Baruch Scholars 2016

Month: October 2016

Serving the Community

John D. Rockefeller was known to be one of history’s wealthiest men and a major philanthropist. After retiring from Standard Oil, Rockefeller donated more than half a billion dollars to educational and scientific causes. This included establishing Rockefeller Institute, the General Education Board, and giving land to the United Nations. Why did he do such … Continue reading “Serving the Community”

John D. Rockefeller was known to be one of history’s wealthiest men and a major philanthropist. After retiring from Standard Oil, Rockefeller donated more than half a billion dollars to educational and scientific causes. This included establishing Rockefeller Institute, the General Education Board, and giving land to the United Nations.

Why did he do such a thing? Was it because he felt like giving away money? Was it because he wanted to foster his reputation? Maybe, it was because he wanted to serve the community, the one that was with him through his times.

My role, here at Baruch, is still being discovered. Right now, I’m still trying to find out which clubs to join, how to get involved, and what Baruch has to offer. Although I’m not exactly sure of my role, I know for a fact that my role can and should have an impact on the community. Serving the community is a rather eclectic phrase; it isn’t necessarily done in one way. Serving the community can include philanthropy, volunteering time, fighting for a cause, and even helping a stranger. In the case of Rockefeller after experiencing immense financial success, he gave back through large donations. For any common man/woman, it doesn’t have to be done in the same manner; it can be done in any method of contribution possible. Sometimes, even the smallest act of kindness can be a great help to the community.

Being enrolled into the Baruch Scholars program, we have been given privileges, opportunities, and resources that will make our Baruch experience run a little smoother; we have also been given community service guidelines to abide by. To be honest, my initial thoughts were that I was going to fulfill the requirement and that would be it. I know that this train of thought isn’t correct. I should continue to serve the community even if the requirements have been dealt with because no amount of service will suffice for what the community has done for me.

More Than a Degree

Obviously as a student at Baruch, Honors or not, the main goal of most students is to graduate. But there’s much more to being a student at Baruch. You have to make a difference in some way, or really what is the point of being here. It’s not just to get a degree. Maybe when … Continue reading “More Than a Degree”

Obviously as a student at Baruch, Honors or not, the main goal of most students is to graduate. But there’s much more to being a student at Baruch. You have to make a difference in some way, or really what is the point of being here. It’s not just to get a degree. Maybe when adults go back to school ten years after high school that is all they are trying to do, but going to college still as a teenager offers you a lot of opportunities. Next year when there are the next group of Baruch Scholars, I hope to have something to distinguish myself if they ask about my first year at Baruch. This means getting involved in clubs, this means exploring New York City and everything it has to offer, this means improving myself as a person and learning. After sharing my story of my first year, I want to not only distinguish myself in the minds of other people, but to be proud of my accomplishments and want to continue with them. I may not be sure of what these accomplishments are now, but solely going to class and doing nothing else at Baruch is not the way I will get to this point.

The Honors Program seems to promote giving back to the community in which you came from and/or are surrounded by on a daily basis, as emphasized by the community service hours required each semester.  I hope that wherever I choose to donate my time in the next four years I truly see the impact I make on the people or animals I help. I don’t want to spend time doing something I don’t actually have a deep interest in, and it’s not about making myself feel like a better person by volunteering, but it’s about becoming a better person from the experiences you encounter while volunteering.

journal 2

I’m currently a student in Baruch. My role in being a Baruch scholar is not only to accept the rewards that come along with this program but to give back. This year I would love to give back to my community by doing the community service we are assigned to do in our groups. I’m … Continue reading “journal 2”

I’m currently a student in Baruch. My role in being a Baruch scholar is not only to accept the rewards that come along with this program but to give back. This year I would love to give back to my community by doing the community service we are assigned to do in our groups. I’m still
not sure where my group will choose to
give back.

During my high school experience I did a lot of community service, I did a more than 200 hours. I volunteered at Manhattan Beach Day Camp for one summer. I also volunteered in JCH during my school breaks. I did filing, data base entry, and translating for people who didn’t speak English. I loved giving back to my community. I did it from the end of freshman year to the beginning of senior year.

This is related to the culture of service the Honor Program promotes because I helped out my community and know I wanna help out my new community, here, at Baruch. I could also help out by joining clubs and next year promote the clubs I’m in, so more people would join and have a better college experience.

Another thing I could do that fits in with the culture of service that Honors Program promotes is advise people to vote and stand in the lobby giving out free stuff to those who sign up. This will help our community because more people need to express their voice, now more then ever, and vote! The concept of “one vote doesn’t count” isn’t true, because all those votes pile on and it becomes a large sum of votes. A large sum that DOES count. So those are some things I would do in my community to give back.

