Baruch Scholars 2016

Entering Baruch I was afraid and had no idea what to expect. I was fighting with myself as to whether this was the classic “get in, get out” commuter school that many of my older colleagues had talked about. It isn’t and they were wrong.
Baruch has everything a college student could ask for to become successful. From the massive and useful library to Starr Career Services to the tremendous Bloomberg program, it has it all. Honestly, at this point, I’m more afraid that I won’t be able to take proper advantage of the tools that this school has given to me at my disposal. It is even more mind blowing to think that i am being given this opportunity for free! I guess those countless overnights of studying the American constitution had finally paid off.
The other aspect of Baruch that is hard not to notice is it’s tremendous diversity. Coming from a Jewish high school this was not always something I was entitled to. In my class alone there are people from at least six different places like Guyana, Vietnam and Korea. I love it! It gives you a sense of what New York City is really all about. As much as I love my current brothers and sisters in the honors program I can’t help but be excited to meet new people in my new classes next semester.
It’s hard to believe that one semester is over already. I only have 7 more left! (I’m not sure if you can tell but that was more of a scared exclamation than a happy one). I can’t wait to spend the next three years hopefully studying in the Zicklin school but I can’t help but think that it will all be over too soon and I will definitely miss it.

Time flies, doesn’t it? It’s so hard to believe that the first semester is coming to an end; the expertise of the faculty and staff who helped us along the way has been a huge benefactor. I am very thankful to those who provided us with the resources and advise thus far; and also thankful to my surrounding Baruch Scholars, who have made the transition a little less difficult.

I have made use of several facilities that serve different purposes here at Baruch, including the library, gym, the Honors lounge, the CUNY graduate center and many others. The Writing Center and the Starr Career Development Center are some that I would like to make use of in the near future. Otherwise, I’m still discovering and finding out what other department and facilities Baruch has.

Since I have arrived at Baruch, I have been interested in joining clubs and doing activities. During my first week, I visited and signed up for many different clubs, but there are a few that I settled down with. First, I am on the E-board as a marketing director for the United Sikh Association (USA), which we have just reestablished this semester; the Sikh cultural club was a big thing until two years ago when the heads of the group graduated and the club lost focus. Now, our goal is to reintegrate the club and make it even better than it was in the past. We have done a number of small events and have co-sponsored/collaborated with many other clubs; the outlook has been great thus far and we have a lot in store for the next semester. I have also been attending Wall Street Club to form my perspective on business and finance; the club has greatly influenced my decision on whether to pursue a business major or not. In the forthcoming semesters, I want to expand my horizons to Phi Eta Sigma (a national honors society), Mathematics Society, and maybe even a professional development fraternity.

Nobody has the foresight to determine what the future holds, but I do know that, in the coming years, I will be pursuing my goals and making the most out of the college experience.

Time flies, doesn’t it? It’s so hard to believe that the first semester is coming to an end; the expertise of the faculty and staff who helped us along the way has been a huge benefactor. I am very thankful to those who provided us with the resources and advise thus far; and also thankful to my surrounding Baruch Scholars, who have made the transition a little less difficult.

I have made use of several facilities that serve different purposes here at Baruch, including the library, gym, the Honors lounge, the CUNY graduate center and many others. The Writing Center and the Starr Career Development Center are some that I would like to make use of in the near future. Otherwise, I’m still discovering and finding out what other department and facilities Baruch has.

Since I have arrived at Baruch, I have been interested in joining clubs and doing activities. During my first week, I visited and signed up for many different clubs, but there are a few that I settled down with. First, I am on the E-board as a marketing director for the United Sikh Association (USA), which we have just reestablished this semester; the Sikh cultural club was a big thing until two years ago when the heads of the group graduated and the club lost focus. Now, our goal is to reintegrate the club and make it even better than it was in the past. We have done a number of small events and have co-sponsored/collaborated with many other clubs; the outlook has been great thus far and we have a lot in store for the next semester. I have also been attending Wall Street Club to form my perspective on business and finance; the club has greatly influenced my decision on whether to pursue a business major or not. In the forthcoming semesters, I want to expand my horizons to Phi Eta Sigma (a national honors society), Mathematics Society, and maybe even a professional development fraternity.

Nobody has the foresight to determine what the future holds, but I do know that, in the coming years, I will be pursuing my goals and making the most out of the college experience.

