Baruch Scholars 2011

The first semester is coming to a close and Freshman Seminar is almost over. With presentations later on today, and just about one more class left after that. It has been a rocky semester, not necessarily in grades, but in terms of stress. Although the experience has still felt a little more lax than what I am used to, it should be noted the high stress-high competitive nature of my alma mater was not healthy either. At the same time, I have withdrawn out of a few of the clubs and organizations I joined at the beginning of the year, but I have found some sort of place at The Ticker’s News Department. It is some sort of solace to continue working in journalism.

How has your participation in the Community Service Project encouraged you to draw upon the expertise of faculty and staff?
This community service project has been one of the more odd projects I have undertaken in my academic career. It was not difficult per se, but it has taken some unexpected turns. Personally, I had no idea that public speaking was really difficult for a number of people. That was a real obstacle, and it’s something that was not well handled in the course.

In terms of looking towards staff for help and resources, Sam is always helpful with her feedback, and her criticism of the PowerPoint and presentation were of great use in tweaking them for the final presentation.

Which support centers have you utilized?
Well, fortunately for our group, we didn’t really have to go out of our way to utilize the facilities of Baruch to help us find a non-profit. We originally were planning on using the library to find something worthwhile, but since I remembered the organization thanks to my previous involvement it was relatively easy for us.

Have you joined a student club?
As I mentioned earlier, I am a contributing writer for the Ticker, hopefully moving forward with becoming a senior writer. I was part of the USG, but I have since been on leave, considering the Tuesday time slot for meetings were not terribly convenient. I do intend on returning when that time becomes less busy. I was also part of the Wall Street Club for a good month and a half, but it got a little stale and I left. What I look forward to is starting the east coast swing/lindy hop club I’ve been preparing in the spring. (If you’re interested in joining or mentoring, please let me know by all means!)

Describe how using these resources for your team project has given you an edge in your other courses and your future success at Baruch.

Well the Freshman Seminar course did introduce us to the Newman library’s most important resource: their databases. The databases are some of the most valuable things a Baruch student could have. The one class we had really demonstrated how to utilize the databases of journals and scholarly articles we need for other classes.

How has your understanding of community service evolved as a result of your participation in the Project? Where do you see yourself in the next 3 years?

To be honest, I have not have much of an evolution of thought in regards to community service. I have always been of the belief that given the time to do so, it should always be something responsible citizens of any society should pursue. Even a basic belief in karma would demonstrate the value in doing so.

As for the next three years, I’m not entirely sure where I will be. There are a lot of things that could happen in between now and then. I might be Baruch’s number one fan by then, or the complete opposite. And that would dictate where my place in Baruch would be. Outside academia, I do hope to be pursuing a job/internship in the financial services industry that I’ve always seen myself doing.

Wow! Time just goes by so fast. It seems like it was only yesterday when I, a small girls with big dreams, was entering Bruch for the first time. As I walked through the doors, the first thing that came to me was, ‘I can never get used to this.’ Yet, I have gotten used to it! I remember how I would constantly complain about the commute in the first 2-3 months. Now, I am grateful for it, to do my English readings for the day, or sleep, or just have time to enjoy my music. Life has been very hectic since I entered Baruch, with exams, papers, blog posts, reading, and other homework. Yet, I have managed to manage. I still have to work on improving my sleeping schedule and stop sleeping at 5 in the morning, only to awake at 7:30 later, but I guess that’s what caffeine is for. Being a caffeine addict already, I think it has only gotten worse since coming to Baruch, but I am working on improving it.

At first, I really didn’t like Baruch. I felt bombarded with work and at the same time, still felt so bored. Now, I have begun to enjoy my college experience. It is not only a very different environment, but also is filled with many opportunities, and I want to take advantage of them. My participation in the Community Service Project has made me realize that there is a ton of help available to anyone seeking it. All we have to do is ask, and we will get the help we need. The faculty in this school are very helpful and really do aid to foster a sense of learning, encouraging us to push forward and achieve all that we want. Without the support of my advisor, Mr. Medina and my peer mentor, Sam, I don’t know what I’d do. They offer so much support and are always there to help. Because of this project, I have realized the importance of teamwork and how we all have to work together to reach a common goal that we can all work towards. With a bit of disagreement and with our varied interests, it was hard to decide a place to volunteer at. In the end, we decided to volunteer at the New York Public Library, because it the option we could all actually agree on. It definitely was a great decision, because by volunteering our time there, we are giving back to the very institution that really means a lot to our society. As New Yorkers, we are dependent on the New York Public Library System, as it provides us with unlimited amounts of free knowledge and free access to many resources, including the internet. It has been our friend while we were growing up, and continues to aid us today. We feel that by volunteering there, we are not only helping the library serve our society, but also will be able to better ourselves.

