A community is a environment in which you share common goals, aspirations, and attitudes with the people around you. A setting where you make contributions to not only better yourself, but others around you. A community where you encourage others, and strive for greatness. Currently, I reside in the Baruch community where I share similar goals, as well as future aspirations with many of my colleagues. As part of the Baruch Honors Scholar Program I recieve certain benefits, i.e free tuition, priority classes, and access to the honor lounge. But with these benefits, also comes a certain responsibility of producing respectable grades as well as helping my classmates in a time of need. College isn’t easy, everyone struggles, nobody gets the amount of sleep necessary to live a healthy lifestyle, and it is hard to keep up to date with 5 different classes. It is our responsibility as students of this esteemed program to help each other out in times of need; such as studying for midterms or finishing that last sentence on our research papers or even just sitting down, relax, getting a bite to eat, and removing the stress that occupies our body on a daily basis. Everybody is in this program for a certain reason, and it is our responsibility to help each other in order to reach the culmination of our lives.

Another part of serving your community involves contributing and making a difference. Recently, I joined Finance and Economics Society Mentorship Program where I and 7 other intellectual students strive to learn about the world of financial services. In the early years of high school I knew I wanted a career in finance which led me to a community with people that share similar aspirations as me. Standing out and making a difference is required in a community, and with “FES”, I am able to take advantage of the opportunity provided by Baruch, align myself with individuals who have similar dreams and goals, and make an impact in the club as well as people around me.

A community is a environment in which you share common goals, aspirations, and attitudes with the people around you. A setting where you make contributions to not only better yourself, but others around you. A community where you encourage others, and strive for greatness. Currently, I reside in the Baruch community where I share similar goals, as well as future aspirations with many of my colleagues. As part of the Baruch Honors Scholar Program I recieve certain benefits, i.e free tuition, priority classes, and access to the honor lounge. But with these benefits, also comes a certain responsibility of producing respectable grades as well as helping my classmates in a time of need. College isn’t easy, everyone struggles, nobody gets the amount of sleep necessary to live a healthy lifestyle, and it is hard to keep up to date with 5 different classes. It is our responsibility as students of this esteemed program to help each other out in times of need; such as studying for midterms or finishing that last sentence on our research papers or even just sitting down, relax, getting a bite to eat, and removing the stress that occupies our body on a daily basis. Everybody is in this program for a certain reason, and it is our responsibility to help each other in order to reach the culmination of our lives.

Another part of serving your community involves contributing and making a difference. Recently, I joined Finance and Economics Society Mentorship Program where I and 7 other intellectual students strive to learn about the world of financial services. In the early years of high school I knew I wanted a career in finance which led me to a community with people that share similar aspirations as me. Standing out and making a difference is required in a community, and with “FES”, I am able to take advantage of the opportunity provided by Baruch, align myself with individuals who have similar dreams and goals, and make an impact in the club as well as people around me.

Before my very first volunteering experience, I always saw it as a requirement. I went to a Catholic middle school and there, it was part of the confirmation process. Personally, I am not Catholic and therefore was excused from that assignment. Through that I got to watch my classmates take on extra work for essentially nothing in return. It was not until high school was I exposed to the act of volunteering.

My first volunteering experience was at a summer classes program. There I was in charged of assisting with the teaching of a class of younger students. At first, I approached it like I would a job, except without the pay. I hated waking up early in the morning to a full day of work in the summer. However, as time went on, that feeling warmed into one of pride and fondness. I grew an attachment to the students I worked with, and I take pride in their accomplishments. I was proud of every single one of them, even the really playful and energetic ones. To me they were like my children in a sense. I was honored to be able to be a part of these children’s development and growth.

Through my volunteer experience, I also found that I was not the only one offering my time and energy to the groups of students in the program. A lot of the adults are volunteering their own time off the clock to make sure the students are understanding the material they were taught. From that I got a great sense of community and the value of giving back to that community hit me for the first time.

