Baruch Scholars 2017

The reason to belong in a school, at its essence, is in order to obtain an education. Baruch’s students walk into the building each day with the ultimate goal to walk out having learned information. However, what does it mean to be an Honors Student at Baruch? What difference does this distinction forge?

An Honors Student does more than seek to obtain an education. An Honors Student is one who involves himself in all facets of his educational experience which lead a well-rounded individual. By exemplifying character, leadership, and service, Honors Students navigate the course of life in a new, expanded light, unlike the traditional student.

Being a Baruch Scholar affords me the opportunity to interact with a new network of people in order to forge relationships that will allow me to develop my character, professionalism and service to my community. As a Baruch Scholar, I believe that my role transcends that of just getting an education. I am affected by the timeless principles of service and leadership to “give back” to the greater Baruch Community.

I reminisce the day I walked into the Mason Hall on freshman convocation day and experienced the joyful aura and cheerfulness of clusters of individuals wearing light blue shirts. “Who are these people,” I was wondering. “Why do they stand out from the rest?” I slowly learned that these people are the epitome of the values that Baruch College’s Honors Program stand for: They are called “student leaders.” After having learned this, I became inspired to find out how I can give of myself to the greater Baruch Community through various clubs, organizations and correspondences. Luckily, the Baruch Honors program embodies these values. In addition to past service I have performed with senior organizations, special needs individuals, and various charities, I hope to strengthen my values of service and leadership throughout my time here at Baruch.

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.

As a Baruch Scholar, I believe it is of vital importance to be an active member of the broader college community. This helps create a wider circle of students and even faculty to form relationships with.

Right now, I am a member of two extracurricular clubs at Baruch. One of these is our Model United Nations team, which competes against other universities in a simulation of international politics and diplomacy. The other organization is Women in Business, where I am currently preparing for the “Style Your Success” fashion show. This is particularly important to me because all the proceeds from this show will be donated in order to fund cancer research. Although these are clearly two vastly different organizations, I am content knowing that I have made new friends and will obtain new skills and experiences throughout my time in college.

Another important aspect of becoming a member of the Baruch community is involvement in community service. In high school, my favorite organization I was involved with was the Victory Games, an annual athletic competition for physically disabled children. After having this experience, I believe the most rewarding services involve helping young people in some capacity. I am excited to find an organization with my group mates and make a difference in our new community.

As an honors student here at Baruch College, creating a culture of service is so important. We have been granted the opportunity to receive an excellent education with so many benefits, and it is necessary to do what we can in order to aid those who haven’t been so fortunate.

To serve your community means you have helped or contributed to it in some way. You are trying to help others anyway you can and you ultimately help progress society to a better future. Community service is something that you can do locally at a small volunteer center in your neighborhood, but it can also be done globally with huge organizations. One is more hands on than the other one.

As a Baruch Scholar, I am required to do community service every year. This was the first time I ever heard that community service was mandatory, except maybe for National Honor Society in high school. The 15 hours of service seems difficult, but by living and going to school in New York City, we have so many opportunities to serve the community in some way. I was lucky enough to have a free education at Baruch so I want to help give back to the school that helped me and I want to help those who are less fortunate than I am. I think our role at Baruch and in the community is to help others, but I think we should be making impacts. It does feel nice to help, but we should also think about it in the long run. I volunteer for a charity group called The Optimists where we collect donation to help finance a child’s education. I don’t really do any hands on work, I mainly work with donations. But every year at our annual Sponsor dinner, we sometimes video chat with the children and hear their stories. At times like this, I know that trying to persuade people and help getting everyone’s donation has helped a child in some way.

I think by mandating community service, the Honors Program might actually try to get us into involved into a specific organization. I know we can do how many we want to fulfill the requirement, but the questionnaire makes me think that. We should be able to find that one organization that we can commit to and actually like working with. The more you enjoy what you do, the more likely you are to make an impact with it.

Journal #2 – What does it mean to serve your community?  What is your role in the Baruch and broader community as a Baruch Scholar in the Honors Program and what do you think it should be? How is this related to the culture of service the Honors Program promotes?

Serving in my community means doing anything to help others. Community has a loose definition in that you can help people on a local or global scale and still be considered serving it. Examples can range from helping someone cross the street to ending global warming; although these actions vary in impact, both better the community, showing that no effort is too small. As a student in Baruch, we go to school at essentially the center of the world. No other location can get you the same internship and networking opportunities that comes with going to a New York CIty School. Although I do not believe that we owe anything to the city, we should still be grateful and serve whenever we can, no matter the scale. As a Baruch Scholar, the bar is set higher as 15 hours of service for a non-profit are compulsory. I think the service is meant to put things into perspective for us and make the scholars grateful for their opportunities, allowing us to get insight on life for the less fortunate. Being that the Honors Program allows us to attend college free of tuition; that was Cuny and Macaulay’s way of serving the community – through giving affordable education. As a member of the Honors Program especially, after being on the receiving end of such generosity, we can continue spreading philanthropy down the line to try to reciprocate the opportunities we got. If you look at all the most successful people, such as Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk, they all made a lasting impact on the world community. Even though we may not be able to change things on such a large scale, having the drive to change the world can only help you be more successful.