I have come to appreciate the many resources available and the many different clubs that the college has to offer. I am definitely planning to use the Starr Career Development Center, in order to find internships in the future, build my resume, and attend other workshops that will aid me in my college career. I am planning to volunteer at an organization I found in the volunteer fair, New York Needs You, during the winter break and into next semester. I also want to join a club next semester. I am still exploring all the options. I definitely do want to try to get into an honor society as well. In the next three years I see myself to be a very involved, motivated, and ambitious person, who has better time management skills.

So far, to be honest, I have not felt the need to contact or request any services that the support centers at Baruch offer. I’m not entirely sure what help we would need or what center to go to get that help. I’ve thought about going to the Writing Center for English papers, but never followed through. My grades don’t reflect that I need any help currently, but it’s nice to know that these resources are available to me whenever I need them.

Unfortunately, as a result of the surprise onset of work (English papers!) that I experienced sometime in October, my involvement with student organizations is minimal. My first day at Baruch, I attended an Ambassador’s meeting. It’s a group that gives campus tours to prospective Baruch students. Ever since that day, I have been to one Ambassador event. I’m surprised I even made it to that one, because daunting commute. The commute is actually another contributing factor to my perceived lack of interest in clubs. Joining and actively participating in organizations seems more feasible next term- when I’ve settled into the commuter life.

In terms of other Baruch-related organizations, I am actually excited for the community service project. We are yet to volunteer, but I expect that getting involved in Change For Kids (the focus of my group’s community service project) will be rewarding on a few levels. Obviously it will be great to help kids learn and become better students, but it will also be good practice for life in general. We will always need to get out there, talk to people, and make friends- something especially important for students entering the field of business. I think that volunteering is great for learning to connect with people from different walks of life. If my experience at Change For Kids matches my expectations, I can see myself getting increasingly involved as I progress through college. And not just with CFK, but various organizations with different focuses and goals.

So far, to be honest, I have not felt the need to contact or request any services that the support centers at Baruch offer. I’m not entirely sure what help we would need or what center to go to get that help. I’ve thought about going to the Writing Center for English papers, but never followed through. My grades don’t reflect that I need any help currently, but it’s nice to know that these resources are available to me whenever I need them.

Unfortunately, as a result of the surprise onset of work (English papers!) that I experienced sometime in October, my involvement with student organizations is minimal. My first day at Baruch, I attended an Ambassador’s meeting. It’s a group that gives campus tours to prospective Baruch students. Ever since that day, I have been to one Ambassador event. I’m surprised I even made it to that one, because daunting commute. The commute is actually another contributing factor to my perceived lack of interest in clubs. Joining and actively participating in organizations seems more feasible next term- when I’ve settled into the commuter life.

In terms of other Baruch-related organizations, I am actually excited for the community service project. We are yet to volunteer, but I expect that getting involved in Change For Kids (the focus of my group’s community service project) will be rewarding on a few levels. Obviously it will be great to help kids learn and become better students, but it will also be good practice for life in general. We will always need to get out there, talk to people, and make friends- something especially important for students entering the field of business. I think that volunteering is great for learning to connect with people from different walks of life. If my experience at Change For Kids matches my expectations, I can see myself getting increasingly involved as I progress through college. And not just with CFK, but various organizations with different focuses and goals.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Participating in the Community Service Project has opened my eyes to many important issues in our society today, most of which I was unaware of until recently. For example, I had no idea that families with a family member that has been diagnosed with cancer had such a hard time dealing with life. The organization we plan to help, the American Cancer Society, does a great job in helping patients deal with cancer as well as helping the cancer-stricken patient’s families. Cancer is not something that can or should be dealt with alone. It is a well known fact that having human support helps people deal with problems, ranging from small tutoring sessions to life-threatening cancer treatment sessions.

Many student clubs at Baruch College were set up to aid students and even entire communities in dealing with their problems. I have joined the Finance and Economic Society to help me further my education of the real world and its financial problems, consequently helping our country with its massive financial woes. Joining this student group, as well as a few others, has shown me the power of teamwork as well as enabling me to work with my fellow peers on many problems. With experience that I am currently gathering at the clubs I actively participate in, I am hoping to put the knowledge I gather to good use. Helping my community with its senior rent subsidy problems as well as building a community center is high on my priority list of things to get done when I win a seat on the community board. The well being of my community is important to me and with its success, I am hoping that other neighborhoods can use it as a positive and, most importantly, a plausible example.

In three years, I am hoping to be well on my way to the actualization of my goals. Playing an active part in my community is important to me, and I am hoping that gaining access to the inner-sanctums of the political forces at play in my community will put forth positive outcomes.

So here we are, approaching our last session of Freshman Seminar and I just have to wonder what I took out of it. Upon entering Baruch, the honors classes are given tons of resources and support that I am certainly grateful for. The Community Service Project was the first assignment in which I contacted our librarian, Stephen Francour for research assistance. He showed me how to use the school database more effectively and provided me with useful suggestions on researching information on my not-for-profit organization. The Writing Center has improved a few of my papers and has helped me to clarify my thoughts and ideas in my writing. The STARR center at Baruch also has very interesting programs and workshops that I am interested in taking advantage of. I have not yet joined a club officially, but I have looked at a few; I am, however, looking for to the Business Case Study group that the honors college is starting.

