Baruch Scholars 2011

College, the turning point in a student’s life. No longer could you come in late everyday and not expect repercussions. No longer could you skip classes just because the weather wasn’t “A-ok.” No, now we had to carry a little something called responsibility on our backs. If a professor says to write an essay by a certain date, there was no handing it in a little late. It will be hard getting used to the first semester, yet nothing is harder than learning how to properly manage your time. Back in high school, we had a choice: a social life, good grades, or sleep. Pick 2 out of the 3. However the difference in college is that we have much more freedom. 2-3 hour breaks everyday aren’t meant to be playtime but in fact is valuable time that should be spent studying and doing homework. No wonder there’s a 24-hour library across the street. Yet time management isn’t the only problem. We also have to behave as adults. Courtesy, professionalism, little things like wearing shorts and sneakers to class can send a powerful message, though not in a good context. Sure, it’s really comfortable but now isn’t the time for that. We have to be furiously thinking about our future, about the image that we send to others. Seeing a person dressed in business casual attire shows that they are ready for the next step, that the person knows what he/she is doing.

I was four years old when my sister was born on April 13, 1993. I had always wanted a sister. I, later, found out that my parents planned to space us about 4 or 5 years apart, but that did not stop us from being the closest sisters ever. She is part of the reason I stayed close to home for college. I could not bear to be without her.

My sister has become my inspiration, which is ironic, because, usually, the younger sibling looks up to the older sibling, which is still true. I know that my sister is always watching me, so I strive to be a good role model. In high school, I was Vice President of the National Honors Society, on the Executive Board for Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), and in many other activities that looked good on my college application, helped my school, I enjoyed, and, most importantly, it caused my sister to be more involved in her school, in her National Junior Honors Society, for example.

Now, as a college student, I hope to continue to be a role model and lead my sister in the right direction, but, also, find myself in the process. Unlike my sister, I do not know what major or career I want to pick. I was hoping that this first semester could open my eyes to the opportunities that this college has to offer. Taking some of these courses could hopefully give me a taste of what I would want to feast on for the rest of my life.

Where Have You Been and Where Are You Going?

Even though I was born in America, my entire family immigrated here. Which may be typical of many families here in New York. That being said, because my parents didn’t speak much of any English until recent years, they had to work long hours (sewing and fixing radios, if I remember correctly) when I was younger. Before my mom switched her job, I remember either being in daycare/school or at my grandma’s house. Maybe it was because I spent so much time there or because I now realized how hard my parents were working and continue to work, now I value family a lot.

For this reason, I tend to listen and consider their suggestions more than I probably should, especially in regards to my future. But in high school, I made a decision that they didn’t particularly approve of. My parents supported me either way, with much criticism of course, because it was a decision that I would have to live with for the rest of my high school career; choosing an arts heavy major rather than a science or technical major. For the last two years that I spent learning skills such as drawing, photography, graphic design, web design, animation, and film  (video making), I can say that I do not regret the choice I made. Spending all-nighters editing a video that either I made or my group made together or creating a 3D character are experience that I may never have again. I was never a science or technical person anyway. Of course I passed all those classes, but my mind didn’t fully grasp dissecting and learning the elements too well.

This of course left me with limited options as to the career path that I could pursue in. I would be lying if I said I’m not interested in pursuing the newly found interests that I got a taste of. But as my parents insisted, there might not be a stable future down that path. Which led me to the business world that I am not sure if I am ready to immerse myself into as of yet. Mainly because a lot of which, to my beliefs  — correct me if I’m wrong –, involves being socially active and being able to present my ideas well or it could lead me down a mundane office life would definitely keep me in my closed bubble.

Why you may ask? I probably wouldn’t be forced to face my fears of speaking to others. Which is apparently a big problem that I thought I was able to let go of. Even though I have had experience speaking to others, whether it be children at a summer camp or actual working adults in the business world at an internship I had two summers ago, the nervousness I feel doesn’t seem to go away easily. Hopefully, my speech communications class will be able to get rid of this problem once at for all and not just temporarily as it was before. Otherwise, I’m going to have big problems in the future.

With the semester only lasting from August to December and with classes that will be changing next semester, unlike the way high school was structure, I wonder if I will be able to adjust myself to be more comfortable with not only my classmates but the classroom environment in time to be able to easily and more actively participate and immerse myself into the discussions. This is of course one of the many problems I’ve begun to encounter as college started. Another would be to manage myself more efficiently. The workload as increase slightly, but in exchange we have more time in our schedules. Yet, as embarrassed as I am to say this, I have succumbed to the evils of procrastination. There always seems to be more time, until there isn’t anymore. But, this hasn’t changed my “no sleeping until everything is finished” policy.