As first term comes to an end, and I can reflect my time at Baruch, I would say my first semester was pretty good. I think being a scholar, and everything that comes along with it made my time better. For example, picking next semester’s schedule. Since honors kids get priority registration we were able to pick first, and 99% of classes were still open. It took off a lot of stress of me because I didn’t have to decide between having a 7 am class or a Saturday class because everything was still open.

Also, my classes and teachers this semester were pretty great.  They didn’t ask too much, and some of the work was pretty fun. When we got to take the google cardboard VR glasses home, I got to show all my friends how cool they were. Although the project didn’t turn out that successful with the Makerhub, the VR glasses made up for it. Throughout the semester I also changed my views on the community service project. I see the community service project is now less of a project and more of a way to expand my interests by helping the community. By volunteering in New York Cares I am able to do multiple activities, which other volunteer organizations don’t do. I can help tutor children, or even paint a school, or I can just relax and help with clothes donations—either way I’m expanding my interests.

Since finals are coming up, I’m looking forward to this semester ending, and starting next semester with completely different classes and a schedule without a 4 hour break.

Last year if someone would have asked me where I saw myself in a year, I would have never had said Baruch College, or even college at all. I have always wanted to go to the Army (and still do), but because of my parents’ wishes for me to at least try college first, I ended up in Baruch. Thanks to them, I have met great professors and advisors, like Dr. Locke (who sparked my interest in psychology) and Mr. Medina, an amazing mentor, and (hopefully) lifelong friends (I can now say that my squad is everyone else’s “squad goals”).

In the span of 3 or so months, I created a bond with people stronger than I have with friends that I have known for years. One such bond was with Nadia, who showed me (and is continuing to show me) a whole new level of friendship that I have never been exposed to before.

While I chase my dream of joining the military, my college career will continue. I joined TEAM Baruch where I can hopefully learn much more things than a textbook can teach. I hope to join other clubs that interest me throughout my time in Baruch.

Even though Baruch is a commuter school and I told myself that if I were to ever go to college, I would be dorming on a big campus, the Baruch Scholars program really helped in getting me used to coming to school everyday. Waking up super early for a class was only bearable because it was psychology with Dr. Locke and the rest of the Baruch Scholars who I came to love over the course of this semester.

Nadia (in the Perspective of Jay)’s Story:

Time for an anecdote! A few weeks ago, in psychology, Dr. Locke asked us what our motivation was for coming to school. Breaking the silence of the classroom, I courageously raised my hand and said that the people in the room were my motivation for coming to school. With my face turning into the color of a grilled tomato and the embarrassing “awww Jayyyyy”, Dr. Locke exclaimed that it was a cute motivation to have and I regretted my comment the moment I said it. Now where was I going with this? Oh right, the Baruch Scholars program and coming to school. This school sucks but at least the people are nice. #SQUADDDDDD Shoutout to my homies who spend the long 4-hour breaks with me. Hope our friendship isn’t seasonal. (Nadia wrote this by the way)

My time at Baruch. Like many I was scared, anxious, nervous, overjoyed, exhilarated on the first day. Who knew what Baruch had to offer? Honestly I like to believe that us as Baruch Scholars are a big L taking family. It helped the transition immensely and making friends at a commuter school has been a little on the easy side. From taking similar courses, to utilizing the honors lounge to catch up on Netflix, gossip and do everything else than actual work, now it as ritual to go in every Wednesday and chill. Preparing Tamara’s birthday party wasn’t really a hassle but really getting anything done was actually surprising. I honestly don’t even know how that birthday card came out but it was all worth it with Tamara’s confused face of “whose birthday is it?”

At Baruch I’ve gotten to know another inviting crazy Latino family similar to mine known as LASO. I think I’m the only freshman in this club but they are just so welcoming, funny, and love to eat and party. We held an event called Latino food week where for three days all we ate was a bunch of Spanish food starting with appetizers like empanadas to entrees like chicken, beans, and rice. Ending with some amazing desserts like tres leche cake and flan.

At Baruch one of the most helpful and laid back classes has been anthropology. Okay who are we kidding? It’s been communications. Yes many people think I am loud and not scared, but people that’s just an act. Inside I feel like a hot air balloon about to pop. Is it getting hot in here or is it just me? My cheeks turn insanely red. I shouldn’t just say my cheeks but my entire body. My hand starts to shake and my voice starts to tremble. I am not saying that, that still doesn’t happen. It does. But I’ve gotten better on controlling it. So much that I won a $50 gift card for my one minute pitch on my invention at the Maker Hub, where I beat both John and Evans lame idea.  Communication has really helped on my speaking skills and making me more outgoing. Well more than usual.

