Section APR2D

This was my first workshop and didn’t know what to expect. When I went to the 6th floor, there was a huge crowd clogging the entrance to the room where the workshop was taking place. I honestly didn’t think I would get in. With a little bit of patience and courage, I managed to get inside and have my book signed. I don’t think Baruch was ready for the amount of people that showed up and therefore gave out free signatures.

10/29/09 – This workshop was very successful.  The lady who was speaking to us was a very good orator, she obviously was prepared for her presentation, and she was confident when she interacted with us.  The way that she spoke when she was showing us examples of good interviewing skills was very professional and believable, and I think there was a lot to learn from her conversation style.  The ways you can reverse questions, supply additional information, and show interest in the company while asking questions were the main things that stood out to me in her presentation.  It also definitely got me thinking about applying for a job in the future, when I first came to Baruch I did not even think about applying for a  job, but now i want to look for opportunities maybe in the next year or so.   The ‘dress for success’ section was a big plus, because I noticed how many students at Baruch look very professional and I figured out that this was an essential part to making a good first impression on a firm, or anybody for that matter.

To fulfill my Career Planning workshop I attended the “Basic Interviewing” workshop. I didn’t even register for this workshop, but Mr. Smith once again saved not just my day but about six/seven of our days. Some of us went to the “Mediating Conflicts and Resolving Disputes” workshop but were kicked out for not registering…go figure! Anyway, this workshop was the first one that I attended that actually when off without a hitch. I was surprised! Again I say, ANYWAY, it was actually pretty useful. The information that Dr. Ellen Stein presented was not only beneficial for the future, but she brought up good points/aspects to begin working on from now. For instance, she said in an interview some common question that many are perplexed by are “how would you describe yourself” or “tell me about yourself”, “name some strengths/weaknesses”, and “what can you bring to the company/organization”. Some of these questions are in fact hard to come up with on the spot. It takes a lot of thought in coming up with the right answer because you don’t want to sell yourself short or oversell yourself, or over brag on what your strengths may be, or focus on a weakness too long that it hinders your chances of getting the position. So I overall think this was a useful and insightful workshop that went according to plan!

“Freshman Reception in the Center” was  my first workshop and I have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I went with Kristian and we stood in line for a little while and when we made it inside the office I wondered how all the students would fit, but then five or so minutes later the crowded office was packed. By this time about three or four staff members were running around to organize the event and soon called it off. She quickly followed calling off the event saying we (the students) would still get our books signed. When she realized there weren’t enough people to sign books she told Robert Smith to sign planners. He was then ambushed quite quickly, but he said for every book he signs we had to blog and this is a quote, “ROBERT SMITH IS THE BEST”. So here is my blog on the workshop saying ROBERT SMITH IS THE BEST! HA.

On October 16, 2009 I went and expected to see “My Beautiful Launderette”. However, that didn’t go as planned obviously. I read a synopsis of the movie and figured it was an easy way to fulfill the Community-Global Awareness workshop. When I got to the room I found Krista and Kristian, but soon after we sat down the supervisor said they were having some technical difficulties with the movie. After several unsuccessful tries I read an in depth summary on the movie which was evidently on a Pakistani family living in South London during the Thatcher (Margaret Thatcher) years (1980s). It’s a shame we couldn’t actually see the film because it started to grown on me and I was intrigued. After I read the summary the supervisor said they’d be signing our workshop “passport”.

This workshop could have been a lot more informative. There was a huge line to get into the workshop, and when I finally got in it was just as crowded inside as it was outside. Some people were actually learning because they had the opportunity to sit down with an advisor and go over different aspects of being a Baruch freshman. I was able to listen to some of the information, but it was hard considering there was a lot of commotion going on in the room. They had enough refreshments for everyone, but not enough advisors to speak with the students. A decision was eventually made to just have the advisors sign everyone’s planner. It was ultimately a waste of time.

Last week I attended the Freshman Service Fair which i thought was very helpful. I was able to check if the school had received my immunization papers and also ask about how to deliver my college credits from AP courses I have taken. In addition, I discovered that there are scholarships available from the school and that the applications are available in the financial aid office. The writing center was also very informative and a place I can get some help for any of my classes and not just English.

I went to see My Beautiful Laundrette on 10/16. I read a brief summary about the movie before I decided to attend the viewing because it sounded interesting. I was disappointed to learn that there was some sort of difficulties that prevented us from watching the film. I read a few more in depth reviews of the movie however. The reviews claimed the film to be a “rich and complex story” and was the subject of much controversy amongst London’s Pakastani community when it was first aired. I am disappointed i was unable to view the film.

    I went to the workshop today to see My Beautiful Laundrette. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to see the movie. When we were there we waited a while for the movie to start. Eventually the facilitator there told us that we weren’t able to see the movie because of some difficulties. To make up for not being able to watch it I decided to read a summary of the movie to try and understand what it is about. I don’t really understand the overall idea of the movie. It seems that these workshops aren’t organized and haven’t been successful.

    Okay so this was the first workshop I went to. Honestly I didn’t see the point to it. When I went there it was really crowded and by the time I got in it was a waste of time. Since it was so crowded we weren’t able to do anything and everything was just unorganized. We didn’t know where to go or what to do and didn’t talk to anyone. Ultimately I spent more time on the line getting in then I spent in the workshop.