As the reality of college life has really hit me when I got my first papers back and anxiously waiting for the upcoming exams and deadlines, I know and will try hard to curb my habits. Although I had hoped to add some fun to my life in terms of clubs, I do not know if I will be able to this semester. As of right now, my goals for this semester is to
– work harder since there is a GPA to maintain to stay in honors.
– try to overcome my shyness and fear of speaking.
– gain more confidence along the way.
– try hard enjoy the most of classes that I’m currently in because most of them happen to fall in the categories that I  don’t particularly have an interest for.
– remember to read consistently, whether it be the readings for English/Philosophy or the textbooks.
– remember to ask for help when I need it!

In the further future, I would love to finally find the career path that I would like to pursue. Hopefully, it’ll satisfy both my interests and my parents’; especially since I have a feeling I’ll be by my family for a long time. The most ideal situation would be if this career would allow me to travel a lot. That way I will be able to make up for the traveling I couldn’t do because of how busy my parents were/are and I could still have freedom while being with my family.

Where Have You Been and Where Are You Going?

Even though I was born in America, my entire family immigrated here. Which may be typical of many families here in New York. That being said, because my parents didn’t speak much of any English until recent years, they had to work long hours (sewing and fixing radios, if I remember correctly) when I was younger. Before my mom switched her job, I remember either being in daycare/school or at my grandma’s house. Maybe it was because I spent so much time there or because I now realized how hard my parents were working and continue to work, now I value family a lot.

For this reason, I tend to listen and consider their suggestions more than I probably should, especially in regards to my future. But in high school, I made a decision that they didn’t particularly approve of. My parents supported me either way, with much criticism of course, because it was a decision that I would have to live with for the rest of my high school career; choosing an arts heavy major rather than a science or technical major. For the last two years that I spent learning skills such as drawing, photography, graphic design, web design, animation, and film  (video making), I can say that I do not regret the choice I made. Spending all-nighters editing a video that either I made or my group made together or creating a 3D character are experience that I may never have again. I was never a science or technical person anyway. Of course I passed all those classes, but my mind didn’t fully grasp dissecting and learning the elements too well.

This of course left me with limited options as to the career path that I could pursue in. I would be lying if I said I’m not interested in pursuing the newly found interests that I got a taste of. But as my parents insisted, there might not be a stable future down that path. Which led me to the business world that I am not sure if I am ready to immerse myself into as of yet. Mainly because a lot of which, to my beliefs  — correct me if I’m wrong –, involves being socially active and being able to present my ideas well or it could lead me down a mundane office life would definitely keep me in my closed bubble.

Why you may ask? I probably wouldn’t be forced to face my fears of speaking to others. Which is apparently a big problem that I thought I was able to let go of. Even though I have had experience speaking to others, whether it be children at a summer camp or actual working adults in the business world at an internship I had two summers ago, the nervousness I feel doesn’t seem to go away easily. Hopefully, my speech communications class will be able to get rid of this problem once at for all and not just temporarily as it was before. Otherwise, I’m going to have big problems in the future.

With the semester only lasting from August to December and with classes that will be changing next semester, unlike the way high school was structure, I wonder if I will be able to adjust myself to be more comfortable with not only my classmates but the classroom environment in time to be able to easily and more actively participate and immerse myself into the discussions. This is of course one of the many problems I’ve begun to encounter as college started. Another would be to manage myself more efficiently. The workload as increase slightly, but in exchange we have more time in our schedules. Yet, as embarrassed as I am to say this, I have succumbed to the evils of procrastination. There always seems to be more time, until there isn’t anymore. But, this hasn’t changed my “no sleeping until everything is finished” policy.

As the reality of college life has really hit me when I got my first papers back and anxiously waiting for the upcoming exams and deadlines, I know and will try hard to curb my habits. Although I had hoped to add some fun to my life in terms of clubs, I do not know if I will be able to this semester. As of right now, my goals for this semester is to
– work harder since there is a GPA to maintain to stay in honors.
– try to overcome my shyness and fear of speaking.
– gain more confidence along the way.
– try hard enjoy the most of classes that I’m currently in because most of them happen to fall in the categories that I  don’t particularly have an interest for.
– remember to read consistently, whether it be the readings for English/Philosophy or the textbooks.
– remember to ask for help when I need it!

