Obviously, my role at Baruch is to be a student. In the past, I just saw that as showing up to class, doing my homework, and taking tests. As I got to high school, I realized it’s a lot more than that.

I am lucky to say I grew up with a close family and a father who worked his entire life to support us and give us as much as possible. Sure, I don’t live in a mansion or go to exotic places or wear fancy clothes, but I am more than fortunate. I can accept that there will always be people with more than me, but personally, knowing there are people with a whole lot less is just not something I want to live with.

Throughout high school, I was involved in many community service projects through The National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta (a math honor society). Personally, I believe the most rewarding work I did was peer tutoring. One on one time with younger students who couldn’t afford a professional was really incredible. To be able to help and inspire them in math was really great. They came in hating math, and then after a few sessions they were curious to learn more. I am sure teachers can relate to this feeling of pride and accomplishment. I loved hearing back that my peers were passing and I contributed to their success.

I believe, being in the Honors Program, that my role here at Baruch requires more responsibility. The program really reinforces the idea that we can, and should, all help our community. I am going to school for free and I have a lot of resources at hand. Being in the city not only exposed me to its greatness, but shed light on the less fortunate people that are out there. I feel an obligation to do anything I can to serve my community, be it remain a tutor, volunteer at a soup kitchen/animal shelter/hospital/etc, or even just donate some money to a cause. It is extremely rewarding to pay it forward, and I really hope I can make some sort of difference during my time here at Baruch and beyond.