I am both proud and remiss to say that my first semester as Baruch is coming to an end. The first couple of weeks I was overwhelmed by all the things going on: classes, clubs, workshops, support centers and friends. I had the slightest clue how to organize these many diffrent things as not to be overwhelmed, let alone how to use these assets to my advantage. With time I learned that these different parts of college life were not conflicting; they are complimentary to one another.

Classes are a must, some are good others not so much. But communicating with faculty allows one to get a better sense of what is expected and how to achieve that expectation. Additionally, support centers like the writing workshop and SACC can hold your hand a little bit if your struggling with a particular subject, paper or project. Many think of these support centers as wastes of time, an hour of time that could be spent doing other work. In reality, however, that hour spent in SACC or the writing center can be equivalent to multiple hours of one meandering  around an assignment they don’t understand. I am firm believer in maximizing one’s own time by making use of available resources, the support centers are types of mentors that can give you the lift needed to get you where you need to go.

So clearly workshops and speaking with faculty is time efficient, but what about clubs and friends. Personally, I attend many of the Hillel events on campus, many of the events are extremely informative plus as an added bonus they usually have food so I don’t have to go out and scour the streets of manhattan for what I’m going to eat that day. But most important I have to say the amount of people I have meet and friends I have made as a result of the Hillel is unimaginable. Many of these friends are upperclassmen and were able to assist me while making my schedule , telling me which courses to take and which professors they enjoyed. Moreover, I am discussing potentially working for one of the friends I made through Hillel in the future. Most importantly, friends are there to help one enjoy him or herself, an important release that everyone needs.

I am both proud and remiss to say that my first semester as Baruch is coming to an end. The first couple of weeks I was overwhelmed by all the things going on: classes, clubs, workshops, support centers and friends. I had the slightest clue how to organize these many diffrent things as not to be overwhelmed, let alone how to use these assets to my advantage. With time I learned that these different parts of college life were not conflicting; they are complimentary to one another.

Classes are a must, some are good others not so much. But communicating with faculty allows one to get a better sense of what is expected and how to achieve that expectation. Additionally, support centers like the writing workshop and SACC can hold your hand a little bit if your struggling with a particular subject, paper or project. Many think of these support centers as wastes of time, an hour of time that could be spent doing other work. In reality, however, that hour spent in SACC or the writing center can be equivalent to multiple hours of one meandering  around an assignment they don’t understand. I am firm believer in maximizing one’s own time by making use of available resources, the support centers are types of mentors that can give you the lift needed to get you where you need to go.

So clearly workshops and speaking with faculty is time efficient, but what about clubs and friends. Personally, I attend many of the Hillel events on campus, many of the events are extremely informative plus as an added bonus they usually have food so I don’t have to go out and scour the streets of manhattan for what I’m going to eat that day. But most important I have to say the amount of people I have meet and friends I have made as a result of the Hillel is unimaginable. Many of these friends are upperclassmen and were able to assist me while making my schedule , telling me which courses to take and which professors they enjoyed. Moreover, I am discussing potentially working for one of the friends I made through Hillel in the future. Most importantly, friends are there to help one enjoy him or herself, an important release that everyone needs.

When searching for an organization to work with in the Community Service Project, my group was encouraged to draw upon the expertise of faculty working at the Newman Library. They introduced us to the Idealist website, which is where my group found the Carter Burden Center for the Aging. Maria and Mr. Medina were a great help in this project because they told us what makes a good or bad presentation and walked us through each step of the process. The skills that I learned in FRO were useful in many of my classes including my communications and business classes where we presented powerpoints or speeches. Having guests talk to us about their organizations and volunteering helped us realize the importance of volunteering. When they spoke about their organizations, I sensed a feeling of passion, which greatly influenced my view of this community service project. It made me understand the purpose of this assignment and how our group should approach it – with sincerity and excitement.

Upon entering Baruch, I have already participated in many community service events including serving Thanksgiving dinner to senior citizens, singing for charity, and cleaning up parks and planting trees on Earth Day. Due to my prior experience, I already had a great understanding of what it meant to give back to the community. I am excited to work with the Carter Burden Center for the Aging because it is a new way that I can provide help to my community with my new-made friends.