In three years I honestly hope that the Baruch Scholars still keep in touch like the familia I know we can be, but this time takings “W’s” instead. I hope that I know for sure what I want to do with my life, graduate and say I made it. For my friends and especially for my parents. Their drive, their struggles, their ambition has made me who I am and I have the rest of my life to thank them every day for who I will become.

I have enjoyed working on the community service project this year. I believe we came up with a great organization and I can’t wait to actually participate and help out next spring. Throughout the year I developed some useful skills that I’ll use in the future. The most interesting and useful classes I took this semester was definitely communications because it helped me develop speech skills and now I feel more comfortable giving speeches than I was when the semester started. Also, I learned a lot about 3-D printing and virtual reality which was also a great experience which I may not have again. One of the centers I’ve utilized greatly this semester was the library. I would go there during the long 4 hour breaks or before I had a soccer game and do my work. It is a peaceful environment where I can get all my work done. I also enjoyed playing soccer this year. The experience as long as the kids on the team were great and it’s sad that I won’t play with another season. As much as I enjoyed some classes and  experiences at Baruch I very much disliked my overall stay and atmosphere at Baruch. Part of the reason was the school itself and part was just my preferences. Baruch is very much a commuter school and you can barely call the two buildings a “campus”. I have always wanted a real campus but that’s just a personal preference. The largest reason why I did not like my time at Baruch, is because I found the school very unprofessional. It all started off when we were given Dell computers after we were promised MacBook Air’s. The problem wasn’t so much that I didn’t get the computer but more so that we weren’t notified about this until the moment we got them. The school had over 6 months to notify us and then afterwards, and only because the students complained, they tried to make up for it with some pathetic apology. We are the Honors students, supposedly “the brightest” bunch of students and from the first week we got a good look at how Baruch treated us. Also, I was promised priority scheduling as a Honors students. The school knew that I was an athlete and they had the schedule of when I had games and they continued to schedule a math class where I would have to either miss half my games or half my classes. This wasn’t really the problem because I understand if they didn’t know my schedule but then when I went to fix they told me that it was impossible to fix and that I would have to figure it out. So now I am, as a freshman student who was told to go and expand my horizons, stuck to decided whether to miss half my soccer games or half my math lectures. The best part of the whole situation was that when I pursued the issue and brought the issue to the Dean they were able to find a solution to the problem, even though it also wasn’t ideal. Another issue I had was with financial aid. I was promised a certain amount of money at the beginning of the semester and I went to meet with the office workers just to make sure how and when I would get the money because with the previous issues that I went through I knew something was bound to go wrong. So after two months went by and I didn’t receive the money I went back to the office. Apparently the money had mysteriously “disappeared”. They told me they didn’t know what happened to it and they would look into it. Now a few weeks later, after I signed up for the direct deposit, I see the money in my account. However, it is under “Campus Housing” and I never actually received it which means that I have to go back to the office a third time to figure it out. Finally, me and the rest of the honors students, were finessed in the Maker Hub. Even though it was a great experience, many of our group were promised 3-D printing models and either didn’t ever receive the model or they were late. My group didn’t even know that we were not getting our model until the day we had to present. Once again there was no notifications which was the largest problem. During my time at Baruch, I found a lot of the staff and workers very unprofessional and rude. I don’t know exactly where I will end up for the next three years, but I can confidently say that it will definitely not be Baruch College.

I do not know where I see myself in the next three years.  I could very well be an avid member of the Baruch Scholars, or using my experience here to drive success elsewhere.  In either instance, the values instilled in each and every one of us in the program will always remain.  I will be diligent in my work, timely in my execution, and graceful in my efforts altogether.  The staff here has been more than generous in their excitement to push us forward in our academics and worldly ventures.  My friend Nadia and fellow Scholar has taken the initiative to create her own club at Baruch through the help of staff members and faculty.  MD has worked alongside Professor Hahn and the MakerHub staff to get across the concerns our communication class had and more importantly he stood up for us and voiced his opinions.  Constructive criticism and overall scholarly camaraderie were displayed that day.  Dr. Locke who has offered her experience in psychology to fuel our curiosity in things most of us never even think about.  She even inspired one or two of us to major or minor in her very field.   She has offered me person guidance as well when things have seemed to not have an outlet.  Then there is Mr. Medina whom each of us has had extensive meetings with him to offer guidance and help schedule our spring semester classes.  And let us not forget Tamara; she has offered us her time, support, and appreciation for all things “Freshman.”  She is there to pull you aside and ask if everything is going okay and if you need help, she is always there…just what we all needed to hear.  Seeking guidance from those around you, especially at Baruch seems to be the essence of the school itself.  A fast paced commuter school with faculty with hearts that are understanding and pure which make you slow down and breathe.  The angst from the stressors of classes and the demand for high grades can easily be balanced with help.  Sometimes we forget that we are not alone after all.

