Author Archives: cm142590

There is no way to return to the past unless you mysteriously discover or invent a time machine. You cannot simply tinker with time or even freeze time for two seconds. When the batteries run out of power on one clock, other clocks continue to function, following nearly consistent tick tocks. With that said, it has been 102 days since the first day of fall semester started, 102 days since the first day of classes with an amazing LC, 102 days since the official college journey began.

In the beginning of the semester, I joined Baruch’s Japan Club with two friends but stopped attending club meetings after they stopped attending as well. My first club experience may have been short-lived but I have designed my schedule for the spring semester to force and/or encourage myself to try joining a club again.

I would have to say that the library is the most useful of the resources I used. When we were little, we may have thought that any library would be similar to a “horror movie,” but the Newman Library has proved to be far from such a film. To me, it is a place filled with convenient printers, overrated sofa-chairs (I personally did not find them relaxing), and tables that provide me with larger workspaces than I have at home.

While my group and I had not used Baruch’s resources to find the non-profit organization that we would be volunteering at in the spring, I think that the search for the organization and the presentation have taught me a few things. First: You have to consider not just the service, but what the service means. I have volunteered at a profit organization for the last three years, mainly assisting teachers and teaching children one-on-one. That was the service — what the service meant to the organization was a greater efficiency and one more volunteer on the team. I hope that volunteering at God’s Love We Deliver in the spring will mean the same although it is a non-profit. Second: You have to search for alternatives. Initially, my group and I had contacted a staff member from the City Parks Foundation. Unfortunately, a situation formed (partially due to Hurricane Sandy) and we were forced to find a new organization.

I have personally used the second lesson to seek a method to do something I have wanted to try for years: learn Chinese, particularly Mandarin. At first, I tried using Mango Languages, a language program that is available on the Newman Library website (under Databases). Regrettably, the program did not help me. I considered taking a Chinese language class at Baruch only to be convinced that the class would be too difficult for me. That did not stop my search; I finally found a beginner’s class (by beginner, I mean exceedingly beginner, I am not ashamed to admit I am sitting in the class with five/six-year olds) that my former volunteer place offered to me for free.

In the next three years, I see myself pursuing further goals and hopefully in more support centers. While I have been idle for much of my first semester due to bad time management, I hope that I will be able to “branch out” and accomplish more in the next three years.

About a month ago, a friend jokingly called Baruch Scholars and Honors students the “bourgeois” and “noble” classes of Baruch undergraduates. A few seconds later, she also called herself and other non-Honors students “peasants.” Clearly, this is a reference to the distinction in scholarship grants given to different types of students – for me, it means full tuition and for her, it literally means no money.

Full tuition does not come “free” though; there are certain requirements that Scholars and Honors students have to meet to remain in the Honors program. As Scholars students, we have to take at least ten Honors classes, maintain at least a 3.3 or 3.5 GPA (depending on credits), as well as meet other requirements. In a sense, we have relinquished an air of freedom for an air of seriousness. Instead of playing a game of Mafia during freshman seminar (what my friend’s class did during one class), we were discussing information regarding our presentations on non-profit organizations.

The air of seriousness is necessary, in a way: we are students first and we represent the Baruch Honors program as well as the Baruch community. As students, our first goal is to graduate and as Scholars/Honors students, we want to make sure we graduate with Honors. However, our college journey does not stop at our student life. The Honors program places a large emphasis on volunteering with non-profit organizations. Through this volunteer service, we are giving back to our community and fulfilling a role that pertains to both the Baruch community and the Baruch Honors program. Time and effort is given to a specific cause that benefits not just us (by helping us fulfill the requirement), but others as well. Additionally, both Baruch and the Honors program emphasize cultural events. It is through attending these events that help us fulfill a role in the community in general: becoming open-minded people. A cultural event is a learning experience and may just captivate our minds. Through all the aspects, the Honors program and Baruch community are trying to help us develop constantly and grow as people.