Baruch Scholars 2017

My participation in the Community Service Project has helped me get accustomed to utilizing certain resources available to me. For one, the ability to talk to my Honors Advisor: Douglas Medina, was incredibly helpful as well as my peer mentor: Maria Lorenzo, both of whom answered a number of questions that my group and I had. I also familiarized myself with Idealist, the site we used to find and get in contact with the non-profit organizations we volunteered at. I have utilized the SACC to try and pass Calculus 2610 as well as the honors lounge where, on numerous occasions, I have entered to a room of intelligent students all getting ready for an exam and willing to help one another. I joined Hillel and I had the chance to join IMJ Trading Club but I differed until next year when I’ve assimilated into college life.

I came into this project with a rather limited appreciation for community service and I only looked at it as something required of me in order to graduate and not as something that can help me better myself. However, my views have since changed. I have come to realize that helping my community in turn helps myself as well as helping others around me. Being able to help a child and make a difference in their life is something that feels better than anything. I no longer think about doing it is a chore but rather as a reward for myself since I’m doing something that makes me feel so good.

In the next three years I see myself graduating college early with a good GPA (hopefully with either Magna or Summa Cum Laude distinction) and be financially independent and successful with my future and career path figured out. This is what I hope but being that I am as much of a realist as it gets, I can’t honestly say that this is how it will be. I will do everything in my power to try and have this naive statement of an 18 year old college freshman become a reality but in the long run I just plan to be happy in the years to come and if I manage that that’s good by me.

For My Community Service Group Project, I mainly used the librarians as a guide to help with research. When we started the project, I had no idea how to find an organization that we would all enjoy. So thankfully, the librarians showed us different ways to look for them, such as Idealists. Also our peer mentor, Maria, helped us by not only showing us how to give an effective presentation, but also by giving us feedback by watching our mock presentations. That feedback helped my group create a more concise presentation. When it came to the questions, I remembered the information that was on the original slides and thus I was able to answer questions better than I thought I would. Regarding support centers, I think that I used the library the most throughout this project.

When I came to Baruch, I was interested in the different clubs they offered. However, I also work as a Work Study Aide in the Office of the Registrar, so I did not have the chance to join clubs. I originally wanted to do Team Baruch, but because of my job, I could not attend meetings. This term felt like a ‘trial and error’ period, not just with clubs, but also with the way I utilize my time. So for next term, I will probably change my work schedule so I can be more active with extra-curricular activities and hopefully during sophomore year, I will attempted to join Team Baruch.

I think working in a group will always have its advantages because you not only get to interact with other people, but you also improve your team working skills. Many courses require you to work in groups, so developing those skills now would better prepare you in the futures. Also, like I mentioned before, I was able to utilize Baruch resources in order to do my research for this project. This is a skill that is important in other courses. When I came to this school, I did not know so many resources were available to me and these resources will definitely help in other classes.

Regarding my understanding of community service, I would not say it has changed much because I have and still am volunteering. In this case, it is more hands on.

In three years, I hope to still be a Baruch Scholar and finishing my major. I hope I participated in the study abroad program and was active in school life. I want to be more confident in the things I feel I am weak in right now. I do not know what kind of person I will be, but I don’t think much will change if the past in any indication.

My Community Service Project mostly encouraged me to draw upon the expertise of the librarians. In order to find an organization I’d enjoy volunteering with, research was required. The library staff eagerly helped us to learn a few resources regarding searching for non profit organizations. I’ve mostly only utilized the library as a resource but I have learned a lot about other resources. Though I haven’t used them yet, I know that if I ever need anything, I know where to find those resources. We learned a lot in FRO about where to find these places and what they do for us. When the time comes, I know there are people to help me. I’m very involved in the BlueNotes A Capella group. We’ve had many performances so far and have even more coming up. It’s nice to have that community. In the future, I also want to get more involved with BSU (Black Student Union). I’m very lightly involved with USG, but my main focus has been USG. Using some of the resources presented to me in FRO will definitely help me with future success in my courses at Baruch. From the writing center to the career center, I know that I can find what I’m looking for when I’m ready. If I don’t understand something, I know there are plenty of tutoring opportunities available to me. My understanding of community service hasn’t really evolved much. Community service has always been something that I took part in, and not just for the hours. I’ve tutored, made meals for the homeless, worked with pets, helped with random event set ups, etc. Community service is just something that feels natural. I’m very happy that it’s a requirement because it keeps me on track. I now realize that this is a push to do what I should be doing anyway. Without his requirement, I may not have made community service high on my list of priorities in college, but I’m genuinely glad it’s become part of my routine. In 3 years, I see myself as a better scheduler. I’m disappointed that this year I didn’t truly get my scheduling together, but I’ve taken some baby steps. In 3 years, I’d like to be amazing at task management. I also see myself having another country notched off on my list of places traveled following a study abroad. In regards to my community service, I see myself as a coach of one of my own AmericaSCORES teams. I spoke to the program director and told him this was one of my intentions and he was all for it! Overall, I see myself handling multiple opportunities while being better at handling all of them due to my scheduling prowess. I’m excited to see where I end up in a few years time!

