Section BPR2D

Club Fair was the first workshop I attended to. I remembered convocation really well and I already see a lot of potential clubs that I would like to join and therefore I was really excited for Club Fair. When I went to the gym, the place was really packed. It seemed so easy to get lost within the pool of people. However, I stick to my friends and we managed to go around together. I went from one side of the room to the other, stop at every single stand and look at what it is about. I really enjoy it because there are so many different clubs to choose from. They even offer snacks. : ) By the end of the day, I have a whole bunch of pamphlets in my bags. This experience was so full of energy because it is different from I had expected. I remembered that I have to squeeze through the crowds just to see the stand and even having to wait in line to get to my turn. There are so many experience that I truly enjoy. At that point, I realized that I am finally in college.

Like many people there, this was my first workshop and I was very unhappy with it overall. The workshop itself was very unorganized. I remember standing on a line behind about 500 other freshman also trying to complete their workshops. They managed to squash all of us into the very small academic advisement office on the 5th floor. It was complete chaos, and we were all there for the sole reason to get our books signed. Don’t get me wrong we wanted to learn from the workshop but it was just too chaotic.

This was by far my favorite workshop. After working on a project, I went to the Club Fair to see what it was all about. I chose this workshop because I wanted to see what the life of a Baruch student was like. There were many new clubs that I discovered and found the workshop to be very informative. I had the opportunity to visit the clubs that catered to my interests. It made me feel more connected and more comfortable with my school.

As a part of the requirement from the theatre class, I watched a play called ‘Einstein’s Dream.’ This play was located on the 23^rd building. When I first heard of the play, I expect it to be a documentary play, perhaps a historical one too. However, I was wrong. The play was based on Einstein’s ‘theory of relativity.’ It is basically about time, people and possibilities. All of the actors and actresses presented the theory into a story that contained subplots so that it is easy for us to understand the concept. At first I was confused because it was a very unique show. I did not understood what was happening for the first five minutes but as the story moved on; I managed to grasp the concept of the play. I have this weird feeling when I watched the play because I kept on thinking, ‘what will happen if my life is like that?’ So I was not fully concentrated on the show. It has that twilight zone effect. On the whole, the play refreshes my mind. It makes me think of questions I never thought of before and that it is indeed very philosophical. I truly enjoy this unique experience. I was told that the play was based on the book and I will try to find it and read it when I have the time. : )

The Finding Your Major workshop was actually quite helpful. This workshop dealt with the issues of choosing your major. Things like family, religion and ethnicity pressures were things that we learned how to handle. It helped me set my goals for the future and to plan out how to achieve them. I found it to be a very useful workshop and believed that it helped me think more clearly. The overall purpose of the class was to show us that everybody has the potential to be something great but its up to you to make the most of it.

Today was the last workshop that I have to attend. It is called “Employment Workshop for International Students.” The location of the workshop was in VC 8155. This workshop taught me about the rules and regulations to work in the United States. There are a lot of processes involved and by attending the talk; I managed to learn the rules and steps on applying a job. For instance, I found out that I must fill in two forms and that I must seeks approval from an advisor. There are also limits to the amount of hours that one can work during spring and fall. However, one can work full time during the summer. What I like about this workshop is that everything is explained in details, like filling in the form. There are so many technical words that I didn’t know but fortunately, the instructor explained to us what the form is all about. He even explained all the forms that we need to fill in once we graduate with a bachelor’s degree. In addition to that, he explained to us the forms that we have to fill in if we decided to enroll in a graduate school while working. Since today was the last day of this workshop, there are not a lot of students that came into the workshop. Therefore, there are a lot of time left to ask questions. I can see that almost everyone who attended the workshop asked a question. I’m really glad that I attended this workshop because it will really help me in the future.

On the seventeenth of last month, I went for a personal enrichment workshop with Prof. Sue Peterson. The topic of the workshop was “vocal speech.” This workshop is the most important one out of all I have attended. It was here that I learnt a huge mistake that I did and that I have learn never to repeat anymore. When we were given our assignment, I had misunderstood the subject. I thought it was a historical figure that we must talk about and therefore, I chose one that I remembered easily. I talked about the man that I had spent two years studying for my final examination. I thought it was an easy assignment since the question is almost identical to one that shows up in the final paper. But it was not. Not only did i misunderstood the question, I also did not consider the audience. And therefore I am sorry if it offended anyone. I managed to talk about the matter with Prof. Sue. I’m glad that I explained to her that it was all a misunderstanding and that I have learnt a lot from this mistake. Thus, we spent a long time talking about it and how I should be more prepared if I were to give another speech. From now on, I will always read the questions carefully, prepare the assignment days before and that I should consider the different aspects of the speech.