During this semester, I have utilized both the SACC and Writing Center for my communications and English courses. They were very useful not only in improving my school work, but also in improving my confidence in my school work. I will continue to make appointments with these centers especially next semester. This semester I haven’t had any math courses but I will be taking both math and micro-economics next semester. I believe that I will need help from SACC in order to get back on track after not having to do any calculations for an entire semester.

I am a cofounding member of the Polish Club. We were unable to organize any events this semester because we received our budget at the end of November, however, we have a few events planned for the next semester. Although I only joined one club this semester, in the future, I plan on joining Honors Council or a club related to my major, actuarial science.

At the beginning of the semester, I had multiple possible majors in mind including accounting, finances, and international business. However, at this time, I believe that I am set on actuarial science. I am extremely grateful that Qamar, a Baruch alumnus, came to our FRO class to talk about his life after Baruch College and his career as an actuary. Before he visited our class, I was still a bit undecided about my major and uncertain about what an actuary actually does, but now I am ALMOST certain that actuarial science is what I want to pursue (however, I do acknowledge the possibility that my major may still change). As I was informed by Qamar, I have to pass eight exams in order to become an actuary and pass at least one in order to qualify for an internship. With this in mind, I plan on beginning to study for the exams at the beginning of my sophomore year, if not the end of my freshman year. This will allow me to apply for an internship during the summer after my sophomore year. It is a bit frightening that I already have to make decisions specific to my major. Hopefully I will not change my mind about my major after I begin the process towards being an actuary.

The fact that the semester is almost over surprises me. Has it really been three months? At the same time, the past three months have felt much longer than that. However, the semester isn’t over yet and neither is the Community Service Project. I realize now that without the support of the staff and faculty of Baruch, the past three months would’ve been much harder. To start off, I would like to thank Stephen Francoeur for taking the time to help myself and other Baruch Scholars find the organizations that we would eventually volunteer at. I’ve volunteered at certain organizations before and have learned that it’s very important to make sure that you’re spending your time productively. Don’t spend the summer working for an organization that you later realize is not that great! Although I have not actually volunteered for my organization in the Spring yet, I have learned a lot about my organization through their site already. The proposal itself has also helped me think about the organization from a different perspective. Community service isn’t just spending hours doing mindless work as I had previously though. Community service is about giving back to the community and becoming a part of a greater cause through seemingly small actions.

I have learned a great deal from the support centers here at Baruch. Although I have not sought help from every center in Baruch, I have been to the Writing Center, SACC, and even the Student Health Care Center. These centers, especially the Writing Center, has proved to be very useful. I am not the best writer out there and that is exactly why I’m here at Baruch. I have learned valuable writing tips from the Writing Center and received help on assignments from SACC. Although the Student Health Care Center does not provide for me educationally, it gives me a feeling of confidence. I know that if I ever feel a cold coming, I could drop by the center to be checked out. Next semester, I plan on visiting the Study Abroad and STARR office to prepare and plan for the future that isn’t so distant anymore.

A big part of student life is, of course, clubs. Baruch emphasizes student life so much that it actually has club hours twice a week. With a slight feeling of guilty, I admit that I have not joined a club yet. From the beginning of this semester, I knew that I would settle in for my first semester and then consider clubs in my second semester here. Although I have not joined a club, I have attended a handful of informational events held by various clubs.

I imagine the experience of the next three years to be like driving like a road trip. There will be bumps here and there but I’ll eventually make it to my destination. Along the way, I’ll stop by places, meet new people, and experience many new things. I expect to see myself visiting STARR and the study abroad quite often. Hopefully, I would be able to build a strong resume and skills that will help me succeed not only in finding a job but in keeping one. In the last two years of college, I’m going to study abroad at least once. Although my parents are against it right now due to costs, I’ll do my best to work something out.

