As a freshman at Baruch College, I was offered various resources in the school. While working on the community service project, I learned the true diversity of resources that I had access to. My group had problems deciding and finding a volunteer group. So we actually consulted some upper classmen because we knew that they had volunteered before. We also interacted with out peer mentor, Dariya, as well. She encouraged all of us to reach out to her if we were having trouble. She also checked in on us several times to see our progress on the project. These resources offered to me showed me a sense of community. It made me feel encouraged and excited to volunteer at Father’s Heart Ministries. Initially, I was a bit doubtful about community service and I wasn’t really sure about it. However, as I researched and learned more about the services that other organizations offered, I became extremely intrigued because there are so many people who need help in this world. Everyone has their own story that should be heard and known. Now, I look forward to community service. It is an opportunity for me to grow as a person and be more grateful for everything I have already.

In the next three years, I see myself as a very active student in Baruch College. I hope to be more involved with different clubs and organizations. Also, I see myself interning at a financial company and being able to manage my time much more wisely. Not only  would I like to be fairly active and have an internship, I would like to maintain my GPA high, despite the hectic schedule. I understand that none of this may happen. However, these are the goals that I will be working towards. My main wish is to be happy and content with my actions.

Being a Baruch Scholar means that we are people who should set higher standards and be seen as a good influence or example for others. A Baruch Scholar is not only mandated to maintain excelling grades, but he or she is also required to volunteer each semester. In exchange for being given so many opportunities and resources, from the free tuition and laptops to the lounges available through out campus, we should give back to the community. We, Baruch Scholars, are not performing community service because it’s expected of us. We are helping because it’s the right thing to do. Scholars use the knowledge obtained throughout their education and experiences to help out those who are less advantaged. Also, by volunteering, Scholars are able to connect to real life citizens. We are able to learn how to utilize our communication skills and connect with normal, everyday people or nature. Lastly, community service is not something that should be taken lightly. Though at first, people may think that volunteering is helping those less fortunate or taking care of the community’s resource, volunteers do learn and take something back from the service. Volunteers are able to learn more about the people involved or the story behind various objects. The people and animals involved all have different stories, and we seldom take time to ask about them. However, community service gives us this chance of reaching out to various people, people who we may have never noticed or paid any attention to before.

Baruch Honors Program requires all student to perform community service every term for these reasons. The program is to ensure that students are able to connect and branch out from their comfort zone. It is also a valuable experience, which many students tend to gain much insight from. Lastly, we learn that community service is a life long commitment. There will always be others who need help more than we do, whether it be someone who needs a helping hand or just someone who needs a mentor. Without community service, in general, people would not be able to understand what it meant to be privileged nor would they be able to see or listen about the different experiences that many others have had.

Hello everyone!

My name is Irene. I am an Asian American and I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. Most of my friends would describe me as your typical asian, nerd. I grew up in a strict, asian household so perfection was always expected of my siblings and I. However, we’re all humans and nothing in life will ever be perfect. For example, previously, I attended Brooklyn Technical High School and majored in mathematics. I admit that Brooklyn Tech wasn’t my first choice and I was pretty disappointed. However, my experiences at Tech really did change my outlook on life. It taught me that life doesn’t always go the way you expect it will and that the key of surviving or being content is definitely being able to adapt to change.

Personally, through Tech, I was able to meet people that I don’t think I would’ve been able to meet elsewhere and because of them I was able to grow as a person and academically too. They showed me that it’s good to study and worry about grades, but not everything in life is about grades. In the future, I’m not going to remember if I did poorly on a test or if I had trouble with a certain concept. I’m going to remember the fun times that I had or some of the stupid things that I did. Life is about making the most of yourself and being happy with what you’ve done. I’m happy living my life knowing that I’ve done what I could and of course there are certain moments that I regret. But rather than kicking myself over the tiny details, I prefer to take the opportunity and learn from my mistakes instead so that I could avoid repeating them.

I want to take advantage of all resources available to me and I definitely want to be an active student on campus. I want this period in my life to be something special and make friends that I will keep contact with for a lifetime. I’m also expecting a bit more freedom and independence. I’m a bit worried that I will have a hard time with time management and keeping up with my work. However, I am hoping that I’ll be able to correct my bad habit of procrastinating and continue to grow at Baruch.

Hello everyone!

My name is Irene. I am an Asian American and I grew up in Brooklyn, NY. Most of my friends would describe me as your typical asian, nerd. I grew up in a strict, asian household so perfection was always expected of my siblings and I. However, we’re all humans and nothing in life will ever be perfect. For example, previously, I attended Brooklyn Technical High School and majored in mathematics. I admit that Brooklyn Tech wasn’t my first choice and I was pretty disappointed. However, my experiences at Tech really did change my outlook on life. It taught me that life doesn’t always go the way you expect it will and that the key of surviving or being content is definitely being able to adapt to change.

Personally, through Tech, I was able to meet people that I don’t think I would’ve been able to meet elsewhere and because of them I was able to grow as a person and academically too. They showed me that it’s good to study and worry about grades, but not everything in life is about grades. In the future, I’m not going to remember if I did poorly on a test or if I had trouble with a certain concept. I’m going to remember the fun times that I had or some of the stupid things that I did. Life is about making the most of yourself and being happy with what you’ve done. I’m happy living my life knowing that I’ve done what I could and of course there are certain moments that I regret. But rather than kicking myself over the tiny details, I prefer to take the opportunity and learn from my mistakes instead so that I could avoid repeating them.

I want to take advantage of all resources available to me and I definitely want to be an active student on campus. I want this period in my life to be something special and make friends that I will keep contact with for a lifetime. I’m also expecting a bit more freedom and independence. I’m a bit worried that I will have a hard time with time management and keeping up with my work. However, I am hoping that I’ll be able to correct my bad habit of procrastinating and continue to grow at Baruch.