My main role and focus here at Baruch is that of a student but at the same time I am a member of the Baruch community. As a part of this community, it is important for me to give back what I have received. And the culture of service in the Honors Program really reminds us of that. Sometimes we are so overwhelmed with work that we often forget to give back or convinces ourselves that we do not have time give back to our society. The service aspect of our program helps us take a step back and make time for meaningful things like community service.

Before my very first volunteering experience, I always saw it as a requirement. I went to a Catholic middle school and there, it was part of the confirmation process. Personally, I am not Catholic and therefore was excused from that assignment. Through that I got to watch my classmates take on extra work for essentially nothing in return. It was not until high school was I exposed to the act of volunteering.

My first volunteering experience was at a summer classes program. There I was in charged of assisting with the teaching of a class of younger students. At first, I approached it like I would a job, except without the pay. I hated waking up early in the morning to a full day of work in the summer. However, as time went on, that feeling warmed into one of pride and fondness. I grew an attachment to the students I worked with, and I take pride in their accomplishments. I was proud of every single one of them, even the really playful and energetic ones. To me they were like my children in a sense. I was honored to be able to be a part of these children’s development and growth.

Through my volunteer experience, I also found that I was not the only one offering my time and energy to the groups of students in the program. A lot of the adults are volunteering their own time off the clock to make sure the students are understanding the material they were taught. From that I got a great sense of community and the value of giving back to that community hit me for the first time.

My main role and focus here at Baruch is that of a student but at the same time I am a member of the Baruch community. As a part of this community, it is important for me to give back what I have received. And the culture of service in the Honors Program really reminds us of that. Sometimes we are so overwhelmed with work that we often forget to give back or convinces ourselves that we do not have time give back to our society. The service aspect of our program helps us take a step back and make time for meaningful things like community service.

What does it mean to serve your community?

Part of my identity is associated with the communities that I am a part of. I have a community where I live, a religious community, a community of the schools that I’ve been a part of. I am now proud to call myself part of the Baruch College community. This also means I am part of the community of New York City.

Being in a community comes with privileges, and of course, responsibilities. I am fortunate to benefit from each of these communities, and thus, it is my responsibility to give back what I can, so that others can benefit as well.

I have been very involved in community service and volunteering since the beginning of middle school. I’ve visited nursing homes, packed food boxes for donations, volunteered with blind teenagers in New York City, visited hospitals, volunteered for Chris Christie’s campaign, and my favorite- volunteered with Special Needs people of all ages.

What I’ve come to learn from all of this is that in giving back to others, I end up gaining way more than I am giving. Volunteering has given me a greater appreciation for what I have been blessed with, for what I am fortunate to have that others aren’t. I have also learned so much from the people that I have volunteered with, both the volunteers, and the Special Needs children.

My high school had community service hours requirements- and so I had to choose an organization to volunteer with. Earlier in middle school, I had been involved with the Friendship Circle, an organization for Special Needs children. They come to recruit volunteers all of the time, and it’s sort of the thing that everyone does, just because everyone does it. But I fell in love with it. It wasn’t just a volunteering ‘job,’ it was an amazing experience. And so, for the entirety of my high school, every Saturday afternoon, I went to visit my friend Tehila.

What started as a requirement turned into something that I looked forward to. Every week, I yearned for the week to end, and for my precious opportunity to go “volunteer.” I put in in quotes, because although that is what it was considered when the checkbox on my report card that i fulfilled my hours, it didn’t feel like that to me. Going to see Tehila was exciting, it was my once a week date with my friend.

I’ve come to believe that we are given everything we have in order to be able to help out others. We go through life with our experiences and stories, and when we take that- along with our skills, we are able to help others immensely.

I think it’s befitting that my group has chosen to volunteer with the Pajama Program. Everyone in the Baruch Scholars program has been given a gift- education. We are fortunate to be able to not only be literate, but academically achieving, and we are extremely blessed to be able to attend this college without cost. Therefore, volunteering with the Pajama Program is an ideal way to give back. It helps shine light on how lucky we are, and helps us utilize what we have to help others.

I am looking forward to this experience, and to becoming part of yet another community.