I will definitely utilize all resources mentioned above, and more, to ensure my success at Baruch in the coming years. I expect much more research and many more papers in my remaining years at Baruch, so the library databases and the writing center will come in handy. Despite study resources however, there will be two people who will always be in my mind whenever I need help. Mr. Medina and Maria have been around when I needed them so far and I am ecstatic to have their guidance throughout my college career.

The community service project has reminded me of something that I had forgotten from the horrendous mountains of schoolwork I have been getting for the past five years of my life: responsibility. We are going to be the the next leaders  in our communities, and thus, be role models for the people around us. As honors students, we are expected to be aware and active in our communities. To ensure morality and virtue is victorious against selfishness and capitalism. And also, to teach others what we have learned from this experience.

In the next three years, I will be be defined by what I do outside of schoolwork. I will be the head of whatever club I decide to join. I will have a job or an internship to develop my career path. I will be organizing the national AIDs walk events. I will be signing my John Hancock on the Occupy Wall Street demands (that should have been written already). My opportunities are endless and so are the possibilities for my future. For now, I will dream big and maintain total confidence that I will get to where I need and want to go.

I think the Community Service Project we are doing is great because it really allows us to help others by giving back to our community. Without our librarian, Stephen Francoeur, we may have never found our organization, Housing Works, so I would like to thank him for instructing us about that. He showed us how to find not-for-profit organizations online. He also taught us how to use the Baruch Library Databases. I have used the writing center a few times and I think it has helped me to become a better writer. I have not visited to SACC center yet, but I may do that in the future. I am in the process of joining VITA, a volunteer income tax club so I can assist others in filling out tax returns. Those databases on the library website really come in handy when doing research for classes such as our Introduction to Business class. For my recitation class we have to do a group project on Polo Ralph Lauren and it was difficult at first to locate data and information about the company. But when we found the Business and Company Resource Center in the databases a great amount of information became readily available and it was easier to conduct research for our group research paper. In the future I will be using the databases more often because it is a great resource and I am thankful that we have such a wonderful resource at out fingertips. Based on that discussion we had in Freshman Seminar class a couple of weeks ago, I have come to realize that community service is not just about a letter with numbers on a page saying so and so did this many hours of community service at such and such. It is about widening our understanding about the world around us and helping out where we can.

I think the Community Service Project we are doing is great because it really allows us to help others by giving back to our community. Without our librarian, Stephen Francoeur, we may have never found our organization, Housing Works, so I would like to thank him for instructing us about that. He showed us how to find not-for-profit organizations online. He also taught us how to use the Baruch Library Databases. I have used the writing center a few times and I think it has helped me to become a better writer. I have not visited to SACC center yet, but I may do that in the future. I am in the process of joining VITA, a volunteer income tax club so I can assist others in filling out tax returns. Those databases on the library website really come in handy when doing research for classes such as our Introduction to Business class. For my recitation class we have to do a group project on Polo Ralph Lauren and it was difficult at first to locate data and information about the company. But when we found the Business and Company Resource Center in the databases a great amount of information became readily available and it was easier to conduct research for our group research paper. In the future I will be using the databases more often because it is a great resource and I am thankful that we have such a wonderful resource at out fingertips. Based on that discussion we had in Freshman Seminar class a couple of weeks ago, I have come to realize that community service is not just about a letter with numbers on a page saying so and so did this many hours of community service at such and such. It is about widening our understanding about the world around us and helping out where we can.

I am still in the process of learning about Baruch College. Through the freshman Seminar, I have learned about the various resources available to me as a scholar. I am aware that resources such as faculty, peers, staff, support centers, the library, and student clubs are available. To be honest, this prompt annoys me. This prompt is tailored in a way such as to force a specific response that illustrates the importance of the Baruch Scholars program. In my opinion, the best resource or benefit that comes from this program is the ability to sign up for classes ahead of other students. I can say that the program is successful in fostering the intellectual growth of students who have a holistic understanding of the world; because of the conversations I have had with upperclassmen that are Scholars, both in title and in being.

The Community Service Project does not require the assistance of faculty and staff, because of the relative ease of finding a not-for-profit in New York City. I have not utilized any support centers as of yet. Pragmatically speaking, the only support center I see myself using in the future is the STARR Career Development Center. I have not joined the student club yet, although I do foresee the need in the future. Surprisingly, Scholar specific resources have not given me an edge in my other courses. In fact, my best class is not an honors course. My English class unlike my honors courses is not nauseatingly biased and forces us to think critically. My understanding of Community service has not evolved. No matter how you slice it, the idea of giving back to the community remains the same. Of course, there are a plethora of different causes for which we can volunteer, but that is a matter of personal preference. In the next three years, I view myself as having learned more about the world, with as of then unpublished literature, and ready to get a job.