Baruch Scholars 2012

The past two summers have been full of experiences that have helped shape the person I am today. Starting with last summer, the summer before my senior year, I had to make a choice between spending the summer in Italy with the rest of my family, or staying home and working at my first job. After much deliberation, I decided to stay home and work. I was working as a summer camp counselor during the week and at a pizzeria on the weekends. Since my family was going to Italy for the summer, I had to take care of myself during the time they were away. This meant I would have to do my own laundry, cook my own food, take care of my dog, and get to work on time without the benefit of having my mom to drive me. This was all very new to me but in the end, it proved to be a great learning experience. By the end of the summer, I had this newfound independence that would follow me throughout everything I did.

This past summer was the total opposite of the summer before. I did not work at all but instead travelled as much as I could. Going to Europe with my school was an amazing experience that allowed me to see the world in a new way. I especially enjoyed seeing London and hope to return there one day. Going on this trip also made me think of possibly doing a study abroad in the future. As for this current semester, I just hope to balance my time well so that I don’t get overwhelmed with all the work. I intend to focus on adjusting to the schoolwork this semester and then getting more involved with clubs and such next semester.

The past two summers have been full of experiences that have helped shape the person I am today. Starting with last summer, the summer before my senior year, I had to make a choice between spending the summer in Italy with the rest of my family, or staying home and working at my first job. After much deliberation, I decided to stay home and work. I was working as a summer camp counselor during the week and at a pizzeria on the weekends. Since my family was going to Italy for the summer, I had to take care of myself during the time they were away. This meant I would have to do my own laundry, cook my own food, take care of my dog, and get to work on time without the benefit of having my mom to drive me. This was all very new to me but in the end, it proved to be a great learning experience. By the end of the summer, I had this newfound independence that would follow me throughout everything I did.

This past summer was the total opposite of the summer before. I did not work at all but instead travelled as much as I could. Going to Europe with my school was an amazing experience that allowed me to see the world in a new way. I especially enjoyed seeing London and hope to return there one day. Going on this trip also made me think of possibly doing a study abroad in the future. As for this current semester, I just hope to balance my time well so that I don’t get overwhelmed with all the work. I intend to focus on adjusting to the schoolwork this semester and then getting more involved with clubs and such next semester.

I’m an American-Born-Chinese who was raised in China by my grandparents until I was five years old. I grew up in a traditional Chinese culture, but I have been gradually assimilating to the American culture. After I returned to America, I have been living in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn ever since. Although I live in Brooklyn, I frequently visit Chinatown and the rest of Manhattan because I enjoy the city a lot more during the daytime. I love the noise and excitement that fills the seemingly narrow streets of 34^th street and Times Square. At night, however, I like to return home where there is some peace and quiet in Brooklyn.

Regarding my school life, I went to elementary and middle school in lower Manhattan. For many years, an overwhelming majority of my friends were Asians because I only stuck to Asian communities. When I left for high school at Brooklyn Tech, however, I started to open up and explore the great qualities of diversity. I made countless new friends and enjoyed learning from them and looking at this world from new perspectives. Although most of my friends didn’t come to Baruch with me, I continue to stay in touch with them and talk to them at least several times a week.

As a freshman at Baruch College, I have been encountering many difficulties with adjusting to the academic and social life. I am extremely concerned about keeping a good balance between my academic life and my social life. There seems to be an overwhelming amount of schoolwork as well as campus activities. I really want to have a chance to explore all the clubs and organizations before I make any decisions about which ones to join, but I have been spending more than half of my breaks eating lunch and then studying or doing homework. I believe that good time management will help me resolve my problems and I hope that I will be a successful college student as well as an active participant of campus life.

I’m an American-Born-Chinese who was raised in China by my grandparents until I was five years old. I grew up in a traditional Chinese culture, but I have been gradually assimilating to the American culture. After I returned to America, I have been living in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn ever since. Although I live in Brooklyn, I frequently visit Chinatown and the rest of Manhattan because I enjoy the city a lot more during the daytime. I love the noise and excitement that fills the seemingly narrow streets of 34^th street and Times Square. At night, however, I like to return home where there is some peace and quiet in Brooklyn.

Regarding my school life, I went to elementary and middle school in lower Manhattan. For many years, an overwhelming majority of my friends were Asians because I only stuck to Asian communities. When I left for high school at Brooklyn Tech, however, I started to open up and explore the great qualities of diversity. I made countless new friends and enjoyed learning from them and looking at this world from new perspectives. Although most of my friends didn’t come to Baruch with me, I continue to stay in touch with them and talk to them at least several times a week.

