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.