As a Baruch Scholar, I am expected to maintain certain standards. Among a few other requirements, I must meet a certain GPA requirement, attend cultural events, and participate in community service. Considering all of the benefits that the Honors Program provides us with, I don’t think these requirements are asking much.

My role as a Scholar is to give back to both the Baruch community and the broader NYC community that surrounds it. I give back to the Baruch community by doing my best to represent the school in a good light and make it a better place. By getting involved in clubs and activities, interacting with all different types of people, and making strong connections, I believe I can successfully fulfill this role. I plan on giving back to the broader NYC community in several different ways through the Honors Program’s community service project. Throughout high school, I was required to complete a certain amount of community service, but it usually ended up being small, local tasks that didn’t really make me feel like I was making much of a difference. Now, being enrolled in the Honors Program, I plan to give back to the community in ways that will take me out of my comfort zone and that will have a lasting effect on people’s lives. I am honestly glad that we have this requirement because I probably wouldn’t have thought to get involved with much if we didn’t. The Honors Program largely focuses on giving back, and I am very excited to do just that.

I believe my role in the Baruch and broader community as a Baruch Scholar is quite “simple”.

For Baruch, the general role is to fulfill the requirements of the program – GPA, community service hours, cultural events and the rest. Though we all have specific jobs to do. I think our job is to learn about the culture and communities our classmates come from, while it is our duty to teach them about our own. Personally, learning about my peers’ lives have given me such benefit to relate with him and make constant conversation. For me, being Jewish, I love when I explain to my classmates about why I’m missing school due a holiday. Or what the holiday is all about – or even discussing how my pre-college school days were like. Diversity is a thing of beauty.

 

In terms of the broader community, I’d split it up into two parts. The first is the local community around Baruch, how will we present ourselves. Being that we are Baruch Scholars, people have expectations of us, and we normally we should follow through. When it comes to doing community service, I think the project assigned helps us grow but also be representatives of the amazing school we attend. We are walking into orginzations titled as “Baruch students”, and then it is our job to give the public a good impression of who were as students.

The second part is the community we come from. It is our job to show our neighbors and friends how we are striving in Baruch. Show them that we are able to balance our school life with our social life while even getting involved in community service.

The role seems the opposite of simple, but I know we are capable and will all succeed and grow throughout the process.

To me being part of a community means being involved or helping out others when necessary. Being a Baruch Scholar and part of the Baruch community allows me to interact with other people. I’ve gone to a couple Latin American Student Organization meetings and am part of an indoor soccer team with fellow Scholar Chris. A big part of belonging to a community means getting to know people through clubs and events held at Baruch. Outside of Baruch, I’m part of a much larger New York community but either way, it’s important to be a contributing member.

During high school, I was required to complete 20 hours of community service every year. At first I didn’t want to do it as it was a task that I felt forced upon me. Now I see that it is valuable as it can help you grow as a person by being involved and helping others with whatever it may be. Doing various activities at school and around my neighborhood were enjoyable when I realized I was doing something meaningful. Now that community service has to be done at Baruch, it’ll be another chance to become involved and help many communities of people. The cultural events are also a way to become exposed and take advantage of the many things this city has to offer for students. As Scholars, we get so many benefits that it seems right for us to give back. Overall, I hope to get the most out of these years while working with new people and doing something positive for others and myself.

As a Baruch Scholar in the Honors Program, I am a college student studying in New York City. While it is essential that I maintain a high GPA, it is also important that I give back to my community. There are different ways to give back, such as volunteering, donating to charity, and being active in a club. I have gone to a few different club meetings, so I have a sense of which ones I want to involve myself in, based on my interests and the overall vibe of the environment. Moreover, through these activities, I can create connections and form friendships. Community service and volunteering are important because you are working to help others. It is nice and rewarding when you benefit others and not just yourself.

The Honors Program promotes this service and requires that we complete at least 15 hours of community service per year and attend one cultural event per semester. I think that this will encourage us to be more active and more involved within our community. In addition, it would help us to become more well-rounded individuals. Therefore, these requirements help push us to find something outside of schoolwork that we would find enjoyable and worthwhile. There is more to experience in college life than strictly studying academically. Our GPA does not shape us – it’s only a number. It is critical to understand that our service and involvement in our community are also a part of who we are.

(Group 3)

My role as a Baruch Scholar is to represent Baruch in any positive manner, whether that be taking part in organizations that help the community, or taking action on my own all while representing the standards of Baruch at the highest level possible. Baruch has established a commitment to the surrounding community which we as Baruch Scholars have to maintain on a regular basis. Serving ones’ community can be done in many forms, some which are volunteering, creating, or participating in events, functions and fundraisers. As Baruch Scholars we are encouraged as well as supported to take part in any events we are capable of participating in. We are also encouraged to be leaders in organizing groups to better help the community based off their needs.

Giving back to the community also gives us Baruch Scholars the chance to grow as people. Through these experience we can acquire knowledge of real life skills, and build connections in addition to helping the community. It exposes us to a more culturally diverse spectrum as well as helping us grow certain skills such as communicating with others effectively all while giving us a sense of purpose.

Now while I am a first-year student and am just starting out I hope to embody the vision of a true Baruch Scholar. A key quote that I’d like to leave you with from Jackson Brown Jr. is, “Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.”