Author: h.tariq

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.

For me community service means giving back to the community that has given you so much. I know this sounds really generic, but I find it really important to give back to a cause or to support things that you believe in. It comes back to the saying “treat someone like you would like to be treated.” For me personally, I want to really give back to the community in Pakistan. Every time I go to Pakistan for someone reason I have an existential crisis. Although, the area I live in is really good, other areas have places where kids have to work long hours and quit school to make money. I think I am really fortunate to not only have the convenience to go to school, but then college and my tuition is being paid as well. I think that is why the Baruch Scholar program focuses on community service so much. We have to learn to give back to the community. As college students we may at times get overwhelmed by the workload and think we are the unluckiest people alive, but with community service, you learn that there are people in different situations than yours and everyone has a different struggle. A lot of people put off community service as not really helpful. They think that just because they are not making a huge impact they are not doing something worthwhile. However, this is far from the truth. Of course with more resources you could do more, but doing community service does make a difference to at least that one person that you helped. I think the Baruch Scholar program really works to make us better individuals through this community service experience.

My name is Huzaifa Tariq. My name at birth was Usama Tariq, but my parents thought it would be best to change my name. Although on paper my name is Huzaifa, my friends and family call me Usama. In an effort to not confuse everyone I meet, I let people call me whatever they want to call me. Although, I was born and lived in the Bronx for most of my life, I moved to Yonkers a few years back.

After attending a not so great middle school, I was fortunate enough to attend a really good high school, Bronx Science. Attending Bronx Science was the best thing to happen to me. I was with 3000 more people who had similar aspirations as me. Everyone there came with a vision to succeed. Because most of my high school friends weren’t from the Bronx, I traveled to Manhattan a lot to meet up with them. I fell in love with the city and only wanted to attend a college in Manhattan. Thus Baruch was the best choice.

I come from a family of accountants. My dad is an accountant, both of my grandfathers were accountants and all my uncles are accountant. My parents attempting to keep me away from accounting urged me to become a doctor or engineer, but naturally I gravitated towards business, choosing to deviate from accountancy to finance. I fell in love with finance through a Business Club, I attended and later led during my time at Bronx Science.

Today is September 28^th, which means more than an entire month has passed since the first official day of college. I was wondering how I would adjust to college life and handle the four hour breaks on Tuesdays and Thursday, but it hasn’t been difficult since Baruch has so much to offer during club hours. Although, I started to visit clubs just to kill time and get free food, I ended up really enjoying a lot of those clubs. Another aspect of Baruch that has kept me busy are all the professional events that are going around the school. These events offer such a great learning experience and I have visited many including one with Morgan Stanley panelists. The best part about these events is I get an excuse to wear a suit. Baruch isn’t given as much credit as it deserves. Baruch offers a lot and I have made a lot of friends in a really short time.

Over the summer, everyone at my internship told me to enjoy college and make the most of it. Although, everyone there graduated from different colleges they all said the same thing “College is the best four years of your life.” I look forward to making college the best four years of my life as well. My biggest concern was probably that I would not get the entire college experience at Baruch, since it is a commuter school. But, so far it has been a really great experience and I expect it to stay this way. My goal is to try and get more involved around campus and join more clubs, but for now I am just having a blast.

I know I passed the 250 words a while back, but I get carried away talking about myself.