In the further future, I would love to finally find the career path that I would like to pursue. Hopefully, it’ll satisfy both my interests and my parents’; especially since I have a feeling I’ll be by my family for a long time. The most ideal situation would be if this career would allow me to travel a lot. That way I will be able to make up for the traveling I couldn’t do because of how busy my parents were/are and I could still have freedom while being with my family.

To my freshman seminar classmates, Mr. Medina, and Maria,

I am Jason Bae. The question of identity has always been an ambiguous question. Ultimately, I believe that it comes down to introspection. So to start things off- I've always been a voracious reader, a voracious eater, a voracious movie watcher, etc. In other words, I get the ball rolling. For as long as I can rememeber, I've always lived and done things in excess- and I can't imagine living any other way. I've had multiple dreams as to what I wanted to be as well. When I was younger, I wanted to be a scientist- back then I wasn't aware of what exactly that entailed, so I read as much about everything I could get my hands on. As I type this entry, one of the books propping my laptop up is a book of human anatomy from UC Berkeley from the 80's. Since childhood, I've always been into owning tangible things, whether it be a ticket stub, magazines, or books. Over the years, I've amassed a large collection of books- in my room overlooking an empty street in Flushing Queens, I'm sure that there are atleast 300 books. I didnt have enough space in my room, so I keep the rest of my books in my sister's room, where another 500 lie. Aside from that tangent, after realizing that science itself was such a broad category, I wanted to do something with computers. So in 6th grade, I got an A+ certification, and fixed computers for money. But then I grew bored. Later on, in high school, I wanted to become a director. So following in the steps of Kubrick, I set a goal, and for two and a half years, I watched three to four movies a day. But after speaking to my friend whose father happened to be involved in the world of lights, cameras, and action. I came to realize that such a dream would not come to fruition unless I either had money, or the proper connections. And seeing as how I lacked both, I resolved find a job that dealt with money. In other words, I wanted to become a Hedge Fund manager. So pursuing my current dream, I read as many texts regarding the market I could get my hands on, read the wall street journal,etc. I also got a job dealing with securities, which I later deferred college for an year for in order to help support my family. I worked over 60 hours a week, which entailed 12 hour days monday through friday. I was to become the youngest stock broker currently working in America, but was unable to obtain sponsorship for two tests that were required by FINRA in order to become one, due to my age at the time. But over the course of my life, I've learned to never regret any actions I have done. Simply because, the act of regretting does not lead to anything. And moreover, to do anything you want to, as full heartedly as you can.

*COMMENT- I HATE THIS BLOG SYSTEM, I JUST LOST 400 WORDS...RETYPING- As a Baruch student, I plan on continue learning about Finance and hopefully major in it. Also given the nature of the Honors program, I'm sure I will gain a more holistic image of the world we live in. I understand that the goal of many students, not only here at Baruch, but all over the world is to obtain a high Grade Point Average. Of course, a high GPA is something I would like to obtain, however I don't plan on making that my sole pursuit here at Baruch. I plan on enjoying all three to four years here at college, because I believe that life is short, and life is what you make of it. So if you view life from the concept of the microcosm and the Macrocosm- where one minute,one hour, or one day is the microcosm to the macrocosm of your life- and you believe that life is like a fractal, in which no matter how far you zoom in or out, it looks the same- So in other words, the minute you live right now, or the hour(day, month,year) automatically changes your life to be like that moment. And as a hackneyed example, whenever you have a horrible day, don't you view your entire life as horrible and that it will continue to be horrible? However when you have a good day, life is beautiful, and will continue to be beautiful- and its all smooth sailing from then on. Then by that logic, it is from this moment onwards that we begin to define our life. And there has been a passage from a book a written by James Joyce that has always resonated with me. In Potrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Stephan Dedalus proclaims, "I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race." I've always believed that Joyce was saying that it was from this moment onwards that we dictate what we become. Or in other words, shape ourselves into an individual from the putty of experience that we have obtained through living.

 I hope to have a good first semester in order to keep the good times rolling. And as of the moment, I dont have any concerns, other than the wallet I lost. And whether or not a Baruch I.D. will be necessary- for I do not plan on shelling out ten dollars to replace a piece of magnetized plastic.

I want to thank you all for reading, because I realize that I rant. And to make things worse, I realize that I am not the best articulator of thoughts. And I also happen to be horrible, and I mean horrible at grammar. I set a resolution to analyze the writing of noted publications such as the New York Times in order to become a better writer. I think it is going well, but I guess we'll see a year from now.