It is not very often that people feel a natural and instinctive sense to give back to their community. Although it is important to always be giving back to our community, it is specifically in privileged situations that people begin to take a stance on helping others altruistically. Privileged situations almost immediately bring one’s attention to the fact that most people won’t experience the same experiences. I believe it is that same principle that applies to our role as a Baruch Scholar in the Honors Program. In fact, the Honors Program advocates for and encourages us, the students, to partake in a community service assignment. I believe that the Honors Program is looking at this particular assignment as more than just a few hours of required community service. Rather, the Honors Program is trying to ignite a spark in each of us so that we partake in more community service activities especially when it is not a requirement. It is easy to help the greater good when you are required to do so for class but I think the true test is whether or not we will partake in a similar activity on our free time. In high school, I had a similar requirement for graduation. I personally decided to join my school’s peer tutoring society. By the end of the year, I was fairly surprised, yet proud, that I had far surpassed the required number of community service hours. The Honors Program is, in a sense, introducing us to the idea of community service in the hopes that we will continue this long lasting relationship with service and it is precisely that long lasting service which will help our community.

To serve your community it means to stand up and actively try to make your community better. Most people only do good things in society because there is an incentive like profit. The only reason to  to do the little things through volunteering is because you genuinely want to help your community. Or if you have required volunteer hours but hey at least you’re still helping out. I once volunteered at a charity organization called God’s Love We Deliver. They made and delivered food just to help people with serious illnesses like AIDS. I helped bag the food which isn’t as simple as it sounds. Each bag has an order of specific food and you have to make sure you put the right food in the bag. At first I volunteered there because I thought it would good on my college resume. But after going a few times I realized that I kind of liked volunteering there. I met friendly people and I had a good time working with them. I guess that was kind of serving my community and clearly me and the other volunteers contributed to the improvement of people’s health. There’s no money incentive for doing its because it’s just volunteer work and thats pretty cool that you can have a big organization just made of genuine and charitable individuals. So once again to serve your community means to actively help the society that you live in. Charity and volunteer work are two ways to help people from the bottom of your heart.

To serve your community it means to stand up and actively try to make your community better. Most people only do good things in society because there is an incentive like profit. The only reason to  to do the little things through volunteering is because you genuinely want to help your community. Or if you have required volunteer hours but hey at least you’re still helping out. I once volunteered at a charity organization called God’s Love We Deliver. They made and delivered food just to help people with serious illnesses like AIDS. I helped bag the food which isn’t as simple as it sounds. Each bag has an order of specific food and you have to make sure you put the right food in the bag. At first I volunteered there because I thought it would good on my college resume. But after going a few times I realized that I kind of liked volunteering there. I met friendly people and I had a good time working with them. I guess that was kind of serving my community and clearly me and the other volunteers contributed to the improvement of people’s health. There’s no money incentive for doing its because it’s just volunteer work and thats pretty cool that you can have a big organization just made of genuine and charitable individuals. So once again to serve your community means to actively help the society that you live in. Charity and volunteer work are two ways to help people from the bottom of your heart.

I believe that my role as a Baruch Honors Scholar is one of responsibly. As I have been given the privilege to attend college at no economic cost it is only logical to give back to my school and broader community. Foremost I aim honor my commitment to be an active student:to participate in clubs, get good grades,and contribute to a positive school environment. Once I’ve met my responsibilities as a student I would like to adjudicate time in my schedule to volunteer. To volunteer one must be willing devote time and energy to aid organizations or charities that need assistance. I believe some of the reasons the Baruch Scholars program promotes volunteering are that through working with people with different abilities and backgrounds than ours students become more accepting,knowledgable, and compassionate humans. We also develop “an attitude of gratitude” by working with those less fortunate than us. It is empowering to be able to feel that we have bettered others day, whether it be by distributing food in a soup kitchen or reading to little kids. In high school I volunteered at an after school program for special needs children. This was a rewarding experience as I was able to connect with the children and learn from them. My freshman seminar group is hopefully (not as yet finalized) going to be involved with feeding New York Cities hungry. Although I haven’t volunteered for this cause yet I am excited to see how my fellow group members and I can have a positive impact on our broader community.