The Community Service Project really encouraged me to utilize more of the resources available for me at Baruch. I mostly used the library resources, specifically the databases. During one of the freshman seminar sessions, we learned how to use these databases, as well as which websites would be useful in helping us find an organization. Primarily, we used Idealist to try and find an organization even though it did not work our for my group in the end. However, the use of databases was useful for me outside of the Community Service Project. For our public speaking class, we were required to find academic journals to support our claims for our speeches. Having that knowledge already from the previous freshman seminar session, it made the assignment much easier. I also used the laptop rentals on days when I did not bring my own, but my favorite place to go study is the computer lab.

As of now, I have not yet joined a club because my main focus has primarily been schoolwork. Nevertheless, I was recently hired for a job as a teacher assistant at an after school program, which I am excited for. I do hope to join a club perhaps next semester or next year, particularly one that has to do with my major. Currently, my major is marketing and I hope that by joining a club related to marketing I will be able to learn more about it and gain more experience.

From my perspective, community service has always been about helping other people of all backgrounds. Through this project, I was reminded that it is also about caring for the environment and improving the overall quality of life for the community. In the next three years, I see myself having a summer or part time job like I do now, while doing well in my courses. I hope that whatever I am doing, that I would always be serving other people as it is a passion of mine, especially when it comes to helping kids. I also plan to graduate a semester early, so I hope that I would be able to do so by this time in three years.

At first, when I was assigned the community service projects I was overwhelmed and under lots of pressure. Being given so much self-autonomy and personal responsibility to find my own company to do community service was immense. I went on idealist and it seemed like there was never ending stream of companies. Eventually after complications left and right, I sought the help of Maria who came to the rescue. Using this experience, I’ve learned that connections are extremely important in all circles of life. Having people that you can turn to that can help you in your time of need is a breath of relief.

As for my other courses in my future, I will try to make a larger effort to speak to others I have taken the course and to ask them for their assistance so that I don’t have to walk alone. From our STARR visit, I’ve taken a lot of their advice to heart.

I haven’t joined a club for good yet.

At first, when I heard that I had to do community service, I was quite disappointed and frustrated even. I saw it as a necessary means of payment for being in the honors program that has offered me a scholarship. However, now that I seen the other community service projects, I’ve gained more holistic view of what community service truly means. I understand now that I cannot just go on forward without repaying the gifts that I’ve received.

In the next 3 years I still have a very hazy view of my future. However I now known that I don’t want to go into business. I see myself taking more varied and diverse courses to try to find something I can latch onto for the time being. I want to try and find an interesting course where I can settle down with it as my major and not be completely discontent. I see myself taking a lot of cultural classes and trying to go abroad and try to find something that I would don’t despise as a major.

(Group 3)

As the first semester of my first year draws to a close I’ll take this time to reflect back on my experiences.

Adjusting to the different setting and challenges the Baruch provides compared to my high school was definitely the most difficult part of this journey so far. The demand of you is greater and you are truly viewed as an adult in all senses.

Knowing this workload was said, by many, to be more intense I had decided to not participate in a club, so that I could better focus on my schoolwork.

This year I was able to get by because of the support system that was given to me known as the Baruch Scholars. I had come in without any knowledge of where anything was. In fact on the first day I was over 45 minutes early because I was afraid I would get lost. Yet as the time passed, I found myself getting more familiar with the layout of the school as well as where certain centers were.

When participating in the Community Service Project I was introduced to many websites to help aid my research one being Idealist. Not only that, I was even introduced to Steven who elaborated and explained all the different functions the library offers, such as the study rooms and how to take out a book. In addition to that I was taught how to search things on databases like JSTOR which helps me in attaining helpful and credible articles for research papers. I can take this information with me as I continue to pursue my education.

Next semester I plan on involving myself more in my school life, now that I feel I understand what’s expected of me. As for over the next 3 years I see myself still as a Baruch Scholar, maturing and taking on my responsibilities in a timely manner.

My understanding of community service has really evolved through this community service project. Like I said in an earlier blog entry, I only thought I could make a huge difference by creating my own non-profit and running that. However, as Alex said “No effort is too small.” It’s funny because I really did not think I would be doing community service again after high school but now I am actually reaching out to someone in regards to my next community service opportunity. This is all due to the Baruch Honors program which works to make us well-rounded individuals and prove to us that even students can do something to brighten another person’s day. Overall, I think it also made me realize how lucky I am to have all of these opportunities in the first place. Although, I have not yet used many of the resources we have learned about other than the Writing Center, it comforts me to know we have the resources available in case we ever need them.

