Month: September 2016

I remember after hearing all the things Honor students had to do at the night of orientation. I was like man, that’s a drag. It was understandable, but it was still a drag. I still have the same mentality to this day. As a new student at Baruch, I need to settle in. I need to find friends and people I can rely on. I need to explore what Baruch has to offer. I need to have fun and go on adventures before I can calm down and ask myself: So, is this worth it? If the answer is yes, I will then try with my utmost intention and effort to give back to the Baruch Scholars community. I’ll sell my text books at dirt cheap prices. I’ll pass along my PDFs for those who are in need of them. Maybe I’ll become a mentor just like Tamara! Maybe in the future I will donate money back to Baruch! For now, however, I’m just a kid figuring out his place and role. My only contribution to the Baruch community as a whole is my involvement in joining clubs and exploring my areas of interests.

When I hear the question about my current role in Baruch community as a scholar, I find it really hard to answer this question due to timing. I feel as though we are still just getting used to things and haven’t really had time to create a role in the school. However, I feel as the month’s progress by that my answer will change because I think that we should have more of an understanding in our sense of community and a responsibility of involvement.

 

The schools has given us things such as a free tuition in the Honors program, so we should as part of this program do the same and give back to the school. It may not just be financially in the future that we could give back, but rather we can give back by becoming more involved in the school. We could join clubs, take advantage of all the workshops and free help they offer now to help become very successful people in he future who can give back more then. My idea of what our role of what our role as a Baruch scholar is very similar to the things we need to fulfill as a requirement in the program. For example, as an honors member we are required to do community service in our freshman seminar class and we also have to attend a cultural event. Those our events that not only help give back to the school, but to the diversity of the city.

Volunteer work is related to the culture of service of the Honors Program since it all relates to a form of giving back to the community. In high school, I found giving back an important aspect to my school because it boosted school spirit and helped put a smile on people’s face especially during periods of trouble such as after Hurricane Sandy hit. However, not only is volunteer work good for the culture of the program, it can help us grow individually also.

In senior year of high school, I thought of myself as a real leader. I was a head of a couple of commissions/clubs and felt like a real contributor to many others. I knew almost everyone in my school and even if I didn’t know them, their faces always seemed familiar and I was confident that they knew me. Now, I am back to square one. I feel exactly how I did four years ago. I’m a little “freshie” in such a large community. Even if I try to get involved I would never be the same contributor I once was. The only difference between now and four years ago is that I am now titled as an “honors student.”

When I hear the phrase “Baruch Honors” I immediately translate this to mean “Baruch Leader.” I feel as if I am responsible to be a representative of the top Baruch has to offer this world. I am aware that this title is a great honor but I also know that it comes with a price of great pressures. As an honors student, I am always expected to outperform the average Baruch student and will always be looked up to as the honors kid. If I don’t live up to these expectations I feel like I am letting down my high school for not being able to do much with the great education that they handed to me on a silver platter. I also would feel like I let down the Baruch admissions office by showing them that it was a mistake to give me this honor. Because of these reasons, I am determined to prove that they did not make a mistake and that I can truly become a Baruch Honors student.

I cannot believe how fast time has flown since last fall when I attended a Baruch Honors Program information session. I did not know then that Baruch would ultimately become my first college choice, but I remember still feeling excited about what the program had to offer. My attention was particularly drawn to the aspects of the balanced college experience put forth by the honors program: academic excellence, research and creative inquiry, international experience, cultural exploration, and leadership and service. I believe that my role as a Baruch Scholar is to actively seek new opportunity and hence new experience in these areas in order to chart my own path. I must ask myself with an open mind, “What can I make of the resources available to me?” In fulfilling my role I shall strive to uphold my values of integrity and reward through hard work. Equally important, however, is to also find appreciation and meaning in what I set out to do.

When I think of my passions, community service quickly comes to mind. Throughout high school, volunteer work was never merely a graduation requirement with a minimum number of required hours, but also- and much more important- a duty and means to grow for me. Over time, volunteering both helped me to grow individually and allowed me to realize one of the roles I want to have as a person for years to come: serving the community. For me, this does not mean giving back out of mere requirement but instead giving back out of willingness, understanding, and appreciation.

Being in Baruch Honors, we have higher expectations to live up to. We have to excel in academics, but we also have to be well rounded in the social and extracurricular aspects. In addition to the free tuition and receiving a free laptop, we have to do volunteer work. Being a part the Baruch Honors community, we have to give back to the community; volunteer work is a perfect way of doing it. Our mandated service hours help us give back to the community and experience different atmospheres. In addition we’re pushed more to do clubs and get involved in the Baruch community. College is not only about receiving high grades and becoming independent, but also about becoming a better human being.

Giving back to the community is central to the culture of service that the Honors Program promotes. I have done volunteer work before, but not very personal and directly helping the people. I was in Red Cross in high school; the events were mostly cancer walks, or picking up trash. Volunteering in high school gave me a different outlook, and proved that volunteering can actually be fun. Volunteering and giving back to the community in Baruch will be different because we will be affiliated with an organization.  I’m excited because I can pick whatever organization appeals to me. Volunteering should not be forced, and serving the community under the Baruch Honors program will help me establish a bond and a love for service.

In high school, by senior year, I had a set role. I was in JROTC and my roles and duties were  decided for me. I was the Drum Corps Commander, so I was supposed to lead the team. Transitioning into college took away that set role and forced me to start over. Over the course of the first month, my role was just to get used to Baruch and the little group of people that I traveled to most my classes with.

As i join clubs or find other things that I am passionate about, my role will grow and change. Right now, my role is just to be a good friend so I can actually keep my friends instead of ending up being by myself through this rough journey called college.