Throughout this semester and my participation and start on this Community Service Project has helped me draw expertise from the Success Network and from my peers within that club in the Success Network. The Success Network and the peers within it have helped so that I would learn about the Bowery Mission and take the initiative to research about it so that I would learn more about my options within the community- places that need help and support within the community.

 

Joining Success Network made me acquire a drive for being involved within the community, but not only was I limited to being part of the Success Network, I also joined other clubs which helped me keep on being driven to help out in the community and gave me ideas of what I wanted to do. Success Network gave me ideas because as I previously mentioned they partnered up with Bowery Mission, by that I mean they offered to volunteer and work there.

 

From joining the Caribbean Student Association I have bonded with people who come from places similar to mine, which suffer from great poverty and are in great need of help. I know that I cannot go and make a change over there, and helping out over there is limited. Knowing that in New York I have so many options of organizations I can join and offer to help out in, I felt more motivated and looked forward to the project as a whole and am still looking forward to the execution of it, which is to serve food to those who do not have a home or shelter.

 

Aside from these two clubs, Golden Key has a philanthropic Committee, which I would like to join and focuses on serving the community. If I become part of it I will probably have to help organize such events and having had the opportunity of doing research on organizations to volunteer at in New York City and what it takes to plan and organize these events through this project would help me if I get the opportunity to take a place in this Committee. This project will also help me organize my volunteering hours, which are a requirement of all Baruch students per semester.

 

My understanding of Community Service has evolved in the sense that I have gotten to learn about the many reasons why organizations form these kinds of options and what drives them to serve the Community or why it is meaningful to them and it shows how different people approach the different situations or groups of people that are lacking help and how they make it a better place by letting others take a hand and participate in it, too.

 

In three years I see myself towards the end of my senior year in college, hopefully looking towards a graduate degree or maybe getting a job for a few years prior to going to graduate school. I hope to be involved in more leadership positions within the clubs like instead of being secretary of CSA becoming the VP or President of it and at the same time explore other clubs and keep my options open so that I may keep on learning and helping out the community in many different ways.

As the final statement of her speech at Convocation 2016, keynote speaker Celeste Ng asked Baruch freshmen, “What will you do with your visibility?” These few words inspired me to truly ponder my role as a Scholar and helped me realize that I must not merely seek new opportunity and new experience for my own benefit but also create new opportunity and new experience for others. To craft my ideal college experience I must be enterprising, not idle.

The community service project has been especially transformative for me; it encouraged me to look for a cause I felt passionate about and ensure the project was an enjoyable process instead of a stressful assignment. I loved the feelings of responsibility and accomplishment that accompanied the need to be proactive in finding the organization and planning the project. This drove me to become involved in at least one club during my first semester at Baruch.

I wondered about how much I would gain from joining a club, and I learned that how much I gain is dependent upon how much I actively involve myself in club activities. I first learned about Ascend Baruch from a table the club had set up in the plaza during Convocation Day. The professional development aspect of it interested me, and so I attended a general interest meeting. What captured my attention at the meeting was the numerous openings for assistant e-board positions. I was ambitious. I wanted a leadership role, I applied to be Chair of Community Service, and I received the position. Since then, I have organized one event: for willing Ascend members to help beautify Riverside Park. One of Ascend’s core values is service initiative, and I plan to organize a variety of events in the new year that exemplify this.

For me, gaining from involvement does not only apply to clubs; it applies to experimentation. During the semester I attended three, on-campus public speech events in which CEOs conveyed their experience as business leaders and/or the keys that make their companies successful. I loved what the speakers had to say as much as I loved being able to do something to make the school day different from other days. The result is that I continue to seek out similar events because I know that I acquire knowledge, inspiration, and interesting experience from them.

My first semester at Baruch has been amazing and it has made me grow so much as an individual. I can only imagine what the next three years will hold. Over the course of these years I shall never cease my exploration and experimentation. My passion for learning, dedication to hard work, and understanding of what it means to be a true Scholar will always be genuine and unrestrained.