I think my next steps involve pursing my goals. I am very ambitious and have set high goals for myself to reach before I finish college. But more importantly over the next three years, I want to grow more as a person. Everyone says that college is when you get to really know yourself. My goal by the end of my college career is to know who I am and what I want. I want to be able to answer all those vague questions about myself honestly. I think anyone can work to reach their goals but learning about yourself is really something that takes a lot of self-reflection and a lot of time. So where do I see myself in three years, probably working for a bank somewhere, but I am more excited in seeing how I matured and grew as a person since this time.

The community service project helped me see that there are many people who are willing to help others, whether it is in a non-profit organization or in school. The presentation, in particular, allowed me to see that the faculty and staffs are actually interested in what we do. It encourages me to consult them when I have any issues in an area they are knowledgeable in.

I haven’t used any support centers, but I will certainly utilize the support centers provided by Baruch in the future. Especially support centers such as the counseling center, which was a center I actually never considered utilizing. I realized its importance a few days ago when a high school friend casually messaged my group of friends that she has depression. She is currently taking a leave from college to receive help from professionals, but this incident really opened my eyes about how depression can even occur to me and that this center can be helpful in providing help and preventing it.

I have joined Baruch’s United Chinese Language Association (UCLA). The club members are very friendly and puts in the effort to help us if we reach out for help. They also create fun events that helps fellow members destress.

These resources available to us really helps give us the support we need to succeed in Baruch. There will always be a way to get support in the multiple fields that we may need help in, whether it is for actual support from a center or simply some advice from a fellow student.

My understanding of community service certainly evolved through this project. It broadened my view on how we may help others. Not only that, I learned that the feelings of wanting to help another comes from the heart; there’s always a way to help even in places you don’t think that you will be of any help.

In 3 years, I see myself still in Baruch, studying and working hard to graduate. I hope to see that I remain a Baruch Scholar even in 3 years, along with my fellow scholars. I hope to see that I have become more outgoing and have built strong connections with the people around me.

The community service project has opened so many doors for me in such a short period of time. To start, I learned basic communication skills with my group members and the liaison for New York Scores. When it came to actually researching and doing the project, luckily, we had both Mr.Medina and Maria to bother for help. This aspect of the Honors program still makes me feel like I am in high school because I am building and having an on-going relationship with the two of them.  Maria really came in the clutch for our group as she gave us constructive criticism from our mock presentations. To show how helpful it was, we cut down our presentation from 10 minutes to the right time. Besides for that, she gave us pointers on how to present and answer the tough questions that would be asked.

I’m the type of guy who thinks “I don’t need a tutor”. Then… came calc. I have been to the Peer Tutoring center on numerous occasions to get assistance with calculus, and they have been very beneficial. This past Thursday I went to the STARR office to meet with an advisor for Pre-Law. I wouldn’t have known to go there if it wasn’t for the time we heard from STARR. After that FRO class, I asked for a contact for Pre-Law and the lady was glad to share.

I didn’t join a club (yet), I applied to one but didn’t get into it.

This project has really benefited me and only will more once I start volunteering. The research and presentation prepped me for my other classes, mainly COM, but I am sure next semester it’ll help even more. Being apart of this project has allowed me to realize that there are many ways to do community service. I do community service in Brooklyn, NY, but that’s not enough, I plan on expanding my service to the community of New York and ultimately the world.

In the next 3 years… really tough, don’t know where I see myself in two months. Hopefully, I will be a more balanced person. I want to see myself excelling in school while balancing a job and finding time for myself and for community service. Also, in the next 3 years, whether I am done with undergrad or not, I hope to be thinking ahead and either prepping for Law School, whether it is pre or post-application process.

Through the Community Service Project, and our FRO class overall, we have learned about several different helpful resources that Baruch offers. Personally, I have not found the need to use most of these resources this semester. However, I am sure that my time of need will come, so it is good to know that I have these resources readily available. Two resources that I have made tremendous use of are Baruch staff and fellow scholars. Any time I was having trouble with something or just had a question to ask, Mr. Medina and Maria were extremely great in assisting me. I’ve asked them both tons of questions and they were always there to give a great answer. They really helped me get through my first semester of college with as much ease as possible. My fellow scholars were also a great help. Since most of our classes are together, and we have the same requirements to fulfill, we were always there for each other when anyone had a question or concern. Additionally, we all became great friends, which I think is a really great thing to have in a commuter school like Baruch.

I can strongly say that I have gained things from the Community Service Project. To start off, it was a group project, which is something really important to get used to. Group activities are very common throughout college so this project was a great way to start adjusting to how they work. Additionally, we had to present in front of Baruch faculty and fellow scholars, which was great practice for inevitable future presentations. This project has also broadened my understanding of what community service is and has made me more aware of the world we live in.

In the next 3 years, I am not sure where I will end up, but I hope to be a more confident, educated, and passionate version of my current self.