present in Baruch are also a means of finding knowledge on Baruch, NYC, jobs and simply a way to have fun.  Even though Golden Key membership requires you to be a junior I still regularly go to their meetings to meet new people and volunteer in events throughout New York City.

Volunteering in clubs and organizations in New York City has given me a certain edge over my courses and Baruch.  It has given me a sense of responsibility to achieve my own goals through my actions because college demands you to be more independent and rely on your own skills than the teachers.

As I sit here in the library typing away at my final blog entry, I cannot help but feel that I somehow allowed time to pass by without my notice. Let’s see… Freshman Convocation was on August 25, 2010 I believe. So it’s been close to three months since that very first day of school. Three months, three months of school, homework, food, and sleep. Three months of constantly telling myself not to allow procrastination to get the better of me like it did before. Three months of telling myself to do what I need to do and allow everything else to fall into place. Things fell, but where did they fall?

Today is my last day of Freshman Seminar and the last day of classes will be here in no time. This term is rapidly coming to an end. There are only a couple of major assignments left, finals, and then I’ll be done. I guess in terms of schoolwork, I did what I wanted to do. I turned in most of my homework, on time when I could. I think I did fairly well on my presentations. What else did I do? Was turning in homework and making presentations all I did over the last three months?

I guess in doing homework, I did manage to make use of the school’s resources, the Honors lounge, the lounge areas in school, and especially the library. The library was a particularly useful resource; everything from the books themselves to the study rooms to the computers on the second floor proved to be useful at one point or another. Not to mention the serenity it offered from hustle and bustle of the big city. These last three months, I was probably in the library everyday that it was open, staring at my laptop, trying to do that history analysis paper or to write this final blog entry.

Okay, I did my homework, made my presentations, but did I really learn anything? How am I different from when I first entered Baruch those short three months ago? Let me see… I think I can honestly say that my outlook has changed somewhat. At the very least I no long see school as a prison where I just have to serve my sentence and wait to be released. But I think more importantly than what is why. Why did my outlook change?

Privilege and Responsibility! The answer is simply that. I am given so many privileges and opportunities. The opportunity to attend college for free, the privilege of having an incredible library within such close proximity to the school. With so many resources, it is my responsibility to give back to the community however I can. Whether it is creating a community service project for next semester, joining a club that engages in community service this term or simply not wasting time procrastinating.

The community service project and just Freshman Seminar as a whole has helped me realize that my time does not belong to me. That when I waste my time sitting at home doing nothing I am not only neglecting my responsibility to myself but I am neglecting my responsibility to the larger community.

In order for anyone to succeed in an assignment regarding a new institution or system, the person needs to involve him/herself with resources such as other peers and staff. Before we began even discussing the community service project as a team, already such resources zoomed into my mind to reach for guidance to tackle this assignment. During the weeks of discussion between the members of my group, I would reach out to other Baruch Honor students, relatives, friends, and even members of student clubs among Baruch. All these people helped me think about the seriousness of giving back and volunteering with non-profit organizations in our communities. I have utilized support centers such as the Baruch Honors advisor’s offices, like popping into Mr. Medina’s office to discuss issues with group volunteering and deciding factors on a specific program. Other clubs/organizations I have went to in order to get some advice were the Hillel at Baruch and Chabad, which have Rabbis who visit Baruch weekly to discuss how I should confront my group with religious ideas that contradict with some volunteer programs. For example, in my opinion, when one has the opportunity to help out in an organization that is involved with abused animals or another organization that helps humans; the person should volunteer at the organization that reaches out to our brothers and sisters, or actual humans. Through a Jewish perspective, a human’s value is much higher than a dog.

These pieces of advice that I have gotten from a wide range of people, has helped me look at our society in a different perspective. The fact that I see litter on the subway’s platform as a 30 cent loss from taxpayer’s money is a big deal because through the education I have received while researching litter, I have been impacted to want to act. This tiny detail that influences me to think has gone into the public realm also. Now before I say anything, I think twice because what I say can be understood as a saying that is agreed upon all Jews or even all Baruch Honors students! I am a representative of my generation, I want to succeed and these little building blocks created from this project eventually form who I will be after (<G-d willing>) 4 years at Baruch.

To be honest, I have not sought out any form of help from any of the school’s resource systems. Perhaps I shouldn’t admit that, but it’s not as if I’ve done nothing at all. I have been working with my group, and we have been trying to figure it out together. But this is not because of the “I’m an Honors student, and I don’t need help” complex, I promise. So far, this project has not been something incredibly difficult. Other than getting rejected by our first service group, we have been able to figure everything out by ourselves. It has really been nice to work closely with people that I met only two months ago. At this point, it seems like I’ve known them for much longer. I guess you might be surprised to know how quickly you begin to bond with a person when you are thrust into the same situation. Also, it’s nice to have John to talk to, who has been through all of these things. I asked him if I could wear my red suit that I got for Halloween for the presentation, and he said it would be fine. Now, I did not decide to wear it, but I love that he didn’t shoot the idea down. Especially since I wasn’t kidding (I just made the choice not to wear it. The pants are really tight and uncomfortable, and I did not want to wear them for the whole day).

I have joined the ECO club here at Baruch. Last weekend they went on a trip to the Aquarium in Brooklyn, but I could not actually go. It was disappointing that I had to miss out on it, but I had a ton of homework that needed to get done. Yay for time management and priorities. I actually go to the aquarium with my family quite often, usually around Shark Week. It’s awesome to see real sharks during Shark Week. Unfortunately, this did not effect my community service project directly.

Again, to be completely honest, my understanding of community service has not changed because of this project. I’m guessing that along with most people in this class, my high school had a community service requirement. My mother made sure that I did as much service as I could, regardless of the “required” number. It’s because of her that I really appreciate helping others, no matter what personal gain you might get. It makes a community service assignment seem less forced.

When asked, “How has your participation in the Community Service Project encouraged you to draw upon the expertise of faculty and staff?” all I can really say is that “I haven’t done it, so far”. The only interaction with faculty I’ve had has been with trying to sort out problems in my classes. That said, just because I haven’t needed to do so doesn’t mean that I haven’t been encouraged. From the people who have came into our Freshman Seminar classes, I have learned that should I ever have an issue in practically any area, there are people and resource centers I can go to for help. Right now I’m actually having some problems with my Macbook, so I guess I’ll be using those resources in one way or another pretty soon.

Then I’m asked, “Have you joined a student club?” and to this, I can say “Yes!”. I recently joined the Baruch College radio station, WBMB, in the music department. So far, it’s been great. I met some really cool people, and found a niche that is both new and familiar. In high school, I was president of the Rock & Roll Club, so being in a creative environment is something I’m used to. However, at the same time, this is completely new to me, as I’ve never been in radio before. Right now, I’m trying to come up with a concept for my own show. This is at once exciting and intimidating, but it is definitely something I want to do. Sort of like college, in general.

The final blog, I can’t believe it is almost the end of the semester.  Writing this blog makes me feel a little heartbreaking.  I was really scared to leave high school because it was my comfort place, a place where I play a certain role and developed relationships with those around me.  I was scared wit the idea of leaving it, leaving my identity.  I am happy that Baruch has these LC classes because it helps you slowly shift into a more independent environment.  After researching clubs and going to many events, I finally join one club that I feel like it is the “place” to be in.  Joining the club leading me to form friendships with older students.  I am very thankful for those friendships because they have many useful advise to offer about being a freshman.  Join this club also lead me to become friends with members of other clubs.

I had used the tutoring center for help in math class, with homework and test review sheets.  I also made an appointment for the writing center; I hope to use this appointment to rewrite my essay.  I had used the library for online research and for borrowing books.

For our community project, we used online resources that were recommended by our Liberian.  Besides the online resources, I think the John and Mr. Medina has been the most encouraging people.  This projected gave me a chance to work with other students and during the process I had the chance of getting to know them better and becoming friends.  I think the hardest part of this project as finding the right organization to fits your passion and also getting in contact with the organization.  I think base on my research of our organization, I learned that feeding hungry is one thing, but it is extremely important to help people to become independent.  I think Google Document was one of the most important device I used during this project and it will be one device I will continue to use in the future for any kind of group work.

I guess this is the end of the journey, 再见!

(There is no word for “good-bye” in Chinese, only for “see you again” so I hope will see you again in the future.)