The Library Workshop was actually my favorite workshop out of all. This is mainly because all the information I learned will be used at one point in my college experienced. The lady who did the presentation was helpful and she answered all my questions. She showed me how to use the Newman Library online as well as how to obtain information needed for research papers.She also showed me how to borrow books and to obtain textbooks that are under reserve.In the beginning of the school year, as embarrassing this sounds, I did not know how log on to the computers. She showed me how to log on from the library computers as well as how to use get into the school’s wireless connection from my laptop.

I  really like that the Library has many services available for me to use. I learned that the computers have the SIMNET software already installed, so that I do not have to spend $40 to get my own copy.  I learned that there are articles, books and textbooks that are uploaded online that I print myself or read from the computer. I learned that I can borrow laptops for up to three days for free! There are also DVD players and camcorders I can borrow as well. One thing that I learned that i really like is the CUNY + Catalog. This is basically used for borrowing books and other materials that are not available here at Baruch from another CUNY Campus.

FBI agents always seemed mean and harsh when they conduct interviews for murder cases. . . at least that is what I see when I watch tv shows like NYPD Blue, Law and Order and movies. But when two FBI agents came to Baruch for a presentation, they showed a different side of how exactly they conduct their interviews, different from what is normally depicted on television.

First thing detective Harvey mentioned about interviewing individuals is knowing about the topic that you’re going to be asking about. Having prior knowledge about the topic is better because you’ll know if the person is lying or not when answering questions and you’ll know what type of questions to ask. Asking the right questions gets you the answers you need to solve the case.

Second thing he mentioned about conducting an interview is not to rush into the important questions. Asking questions about the persons personal life such as “Do you have brothers and sisters? What are they names? Do they pick on you?” can help the person feel comfotable talking to you. Jumping to the target questions can make the person feel nervous and under the pressure, making it difficult to get anywhere.

Another thing the detective mentioned is avoid verbal and physical abuse. On tv, they show detectives interrogating criminals by smacking them or yelling in their faces. Doing that does not help get the answers you need, it just worsens the situation. Instead, try speaking an a calm tone of voice. Calm tone+peaceful environment= ANSWERS!

Lastly, the way you dress can intimidate the interviewee. If the interviewer is dressed up in a suit or professional business attire and the interviewee is wearing jeans an a t-shirt, they might feel overpowered and uncomfortable. Wearing lose fitting clothing or clothing corresponding to the location and topic of interview is more appropriate and success is better gained.

I found these tips to be very useful because a week after this presentation, I had an assignment in English to conduct an interview with a relative about a significant event that occurred in my family that tied into history. As a result, I had all my questions answered and my interview was a success.

I think we all remember October 13 very well! The day we had to give our oral Presentations in Freshman Seminar on who we look up to an why. That was the first time I spoke about my mother in front of an audience, and of course I was nervous. Before the presentation, I was calm and excited. I knew that I had worked hard on what i had prepared to say, and I even practiced in front of my parents. When I got up to the front of the room, I was Nervous. Everything that was written on my index cards suddenly looked a different language. Everything that was on  my mind suddenly blanked out. I paniced but I still managed to utter the first few words.

My feedback with Sue turned out completely different than I expected. I thought she was going to tell me that she felt I could have done better, which I agreed to myself. Instead, she smiled at me and asked me how I felt about my presentation. Before seeing the video, i thought it was horrible.
After seeing the video, I realized that I should have given myself a little bit more credit for my first presentation. Although i stumbled over a few words, I spoke loud and clear so that everyone could hear. I had occasional eye contact with my audience and I took short breaks in the right areas. Sue agreed to this, and she also gave me a few pointers on how to improve my speeches overall in the future. One point she mentioned was looking in the mirror and watching myself as I recite my speech. She also mentioned repeating the speech over and over like on the trains or in front of friends more often can ease the nervousness I get when standing in front of an audience. Our one on one session was really helpful. I feel that I received enough pointers to help me become a better spokesman in front of a crowd.