The fact that the semester is almost over surprises me. Has it really been three months? At the same time, the past three months have felt much longer than that. However, the semester isn’t over yet and neither is the Community Service Project. I realize now that without the support of the staff and faculty of Baruch, the past three months would’ve been much harder. To start off, I would like to thank Stephen Francoeur for taking the time to help myself and other Baruch Scholars find the organizations that we would eventually volunteer at. I’ve volunteered at certain organizations before and have learned that it’s very important to make sure that you’re spending your time productively. Don’t spend the summer working for an organization that you later realize is not that great! Although I have not actually volunteered for my organization in the Spring yet, I have learned a lot about my organization through their site already. The proposal itself has also helped me think about the organization from a different perspective. Community service isn’t just spending hours doing mindless work as I had previously though. Community service is about giving back to the community and becoming a part of a greater cause through seemingly small actions.

I have learned a great deal from the support centers here at Baruch. Although I have not sought help from every center in Baruch, I have been to the Writing Center, SACC, and even the Student Health Care Center. These centers, especially the Writing Center, has proved to be very useful. I am not the best writer out there and that is exactly why I’m here at Baruch. I have learned valuable writing tips from the Writing Center and received help on assignments from SACC. Although the Student Health Care Center does not provide for me educationally, it gives me a feeling of confidence. I know that if I ever feel a cold coming, I could drop by the center to be checked out. Next semester, I plan on visiting the Study Abroad and STARR office to prepare and plan for the future that isn’t so distant anymore.

A big part of student life is, of course, clubs. Baruch emphasizes student life so much that it actually has club hours twice a week. With a slight feeling of guilty, I admit that I have not joined a club yet. From the beginning of this semester, I knew that I would settle in for my first semester and then consider clubs in my second semester here. Although I have not joined a club, I have attended a handful of informational events held by various clubs.

I imagine the experience of the next three years to be like driving like a road trip. There will be bumps here and there but I’ll eventually make it to my destination. Along the way, I’ll stop by places, meet new people, and experience many new things. I expect to see myself visiting STARR and the study abroad quite often. Hopefully, I would be able to build a strong resume and skills that will help me succeed not only in finding a job but in keeping one. In the last two years of college, I’m going to study abroad at least once. Although my parents are against it right now due to costs, I’ll do my best to work something out.

The fact that the semester is almost over surprises me. Has it really been three months? At the same time, the past three months have felt much longer than that. However, the semester isn’t over yet and neither is the Community Service Project. I realize now that without the support of the staff and faculty of Baruch, the past three months would’ve been much harder. To start off, I would like to thank Stephen Francoeur for taking the time to help myself and other Baruch Scholars find the organizations that we would eventually volunteer at. I’ve volunteered at certain organizations before and have learned that it’s very important to make sure that you’re spending your time productively. Don’t spend the summer working for an organization that you later realize is not that great! Although I have not actually volunteered for my organization in the Spring yet, I have learned a lot about my organization through their site already. The proposal itself has also helped me think about the organization from a different perspective. Community service isn’t just spending hours doing mindless work as I had previously though. Community service is about giving back to the community and becoming a part of a greater cause through seemingly small actions.

I have learned a great deal from the support centers here at Baruch. Although I have not sought help from every center in Baruch, I have been to the Writing Center, SACC, and even the Student Health Care Center. These centers, especially the Writing Center, has proved to be very useful. I am not the best writer out there and that is exactly why I’m here at Baruch. I have learned valuable writing tips from the Writing Center and received help on assignments from SACC. Although the Student Health Care Center does not provide for me educationally, it gives me a feeling of confidence. I know that if I ever feel a cold coming, I could drop by the center to be checked out. Next semester, I plan on visiting the Study Abroad and STARR office to prepare and plan for the future that isn’t so distant anymore.

A big part of student life is, of course, clubs. Baruch emphasizes student life so much that it actually has club hours twice a week. With a slight feeling of guilty, I admit that I have not joined a club yet. From the beginning of this semester, I knew that I would settle in for my first semester and then consider clubs in my second semester here. Although I have not joined a club, I have attended a handful of informational events held by various clubs.

I imagine the experience of the next three years to be like driving like a road trip. There will be bumps here and there but I’ll eventually make it to my destination. Along the way, I’ll stop by places, meet new people, and experience many new things. I expect to see myself visiting STARR and the study abroad quite often. Hopefully, I would be able to build a strong resume and skills that will help me succeed not only in finding a job but in keeping one. In the last two years of college, I’m going to study abroad at least once. Although my parents are against it right now due to costs, I’ll do my best to work something out.