The True Meaning of a Scholar

The common misconception that most people have about honor societies and scholars is that they are just academically gifted students that seek to gain good grades and nothing more. A true scholar, however, is much more than a person who vies for a number grade on their test. The characteristics of a scholar is someone who … Continue reading “The True Meaning of a Scholar”

The common misconception that most people have about honor societies and scholars is that they are just academically gifted students that seek to gain good grades and nothing more. A true scholar, however, is much more than a person who vies for a number grade on their test. The characteristics of a scholar is someone who is not only academically gifted, but also, displays the willingness and ability to take leadership and strive to give back to the community in any way possible. Whether it be on a local, national, or even global scale, any form of service is key to defining what a scholar portrays. Therefore, as Baruch scholars, it is each of our responsibilities to not only focus on maintaining our GPA for our scholarships and future success. We must remember the true definition of a scholar and embody this in our everyday lives within every opportunity that we are given. We should not have to be forced to do community service because the school mandates it, but rather, do it from our own will. A perfect example of this would be to volunteer with no reward or assignment attached to it. Instead, we do it in order to give back to the community that in its own special way had provided for each of us, even if it was only one instance. When we are blessed with a life and abilities that people wish everyday they had, it becomes our obligation to spread the blessings that we have received as well. Therefore, a true scholar uses the gifts and blessings that she or he has received and carries the blessings on to the next person.

Serving my Community

When you first hear about the requirements for the Baruch Scholar Honors Program it seems like a lot. However, once you take a step back you realize that it’s really what we should be doing anyways. I think that everyone, not just Baruch Scholars, should be helping out and doing community service and not just … Continue reading “Serving my Community”

When you first hear about the requirements for the Baruch Scholar Honors Program it seems like a lot. However, once you take a step back you realize that it’s really what we should be doing anyways. I think that everyone, not just Baruch Scholars, should be helping out and doing community service and not just so it looks good on paper. I think its everyone’s civil duty to give back and help make the community better. Going off this idea, joining clubs helps make this possible. A lot of clubs get you involved and helping the community in and around Baruch. We were picked to be in Baruch Scholars because we are the best and brightest of Baruch minus the MacBooks. This means that we are supposed to be the role models to everyone and lead the way. We have these requirements but realistically they should be done without asking. I also think that we should help out our friends when they need it whether it be tutoring them or lending a textbook or PDF. Of course, our first job without having to be said is be outstanding students and just try and settle in because it is a big school and an enormous city. Once we are settled in we can then help others do the same because I believe we were put in this program to lead others and be outstanding role models.

“I shall not leave my city any less but rather greater than I found it”

These are the final words of the Ephebic Oath that all incoming students must take at Townsend Harris High School, my alma mater. In an event called Founder’s Day, all classes are canceled and students have the opportunity to wear some of their nicest pieces of clothing as they come together at Queen’s College’s Colden […]

These are the final words of the Ephebic Oath that all incoming students must take at Townsend Harris High School, my alma mater. In an event called Founder’s Day, all classes are canceled and students have the opportunity to wear some of their nicest pieces of clothing as they come together at Queen’s College’s Colden Auditorium for some motivational words of wisdom from students, faculty, and alumni. On top of this, the recitation of the Ephebic Oath is the main event that inaugurates all incoming freshmen and is to be recited once again at graduation before sending the advancing class into the world. The Ephebic Oath is a major component of the school’s environment. Students and teachers often refer to the Ephebic Oath at many points throughout the year and school requirements are even based off of this motto. In order to receive a Townsend diploma, every student must complete at least forty hours of community service a year. On top of this, students must also complete ten hours of political service the summer before their senior year. Volunteer work becomes an inevitable part of every Harrisite’s life.

Like every incoming freshman, I became wide-eyed at the idea of dedicating 160 hours of penniless work and dreaded having to complete it but it actually wasn’t that bad. In fact, I ended up completing nearly 300 hours one summer. (This does not mean that the requirement can be met in one summer. You must volunteer at different parts of the year, four separate times, with at least 40 hours during each time of the year. I just did the extra hours for fun.)

Naturally, this spirit has been transferred to my college outlook and I look forward to embarking on another journey here at Baruch. What a coincidence that the program has a service requirement! This oath can definitely be echoed in my service requirement at Baruch and the rest of my life. Baruch’s Honors Program has the same goal in its requirements.

I think that I could serve my community in a number of ways. I do not always feel the need to volunteer my time at nonprofit organizations but I think that serving my community can be as small as helping out a fellow peer or adult. Whether it’s answering someone’s question about finding directions on the subway or clarifying a concept recently learned in psychology, I intend to make my city greater, one person at a time. The Ephebic Oath does not simply state to join an organization and help out, it tells people never to “desert [their] comrades in the ranks” and to “fight for the ideals and sacred things of the city” both alone and with a team. Camaraderie is important in the oath and so is standing up for beliefs. Using the oath as my guideline, I will make my city, and later the world, greater than I found it, one tiny step at a time.