As a freshman at Baruch College, I have been encountering many difficulties with adjusting to the academic and social life. I am extremely concerned about keeping a good balance between my academic life and my social life. There seems to be an overwhelming amount of schoolwork as well as campus activities. I really want to have a chance to explore all the clubs and organizations before I make any decisions about which ones to join, but I have been spending more than half of my breaks eating lunch and then studying or doing homework. I believe that good time management will help me resolve my problems and I hope that I will be a successful college student as well as an active participant of campus life.

Before high school, I was a different person. I lacked confidence; I feared public speaking. Today, I can say that I am confident, hard-working and well-spoken. And this is in large part because of my four years of running track in high school. Track helped me build up my mental toughness, showing me hard work pays off and that there are no shortcuts to success. I refuse to give up. There are sometimes track workouts that may seem really hard. But as in life, these “workouts” are simply obstacles that can be overcome with persistence and dedication. Conquering these “workouts” allowed me to build my confidence; I learned that I can succeed in anything I do if I set my mind to it. Being apart of Student Government in high school allowed me to become more well-spoken. As secretary, I would record the notes at meetings, but I was not afraid to voice my own opinion either. I learned that it’s better to say what’s on your mind and let others know what you think so that they can consider an angle that they might not have seen themselves. I also spoke in front of large groups when I was apart of Student Government. This helped me to continue to improve my public speaking skills. Now, I embrace the opportunity to speak in front of a group, rather than dread it.

As a college student, I expect to make new friends that will last me a lifetime. At the moment, I want to major in business. But I hope that I can learn more about business so I know that this is the right major for me. I want to learn as much as I can and know that I love whatever field I decide to go into. For my first semester, I’m hoping to work hard and build up my GPA. I’m also hoping to get involved in some way – whether through a club or an organization.

I have many people to thank for my current beliefs and values. Knowledge may come with age, but warm compassion is ageless. My parents, sisters, life mentor, friends, co-workers, and even those outside of these categories have taught me more than any books can. Once, I met an adorable girl while volunteering at a summer camp. Her entire wardrobe was pink. She would always bring me a piece of paper to play hangman. She would giggle for every “yes,” and “no,” I said when she guessed the letters. Half the summer went by and a terrible event occurred. Just as I was headed back to the gym class, there were nurses, teachers, wheelchair, and children staring. It turned out that she has a junior arthritis. She couldn’t even scream because it hurted too bad. She couldn’t get up. She just lay on the floor crying. She would have to live with this illness her entire life. I would’ve never guessed because of how happy and giggly she was everyday. I remembered complaining about my tall height, unproportional feet size, glasses, etc. I know how special she and the other children are. Sometimes, we forget how fortunate we are. My daily routine consists of staying thankful and happy with my inner self. Yes, this 10 year old changed the way I view life.

To be completely honest, I’m not set on what I want to become. I sometimes envy those who’ve had a set future plan but I believe my openness to different opportunities will mold me just the right amount. Whatever I end up doing, I know one thing; my ultimate goal is to set up my own non-profit organization dedicated to finding, raising, and helping to meet every children’s unique potentials. I believe that not everyone’s fit to be either a doctor, lawyer, or a teacher. I’d like to give them the opportunity to experience new fields where they feel happy and confident.

I’ve already met a few inspiring, intelligent, and compassionate people from Baruch. I hope to learn from their examples on my journey to finding who I am.

I have many people to thank for my current beliefs and values. Knowledge may come with age, but warm compassion is ageless. My parents, sisters, life mentor, friends, co-workers, and even those outside of these categories have taught me more than any books can. Once, I met an adorable girl while volunteering at a summer camp. Her entire wardrobe was pink. She would always bring me a piece of paper to play hangman. She would giggle for every “yes,” and “no,” I said when she guessed the letters. Half the summer went by and a terrible event occurred. Just as I was headed back to the gym class, there were nurses, teachers, wheelchair, and children staring. It turned out that she has a junior arthritis. She couldn’t even scream because it hurted too bad. She couldn’t get up. She just lay on the floor crying. She would have to live with this illness her entire life. I would’ve never guessed because of how happy and giggly she was everyday. I remembered complaining about my tall height, unproportional feet size, glasses, etc. I know how special she and the other children are. Sometimes, we forget how fortunate we are. My daily routine consists of staying thankful and happy with my inner self. Yes, this 10 year old changed the way I view life.

To be completely honest, I’m not set on what I want to become. I sometimes envy those who’ve had a set future plan but I believe my openness to different opportunities will mold me just the right amount. Whatever I end up doing, I know one thing; my ultimate goal is to set up my own non-profit organization dedicated to finding, raising, and helping to meet every children’s unique potentials. I believe that not everyone’s fit to be either a doctor, lawyer, or a teacher. I’d like to give them the opportunity to experience new fields where they feel happy and confident.

I’ve already met a few inspiring, intelligent, and compassionate people from Baruch. I hope to learn from their examples on my journey to finding who I am.