After coming from a tiny, and I mean TINY high school, I gotta say, the transition to a school like Baruch was pretty intense. It was a very different and somewhat intimidating experience. I was used to having personal relationships with guidance counselors and teachers who had a good understanding of who I was after seeing me grow throughout my four years there, and they gave me relevant and good advice that I took consistently. This element of personal connection with superiors is more or less gone now, and I’ve got to fend for myself and make big decisions with real life consequences. It’s scary! I’m not sure what I want to do, who I am, all that stuff, typical lazy young adult. Thankfully, this class has not only helped me develop personal relationships with my colleagues in my LC, but has also given me opportunities to join lots of potentially fun, interesting, and most of all, productive clubs and organizations. I’m definitely going to be using the STARR Career Development Center fairly soon, as that seemed to have not only the most interesting staff, but most directly useful information and help. I don’t feel so alone anymore!

As far as community service goes, I’ve really learned that it’s important to have a motive that goes further than a scholarly requirement, and that it’s okay to do something that can benefit you as long as you’re still helping others. By this I mean that you need to have a legitimate concern and compassionate attitude towards the people that you’re helping, otherwise the magnitude of the service you’re providing is almost void. Merely helping out with things is not enough; people in need are in fact, people, and need and react positively to love. Also, I think that if you are going to perform a community service where you have to cook, learning to cook in order to be prepared is a kind of two birds with one stone deal. I am tired of eating cereal and crappy fruit for breakfast, I want to know how to make myself (and others!) a big hearty breakfast in the morning.

Throughout my life, I have been apprehensive about asking for help. It’s not really from embarrassment or shame, but more just the approach of a stranger that unnerves me. In any case it is inevitable that we all ask for help at some point in our lives. I didn’t really use any staff or faculty when doing the community service project, but those who gave me advice without my asking did help me and my group members to better follow guidelines. I have sought assistance in other aspects of my student life, however. I have gone to Mr. Medina for advice in time management and he has been very supportive. I have joined USG and their marketing committee. Originally I had done so because I wanted to just do their fliers, but they are very inviting and I have become friends with a few of the members. They are all upperclassmen so they know which teachers are good and also can give me advice on how to manage my time. They also know a lot about whats going on in the school.
It is always a good thing to have people to talk to, especially with all the pressures or various things that we all have going on simultaneously in our lives. It allows us to relieve some stress and by talking to each other we can sort out some of the confusion that jumbles around in our minds. I think that is the thing I value most about going for help or using resources.
Our discussion in class about the last journal entry allowed me to understand different view points on community service. I do not doubt that what we are doing is beneficial to the community, and I am glad that we are going to be providing at least a small improvement to New York. I value most anything that is positive, as one should, and I think this experience will just allow me to be a little happier, and be able to work with other people and get to know them better through creating this project together.

In the whirlwind of the first few weeks of becoming accustomed to college life, I signed up for every club imaginable. If I saw something with a moderately interesting description, I signed up. If they gave out good candy, I signed up. If they talked me into signing up, I put my name on that contact list. However, it’s November now and after dabbling in these various clubs and attending awkward meetings, I finally found one where I feel welcome- USG. Even though I downgraded from ten clubs to one, it’s the only thing I have time for at the moment and I really enjoy going to the meetings. I love knowing what is going on in the school and having a hand in planning events. So I’ll stick with that for now. I’m also looking into another organization to join next semester that I think I’ll enjoy being involved with.

Although Baruch does provide us with a lot of resources, I wouldn’t really say that the community service project has caused me to use a majority of the resources provided. The research process and picking an organization was based on my individual knowledge and efforts. That isn’t to say that I haven’t made use of the variety of resources offered by Baruch in other aspects of my education.

My understanding of community service didn’t really change but I guess my understanding of the process did. It made me think of it as something more technical and organized. I used to think of community service as just walking into a soup kitchen and handing out food, but I found out that there is much more involved. There are appointments and forms and a whole bureaucratic system that one is required to go through. I’m not sure if I like this whole idea of community service being something so technical and controlled. I’ve always thought of it as something anyone can do anywhere at any time, but maybe I’m just thinking of random acts of kindness. Either way, I learned a lot about how the whole process of becoming involved with an organization works.