Over the past eighteen years, there have been countless experiences that have shaped who I am. The most recent experience was last summer, when I worked as a manager at 32 degree froyo. My job as a manager included training new staff, overseeing and delegating tasks to my co-workers, along with refilling yogurt toppings and ringing up customers at the cash register. By no means was working at this froyo lounge my first job, however, it was here where I developed my values in hard work and the benefits that stem from it- my paycheck at the end of my 32 hour work weeks were proof that the fruits of my labor had paid off! After getting off at 12:30 am four times a week (it was a 3:30pm -12:15am work shift), I arrived home with not just sore legs and throbbing feet, but also a sense of accomplishment and pride that I had worked and done my best. Working at the 32 degrees froyo also helped me learn the value of patience especially when dealing with difficult customers. Being that the froyo lounge had just opened up, and it was new to our tight knit, small jewish community in Great Neck, many customers had questions about which yogurts and toppings were kosher. With that being said, many customers were quite rude and angry to us workers when they found out that not everything in the store was kosher. This definitely taught me patience and endurance because I learned that I must always be cordial to customers no matter how badly they treat me.

Being a freshman at Baruch College is definitely daunting but exciting. I am looking forward to so many new experiences that are ahead of me- such as landing my first real internship with a major company, acing that impossible test that I studied hours for, and meeting new people from different diverse backgrounds. I am very hopeful that I will do my best academically. I am concerned that I will not be able to keep up with the high speed pace of our school work.

Hi, my name is Helen.

When I was a kid, I came home from school excited to switch on the TV and watch all the cartoon shows. It was with my mom telling me every day to do my homework before I play that I eventually went to do my homework after I played. She would always make me redo my work if it was messy. Sometimes she would force me to say the multiplication table in Chinese, which I once mastered but now cannot do. However, I don’t have to say it out loud to know what 1 x 1 equals or what 12 x 12 equals.

My mom is one of the reasons why I have pursued math up to Differential Equations in high school. She did not graduate from high school in China, but she taught me everything she knew to give me a solid start for my future math classes. My first dream job was to be a math teacher, and I held onto that dream unto junior high school. But who is to say that I won’t go into education?

Although I plan on being an accounting major–one of the reasons being that I love numbers–I also plan on exploring other academic areas to expand the bubble I have been living in and to make more career options for my future.

My kid self has not completely disappeared yet, fortunately and unfortunately. I’m still the girl who would choose TV over homework especially if I induce that I have enough time for homework later. I can’t concentrate otherwise.

Somehow I have managed to do well in school. I have learned to push myself and to manage my time  decently despite my past desires to watch cartoons 24/7 (especially when I started having access to a computer 24/7).

I was always a competitive child in games, sports, and tests. But attending Stuyvesant High School taught me that I cannot be good at everything. I could have spent all my time studying American History in sophomore year, but then I would have failed my Chinese class. And even then I would not have gotten 100 on any one of the tests. That was just how bad I was at history. But the important thing was learning that although competition can push you to your limits, too much of it can blind you from seeing the important things in your life: friends, family, and fun.

As a college student, I expect to find something I’m passionate about: a sport, a hobby, an area of study, etc. I found things I liked to do while in high school; but tennis, painting, and math are not what I want to commit time for.

For my first semester at Baruch, I am worried about my grades and finding an extracurricular activity that I strongly like. I hope that I can do well for my classes not just for the grades but also for the desire to learn. I also hope that I can find that extracurricular activity…

I hope to be able to express my ideas and opinions more clearly to my peers and professors. I want to enjoy the the college life and to truly be part of the community at Baruch.

Hi, my name is Helen.

When I was a kid, I came home from school excited to switch on the TV and watch all the cartoon shows. It was with my mom telling me every day to do my homework before I play that I eventually went to do my homework after I played. She would always make me redo my work if it was messy. Sometimes she would force me to say the multiplication table in Chinese, which I once mastered but now cannot do. However, I don’t have to say it out loud to know what 1 x 1 equals or what 12 x 12 equals.

My mom is one of the reasons why I have pursued math up to Differential Equations in high school. She did not graduate from high school in China, but she taught me everything she knew to give me a solid start for my future math classes. My first dream job was to be a math teacher, and I held onto that dream unto junior high school. But who is to say that I won’t go into education?