Somebody needs to come up with a shorter title for the first journal entry. Anyway, I’m Fionnuala O’Donnell, born and raised in a small town on Long Island (I think it’s actually “in” Long Island, but that just doesn’t sound right to me). Growing up in a small town like Lynbrook, while many people see it as a negative, I’ve grown to love the physical closeness of everyone. I’ve grown up knowing that all of my friends are within a 10 minute walk from my house, so college was a big adjustment for me when all my friends left. And to me, my friends are everything. I tend to be the mediator and advice giver of the group, not always putting in my two cents unless it’s asked for, but it is appreciated that much more.

Living in such a small town would assure something else: attending a small high school. I had a graduating class of 240, and while it is bigger than other towns’ high schools, we all still knew everybody walking across that stage at graduation. Over my 4 years at high school, I’ve developed relationships with a lot of classmates and teachers (good or bad) that I will never forget.

One of the biggest influences to my life was the music department (band geek alert). I was the drum major of the marching band, on the board of the music honor society, and my favorite thing of all, a clarinet and sax player for the pit orchestra for the yearly musicals. Some of the friendships I’ve made over the past 4 years wouldn’t have been possible without the musical. We would start practicing, as an orchestra, in September and not come together with vocals until about 3 week before the show. That rehearsal is called a sit-and-sing and usually happened nice and early on a Saturday morning (not pleasant). Then the last week before the show, “Hell Week”, was exactly what it sounds like: hell. It was 4 never ending nights of dress rehearsals. And although “never ending” is obviously an exaggeration, we would arrive at school around 5 and get out around midnight; we would sleep walk through school that week. All of that work was put in so we could have 3 shows: Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday matinee. My last show was a difficult show to perform. I was exhausted from track and late night rehearsals and applying for colleges, but it was also the best one. All the seniors couldn’t perform the exit song when the house lights went up because we realized we would never be doing this and got a wee-bit emotional. But I couldn’t have asked for a better last performance.

For the first semester, I hope to make friendships that last throughout college. Whether or not we have as many classes doesn’t matter but I want to be able to look back and feel like my “college experience” of commuting had some positive gains (certainly NOT the “freshman 15”). Of course I want to succeed in any and all classes that I take and I want to look out for every opportunity to better this experience over the next semester and the other seven. College was a difficult transition from high school, but I feel like I am adapting well to not being “spoon-fed” (as LHS so kindly did).

Somebody needs to come up with a shorter title for the first journal entry. Anyway, I’m Fionnuala O’Donnell, born and raised in a small town on Long Island (I think it’s actually “in” Long Island, but that just doesn’t sound right to me). Growing up in a small town like Lynbrook, while many people see it as a negative, I’ve grown to love the physical closeness of everyone. I’ve grown up knowing that all of my friends are within a 10 minute walk from my house, so college was a big adjustment for me when all my friends left. And to me, my friends are everything. I tend to be the mediator and advice giver of the group, not always putting in my two cents unless it’s asked for, but it is appreciated that much more.

Living in such a small town would assure something else: attending a small high school. I had a graduating class of 240, and while it is bigger than other towns’ high schools, we all still knew everybody walking across that stage at graduation. Over my 4 years at high school, I’ve developed relationships with a lot of classmates and teachers (good or bad) that I will never forget.

One of the biggest influences to my life was the music department (band geek alert). I was the drum major of the marching band, on the board of the music honor society, and my favorite thing of all, a clarinet and sax player for the pit orchestra for the yearly musicals. Some of the friendships I’ve made over the past 4 years wouldn’t have been possible without the musical. We would start practicing, as an orchestra, in September and not come together with vocals until about 3 week before the show. That rehearsal is called a sit-and-sing and usually happened nice and early on a Saturday morning (not pleasant). Then the last week before the show, “Hell Week”, was exactly what it sounds like: hell. It was 4 never ending nights of dress rehearsals. And although “never ending” is obviously an exaggeration, we would arrive at school around 5 and get out around midnight; we would sleep walk through school that week. All of that work was put in so we could have 3 shows: Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday matinee. My last show was a difficult show to perform. I was exhausted from track and late night rehearsals and applying for colleges, but it was also the best one. All the seniors couldn’t perform the exit song when the house lights went up because we realized we would never be doing this and got a wee-bit emotional. But I couldn’t have asked for a better last performance.

For the first semester, I hope to make friendships that last throughout college. Whether or not we have as many classes doesn’t matter but I want to be able to look back and feel like my “college experience” of commuting had some positive gains (certainly NOT the “freshman 15″). Of course I want to succeed in any and all classes that I take and I want to look out for every opportunity to better this experience over the next semester and the other seven. College was a difficult transition from high school, but I feel like I am adapting well to not being “spoon-fed” (as LHS so kindly did).

Welcome to Blogs@Baruch!

This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging.