Section LC06

So I went to the Suicide Prevention workshop a couple of weekends ago and let me tell you, it was disturbing and creepy.  We watched a video of all the stupid people wanting to commit suicide, or people that knew other people who wanted to.  I feel like all of these workshops have a pattern of doing repetitive things.  We watched the same old movie about this that and the other thing, and frankly I am kinda bored of seeing them.  It was very creepy, the building, the video, the people I was with; I was the last one to make it into the 1:00 PM session…sorry Madhavi and Amanda =)…Anyways, same old bushleague stuff about suicide in this one, and if I didn’t need to finish these enrichment workshop things, I probably wouldn’t of went..sorry! honesty is the best policy.

I went to the how to create a resume workshop, and basically it was the same exact thing taught in every other class I have been to about resumes.  “Don’t add this, add that, don’t round [blah blah blah]”.  To be honest I did not find this workshop too helpful because I know how to create a resume and I know what to add and what not to add.  The speaker was very boring, and went off on a tanget about thank you cards? Random.  Anyways, if somebody didn’t know how to write a good resume, this would probably be good, but if you do know how to write one than avoid this workshop.

The title of this work shop was “Bearcat: The Other Google”. Basically the speaker said that the library researcher engine was the other google.  It has been useful to me so far because it has helped me on three out of the four papers that I have had to write after being introduced to this Bearcat.  It is a great help and I am very appreciative that they took the time out to help me learn how to use it.  It has a great use of journals, magazines, and other articles that are very useful when many sources are needed.  I will definately be using this throughout my time at Baruch…if I don’t transfer of course.

So time is running out, and i ought to get a move on it.

I’ll start off with the resume writing workshop for career exploration. This workshop wasn’t anything new to me. I have already made my resume previously although now what i have learned is that i need to put my GPA on there and i cant use any of my previous work. Of course, since i have just started college it never mattered to me until now. Besides this, i don’t think this workshop helped me like it seemed to help others with their notepads, taking extensive notes.

Next workshop was the Freshman Reception. That was chaotic. Since all of us are new, we thought we needed to attend every workshop as soon as possible. The result… overcrowding of an entire floor that was full of freshman. I am sure the upperclassmen were already annoyed with us. Moving on, we got the chance to explore the room the best we could, gaining an idea of what is required and what is offered to us as freshman. I have actually been to the freshman reception offices further into my semester to get what classes i wanted to take next semester ready.

My final workshop for personal enrichment was the stress and anxiety workshop. Being me, i am often not stressed out, as i take what comes at me the best i can. No one is perfect, and i have come to realize this during high school, which is why i do not strive to be the best. I take it as it is, and do what i have to do, which is what i believe makes someone successful–But this is just my opinion. When entering this workshop late, we learned some techniques to deal with stress through mediation. I suppose I wasn’t really open to this workshop, as I felt like I did not benefit from it at all, but the idea of it I do like.

Although this was not an actual personal enrichment workshop, I found it very personally enriching to me. I  participated in the Blood Drive. This was a unique experience for me. It was very rewarding for me. I felt like I made a difference.  I think that this was a small price to pay for saving someones life. I think that this was especially rewarding for me because 10 years ago my uncle was in a terrible car accident and he almost didn’t make it, if it wasn’t for the blood transfusion he would have died. He was saved by donations made from people like you and me. I hope that my blood could save someone’s uncle, aunt, mother, father, or any other family member. If my blood could save just one life then my life would be worth it. I would feel a great sense of accomplishment. This experience has taught me that even with all the hard work and stress of school there is always time to do a good thing for others. This was a very rewarding and personal experience for me.

Career Exploration was by far my favorite workshop.  I attended the “Create your own Major” event, and it has definitely had an impact on me.  I now might switch to the Weissman school and create my own Ad Hoc major.  The handouts were on the side and included several ad hoc major applications that were approved.  I picked up the ones that interested me the most, including a “Film + Theatre” application.  To my surprise, the creator of the major was also a guest speaker named Eddie Going.  Going described how during his years at Baruch he landed an internship at Red Thread Productions, and now currently works for them full time and loves it.  He also mentioned how they had taken in two interns, but had to let them go.  I decided to speak to Going after the workshop was done, and after a few e-mails, I am going in for an interview soon.  I’m extremely pleased that I went to this workshop; it has definitely changed my future at Baruch and my career.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ci0uA6OQAxQ&fmt=22

Books, computers, study pods, and the Engs.  Oh boy did I have fun making the video with Mike.  It definitely gave me a nostalgic feeling of being on camera once again, and improved my skills on iMovie.  Mike and I put countless days of effort into the video in hopes that future freshman (and those who aren’t active in school I guess) could see it and learn some extremely helpful tips that would better their experience at Baruch.  Although we haven’t heard back from the Library concerning whether we lost or not, I did enjoy myself and grew from the project.  I wish the other contestants luck (unless someone’s already won, then congratulations)!

This workshop was about the different works of art by Mercedes Matter. She painted a lot of Still Lives through her entire life. The speaker said it is unusual for a painter to only paint one style of painting. She showed use some of her early, intermediate, and late works of art. She showed how she got more abstract in her painting as she got older. She started painting scenery and places. Then she went into more abstract pictures where you have to look for the table and fruits in her paintings. They weren’t as straight forward as her early works. Then she got even my abstract and started using different textures, colors, shapes, and other artistic styles. There was one painting that stood out to me, it was a painting with different colors and different lines and waves. This was interesting to me because it looked like a 5 year old could have done it in an hour but, she took 2 years to finish it.

The title of this work shop was “Bearcat: The Other Google”. This workshop was about using the Library website as a search engine. The speaker claimed that it is “The Other Google” and that it may be more useful than Google. He also said that it would be easier to use and more helpful for research projects and essays. I learned a lot from this workshop. It helped me in my research essays and some of my projects. I also fine it useful in my final essay for English and Anthropology. He taught use how to use it if we are looking for specific books or looking for a specific topic. It could be very intimidating if you don’t how to use it. It isn’t useful when you don’t know what your looking for. So in that sense Google would be better to use. I learned a lot and I am sure that this knowledge will help me during my 4 years in this school.