Although I plan on being an accounting major–one of the reasons being that I love numbers–I also plan on exploring other academic areas to expand the bubble I have been living in and to make more career options for my future.

My kid self has not completely disappeared yet, fortunately and unfortunately. I’m still the girl who would choose TV over homework especially if I induce that I have enough time for homework later. I can’t concentrate otherwise.

Somehow I have managed to do well in school. I have learned to push myself and to manage my time  decently despite my past desires to watch cartoons 24/7 (especially when I started having access to a computer 24/7).

I was always a competitive child in games, sports, and tests. But attending Stuyvesant High School taught me that I cannot be good at everything. I could have spent all my time studying American History in sophomore year, but then I would have failed my Chinese class. And even then I would not have gotten 100 on any one of the tests. That was just how bad I was at history. But the important thing was learning that although competition can push you to your limits, too much of it can blind you from seeing the important things in your life: friends, family, and fun.

As a college student, I expect to find something I’m passionate about: a sport, a hobby, an area of study, etc. I found things I liked to do while in high school; but tennis, painting, and math are not what I want to commit time for.

For my first semester at Baruch, I am worried about my grades and finding an extracurricular activity that I strongly like. I hope that I can do well for my classes not just for the grades but also for the desire to learn. I also hope that I can find that extracurricular activity…

I hope to be able to express my ideas and opinions more clearly to my peers and professors. I want to enjoy the the college life and to truly be part of the community at Baruch.

Journal #1

 I arrived in the United States at the tender age of eight, and the cultural diversity to which I have been exposed has been a truly rewarding and fulfilling experience. Although New York City is referred to many as a concrete jungle, my first taste of the “Big Apple” has helped me appreciate people who hail from backgrounds dissimilar to mine. I attribute my love for dining, travelling and mentally stimulating experiences to this culturally invigorating city. If I were given an opportunity to describe my persona in merely three words, the adjectives I would use are: persistent, painstaking and passionate. I try to approach every task with a certain degree of diligence and my dogged persistence helps me overcome impediments. In Townsend Harris High School, I was given an opportunity to conduct research in the Mount Sinai School of Medicine under three medical professionals in the field of ophthalmology. Having focused so heavily on the sciences in my high school, I am eager to discover the field of business in my schooling at Baruch College. Over the summer, I attended the Youth About Business Camp at Columbia University and the memories, knowledge and skills that I developed in the basic and championship camp is sure to help me in my classes at Baruch. The most interesting aspects of Finance, according to me, is investment banking and someday, I hope to carve a niche for myself in the business world. At Baruch College, I aspire to broaden my horizons by becoming actively involved in campus affairs, building my professional network and giving back to the community.

Hi, my name is Steven Teng and there were many things in my past that helped shape who I am. However, in order to understand everything, we’ll have to start at the beginning. I grew up in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, and as a child, I wasn’t the ideal student. I vaguely remember getting low grades on my exams and annoying my teachers. However, I changed into a different person from 4th grade and on. My parents started comparing me to other students and how my grades were so low. It was also the time where I joined the school chorus, after several years of trying to get in. My experiences in the chorus taught me that hard work pays off and that I’ll have to work hard to please my parents. With this mentality, I entered Cunningham Junior High. Cunningham helped me academically and allowed me to try different things, such as playing an instrument. I have always loved music and I took the chance that my school gave me to join the school band. After trying hard to learn the flute, I was able to become one of the better players in the band. With everything that Cunningham gave me, I was able to enter Stuyvesant High School. I learned a lot from Stuyvesant and met people that will be lifelong friends.

Outside of Stuyvesant, I got my first job at a tutoring place. At that time, I was extremely timid and did not like talking to people that I didn’t know, especially those older than I was. However, I enjoyed the work that my boss gave me and it required me to communicate with the teachers. After working there for a few summers, I was able to interact with teachers, parents, and students comfortably. These are valuable life experiences that I can only gain by working at places such as the tutoring place that I am currently employed at.

The schools I attended and my work experience helped shape who I am now. These experiences changed me from a troublemaker to a timid boy to someone who is not afraid to speak with others. Now, I am in Baruch College, hoping for a good education. I have two cousins that attend Baruch and I often look to them for help. I hope to do as well as they do in school and live up to the expectations of my family and friends. The thing that I am concerned about is the format of how college classes and college in general is structured. However, I believe that Mr. Medina and Maria, along with my classmates and friends, will help me overcome this worry. I expect to have a lot of fun in Baruch and get a good education.