Baruch Scholars 2016

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.

Me Like Yuh feat. Hoody – Jay Park 

Play this song while reading. It is a Korean hip hop song. 

          How many times have I heard that statement? It was probably 30+ times. I didn’t take the statement in perspective when I first came to the campus. I didn’t open myself to any clubs, and any communities. I regret doing that. For the first couple of weeks, I felt disconnected from the college. Except for going to class and then doing work in the library until 8 o’clock in the night, I didn’t do anything else. I would go to the library during my breaks and eat my homemade lunch in the dining space in the Vertical Building.

Why did I do this? It was the same things I did in high-school. I didn’t participate in any clubs or organizations in the school, but always traveled throughout the city, either with friends or alone. I found joy in traveling and discovering new buildings, new areas, new food, and new cultures in NYC. I thought I could do the same in college with all the free time. I obviously thought wrong. I didn’t think that commuting and studying every day would take up all my free time.

Back in high school, I sacrificed sleep to be able to travel around NYC. I will not make the same mistake in college. I joined three clubs: Conversation Partners Program, Golden Buddies, and Korean Student Association (I’m not Korean, but they accept everyone.). I spend my breaks talking to my new friends and getting to know new people. I spend my time on the train reading the textbooks for psychology and then when I get home, I go to sleep. During the weekend, I go have my fun.

My fun has evolved. Now that I’m 18, I can go to festivals and clubs that I couldn’t go to as a high school. My most memorable event of 2016 so far has been going to the innovation event @ Northside Festival. I was able to talk to Elon Musk about his role at Tesla, SpaceX, and Paypal. It was definitely worth my time.

I am slowly becoming connected with the Baruch community. It is making me fall in love with the college, something that I was not expecting feel at the beginning of the semester.

We are all citizens. Whether it be to a college, state, country or planet. We are a protector and provider in that community in hopes of making the world a better place. Cliché, I know, but this basically provides the overview for what it is like to “serve our community.”  Although we are all morally obligated to preform these actions, many do not. On the contrast, many serve their community open heatedly without knowing of their good deeds. Within these two situation has the underlying question of what really is our role in aiding to the population around us. Grainier, what is our role in serving the one place we all belong to: Baruch?

Everyone has a different reason in society. Some are here to inform and to be stern while others are here to bring joy. Some are straight up rude, especially in New York, but others are sweet. Since I’m tend to take on a polite approach, many people like talking to me and opening up; I interpret that to be my role in Baruch. I take pride in that because people in today’s society cling to themselves, so breaking people out of their shells is an accomplishment. (while doing this to their comfort, of course.) Since we are freshmen, we don’t know the people around us. Offering that insight of care can make people feel more at home. It’s easy for someone to say, “Hey, don’t worry I’m not here to judge you,” but to follow up with the real meaning of those words is shaky. It’s a challenge and that’s why I love doing it.

By showing that one action of caring it promotes the culture of service the Honors Program inscribes. You start from a friend, then it can grow to a group, and then a larger community. It’s a simple process that’s done by baby steps.

 

I feel as if I currently do not have a big role in the Baruch community, but I hope to change that in the near future. I haven’t joined any clubs within Baruch because I wanted to explore what the city has to offer before devoting all my time to a single club. When I do end up settling down with a club, I hope it is something related to the field of finance so I can get a better idea of what it is like for the future. I think it will definitely help me determine if I truly love what I do and test the waters before diving in.

I think that my role in the broader community as a Baruch Scholar should be to help those in need because not a lot of people have such an amazing opportunity. Not only am I able to attend college and pursue a higher education, but I am able to do so at no cost (or at least with a tiny technology fee). I believe that if something good happens to you, you should always try to brighten someone else day just to pass it on. The culture of service within the Honors Program allows students to experience the joy of helping someone else and allows me to devote more time to help the community. Since it is a part of the program, its great to be able to have some class time devoted to researching ways that we can help the community within our groups. It was amazing to learn that those around me have the same interests and concerns as me when it comes to issues within our community. During high school, I was the Co-President of PACT (Public Awareness for Charity by Teens) and it made me feel great every single time we had an event and helped those around us. I was sad to leave it behind when I graduated, but when I found out that one of our group projects is to volunteer, I was ecstatic to find out what cause we would be choosing.

Since New York City is pretty much another world in itself, there is so many things we can do to grow as people. Whether it is to figure out who you are or how to help others, I believe that right now, as students, we should devote this time to figuring out who we are as individuals. Community service will allow me to further discover what I am passionate about and thus aiding me in my growth.

As you might have already noticed, I am not your average girl, or what a “normal” girl is supposed to be. I don’t wear dresses, or skirts (whatever the difference is), I don’t curl my hair or dye it, I don’t know what any kind of makeup is called, let alone know how to use it. Instead, I wear baggy clothes, have the same hairstyle everyday (since the 8th grade), and never wear makeup.

Ever since I could remember, I’ve always questioned why girls gravitated towards one sort of thing, while boys gravitated towards another. At age four, I wanted to play with my brother’s toy soldiers, not play dress up with my dolls. At age seven, I wanted to take Tae Kwon Do classes, not ballet. At age nine, I wanted to play baseball and soccer. At age twelve, I wanted to play the bass guitar, which apparently is a “boy instrument” according to the salesman at Guitar Center. At age fifteen, I wanted to play the biggest and loudest drum in Drum Corps, one that no girl had ever played before in a parade. Now at eighteen, I want to join the military.

All my life, up to this point, I’ve had to prove myself to everyone else. That I could do it, whatever it was, just as well, or even better than others could. When everyone told me I couldn’t, I only had a few tell me I could and will do it. Having to constantly compete with other people’s idea of what a “normal” girl, over time, caused me to become tougher and more determined to prove them wrong. Now, whenever someone tells me that I cannot do something, for whatever reason, I make it my mission to do it.

Doing things that were widely perceived to being “boy” activities has shaped me into the person I am today. I always set out to do my best in anything that I do, including school work. I don’t make excuses, but find ways to get things done.

I’m not your “typical girl”, but then again, who is?