Author Archives: Ken Ka Leung Ting

Although I have yet visited any of the support centers provided by Baruch, I can see myself going there in the future. I have heard from my colleagues that these centers did wonders for them and I am positive it will do the same for me. Since I was still new to Baruch, I did not join any clubs and organizations. But now that I’m going into my second semester in Baruch, I will be sure to join one of the clubs that we have here in Baruch.

Without this project, I would not have been as close to Steven and Johanna as I am right now. Since everyone in the Baruch Honors Program is a community, I felt that this project really tied us together. But not only did I get closer to the people in my block, I was able to get in touch with my advisor, Mr. Medina and our peer mentor, Maria. I can honestly say, I am not a person who goes and run after everything I see. I’m the kind of person who just waits for everything to come to me. It’s definitely a bad habit, but I’m trying to change all of that. Back in high school, everything was given to me, I was guided by people to do everything. I know that in most colleges, there is no one to really rely on but yourself. But I’m so glad in our college, we have faculties and staffs who truly cares about our education and keeping us on track.

In addition to making me closer to the Baruch COmmunity, this project has also allowed me to talk to people in different organizations and it has helped me build my communication skills. I firmly believed that being able to talk to others is a skill that is necessary in life and the only way I can learn how to do that is by talking to different people.

Giving back to the community has always been something I’ve always believed in. For the past four years of my life, I have spent countless of hours working with different organization, countless of weekends participating in walks and workshops that help people in need. My job was to make sure everyone in my club were serving their community because they genuinely want to help and not because it would look good on their resume or give them credits. When I became a Baruch Scholar, I quickly realized that the Honors Program advocates a culture of service that is similar to the one I’ve been accustomed to in my club. Although not all of us are driven to do community service because of intrinsic satisfaction, it is always the first step that needs to be taken that always pushes people to continue their participation in volunteering. As Baruch Scholars, we are  entitled to so many opportunities that many will not get the chance to experience. What this means is, we have more reasons to give back to the society and more reasons to help the people in need. It is not about what will look good for our resumes, but instead it’s about our duty as human beings that we should seriously consider.

It definitely isn’t easy to find the right words to describe myself. I guess I’ll start by talking about my transition from Hong Kong to New York. I moved here about 11 years ago and I think I’ve adjusted pretty well. I have a diverse group of friends and I’m glad it is like that. I feel like if you immigrate to another country, in order to be successful, you have to assimilate to their way of life. In high school I was pretty involved with my school. I ran for secretary at my school’s largest club and I got to go to conventions and meetings and met a lot of cool people. Since going to college is a place where you can meet all kinds of people, it is necessary for me to engage and get involved with everything that Baruch has to offer. Although I have not joined any clubs or fraternity this semester, I think it is best for me to join one sometime in the future.