Other than my school role, my role in society is to be a good citizen. People will have different opinions on what that entails, but everyone would agree that community service or just helping out the community is one way to be a good citizen. Small things like picking up trash on the side of the sidewalk, or recycling instead of throwing out the paper bag in the trash might not seem like much, but they do add up.

The first time I did community service was for a project, similar to the one we are doing in our class. My group went to the Ronald McDonald House to bake for the families staying there. I didn’t even know how to bake or have the slightest idea how to make batter for the cookies, but I needed to get a good grade so I went along with it. The whole time we were baking, I kept questioning how making a couple cookies and brownies would make some kid happy, and how such a little thing could mean the world to someone. Once we were done baking, I could see that what we did actually had an impact on the kids. Their smiles and their shyness coming back for seconds touched me in a way that I’ve never felt before. I realized that although community service is about giving back, you also learn a lot from it too.

Our role as Honor Students should be to be able to do things like that. Give back to the community in any way possible. I feel that all of our roles should just be to leave Baruch better than we found it.

 

 

My role in the Baruch community is to expand my horizons; to build new relationships and take on leadership roles, while, at the same time, maintaining a good GPA.

As of right now, I have gotten pretty involved within the Community. Before the academic year started I was invited to be part of something called “Success Network Boot camp.” The event hosted by this club prior to the beginning of the year motivated me to aspire to take leadership positions in the community at Baruch.

Due to the motivation this brought upon me, I have decided to become a golden buddy, philanthropic member of the Golden Key Honor Society, secretary of CSA and treasurer of WICC. I know that it will be undoubtedly challenging to keep up with everything going on in all these different clubs while maintaining the requirements for some of them including the Honors Program.

As part of a scholars I also want to serve the community around me which is also why I have decided to be part of the philanthropic committee of Golden Key and at the same time sign up for volunteering events that the Success Network has put together. On Monday I will go and serve meals at the Bowery Mission.

Through all of these positions in these different clubs I will be able to serve the Baruch community in different ways. I will be able to assist club members with questions, help plan events for different clubs, and even reach out to the NYC community along with other Baruch alumni.

As a Baruch Scholar, on my own, dependent from my activity in any of these clubs, I believe that my role is to treat others with respect and be willing to help others out if, and whenever, it is possible to.

I look forward to keep on exploring the different opportunities and ways I can give back to the Baruch community and the NYC community as a whole and to the life-changing experiences it will bring to my life.

Let’s keep it real. As college student we all want to get “lit.” You know “turn up!”  The last thing in our minds right now is helping the community, since we’re so new to it.

But how do you meet the people in your community. Clubs. I’ve gone to a couple cultural clubs to check them out and being completely honest I’ve loved them. The joy to celebrate and express where you come from is unexplainable. I joined both LASO (Latin American Student Organization) as well as Ecuadorian Club and both these clubs have shown me that Baruch does have a welcoming familia (family) as they say. It’s inspired me to take upon that same role at Baruch. To welcome people into a scary place known as our future. People who I would have never thought of talking to in the four years I’m at Baruch, are now having “roast sessions” on what you wear and honoring you with the “L.”

However as a Baruch Scholar, I feel grateful for not having to pay for tuition. I feel welcomed into a smaller community creating a different family within us. I also feel grateful for the honor lounges we have to put our feet up and binge watch on Netflix.  As a Baruch scholar I feel I should give back a part of what makes me unique. Weather that is lending a hand to a friend in need or the simple task of smiling can brighten someone’s day. The volunteer project is a great way to do so because the little things make a big difference.

As students, the last thing on our mind is how to serve the community.  We are just getting the hang of taking express elevators and finding the cheapest food to eat nearby.  We are selfish.  To be conscious of this is like saying you do not care, but this is not the case.  The little things matter:  smiling in the hallways, waiting for your new friends after class, helping someone find their room, and much more.  Just being nice can go a long way.  Encouraging your classmates to attend a study group or to just study can also show how much you care.  Pushing others to reach their potential, seeing what maybe they do not see in themselves, serves as a reminder that you are in this together.  A happier, united front of Baruch Scholars is the stepping stone to embody what it means to truly influence the community.

Our first step is to contribute to our groups in Fro to actually put some thought into our personal community service projects.  If we choose something meaningful to us, then there will be more of an incentive to do it well.  At the end of my senior year I wrote “Make a difference in this world” in every single of one of my classmates yearbooks.  This correlates to our Honors Program because we are given the opportunity to make that difference, that extra push all of us college kids need.  Giving back to others is our moral duty as human beings; if it’s not our money, then why not our time and energy.

Since this is still my first month here at Baruch, my role so far has been to attend classes and do my work. However, I plan for this to change pretty soon. As a Baruch Scholar in the Honors program, I think my role should be way more impactful than merely taking notes and praying to pass my exams. While I am a student and school work should be a priority, it shouldn’t be the only priority. This is most likely why the requirements of the Honors Program go way beyond the classroom. With things like the Community Service Project and the Study Abroad stipend, it is clear to say that it is every Honor student’s duty to become active in, not only the Baruch community, but the world.

College is all about constantly discovering oneself while having new experiences. The only way to really do this would be to get involved in certain activities, whether it be clubs, teams, internships, or jobs. This would be related to the culture of service that the Honors Program promotes because community service is also another huge way to get involved. There are several ways to help out and give back to the community. This includes, but is not limited to, working with children, helping the less fortunate, cleaning up the city, promoting healthy lifestyles, and even assisting businesses. By participating in any one of these activities, an Honor student like myself would definitely be able to discover some of my passions in the world. Community service could also help build my character while I help others out in the meantime.

Overall, even though being in the Honors program requires a 3.3 GPA, it is also very important to be involved in the community because it will end up being very beneficial to each one of us long after college.