Section LC07

The walk for Alzheimers was probably was one of the best LC experiences I can say I had. We all met up with Katerra, registered together, and started walking. Besides walking, showing our support for Katerra’s grandmother, we were able to walk and get to truly know each other and just enjoy being in each other’s company. I remember always laughing and just having a good time talking about various topics with my friends. This was probably the first time I was able to spend time with them outside of the class. And it was also good knowing that by walking, you were helping out a friend (Katerra) and supporting a good cause. I never expected to see so many people and I realized that a disease like Alzheimers should be raised more in awareness. Overall it was a really good day. I’m glad I was able to walk and bond with my LC. probably one of the best times of this LC =)

On November 10th, the Starr Career Development Center held a workshop where the spokesperson, Ms. Conway, gave advice on finding an internship as well as learning more about your goal and mindset on your career. She gave very useful advice such as maintaining a 3.5 GPA for being eligible for an internship as well as getting involved such as going to job fairs, getting a campus job, joining clubs, and volunteering to build network. She also recommended the Resume Writing Workshop which offers mock interviews and referred us to the STARR Career Development Center, located on the 2nd floor (2-150). Out of all the workshops, this was actually the most productive and most useful.

The first semester of college is always tough but its always helpful if there are friends around and people willing to guide you. Baruch seemed to aid the transition processes along by implementing Freshman Seminar classes and creating learning communities. The learning community gives students a chance to form really close bonds with the rest of the group.

Although Freshman Seminar was always in the middle of the week and pretty late in the day, I believe that it was a useful class. In Freshman Seminar there were plenty of topics discussed such as how to manage time well, how to use the Baruch website, how to register for classes and much more. It was nice to see the familiar faces of the mentors, Katerra and Gia every other week and listen to their advice for college. They were always willing to listen to our stories and give their input on situations that we were experiencing.

On October 25, 2009 I participated in my second Alzheimers Walk in Riverside Park with some of my classmates in our Learning Community.  The first year that I participated (which was last year) I was working as a volunteer to help organize the event, so this year I actually got to experience it as a walker.  The walk began with a speech that was given by one of the lead organizers of the walk, and was accompanied with cool weather with clear skies.  The walk itself wasn’t too tiring or long and was enjoyable due to the fact that I was doing it with friends from the Learning Community.  The Alzheimers Walk was a fun experience and I’m glad Katerra had us come along and walk with her family.

On November 19th i attended a workshop in the vertical campus that centered around issues of depression and suicide amongst college students. The workshop itself consisted of a half-hour long video that centered around this subject, and then a discussion amongst the fellow viewers on depression and solutions. The video itself had interviews with various family members/friends of college students that committed suicide, and also had clips of interviews with people that had previously attempted suicide but managed to survive. The discussion afterwards was informative along with the video as the video provided a lot of information as to what you should do if you notice someone close to you having depressed/suicidal thoughts and actions. The counselors that put the workshop together were also helpful in providing information as to where to find them and that help is always available.

It is time to perplex your mind with abstract forms and relative realities by taking a visit to Baruch’s Sidney Mishkin Gallery, where this month’s rotating exhibition presents a retrospective of the varied and fascinating career of avant garde painter Mercedes Matter. The condensed exhibition presented her work in ascending order, the left portion of the gallery hung still life paintings of nudes and landscapes,circa 1930’s, and the right portion displayed still lifes of skulls and table tops, circa 1970’s. Matter emerged from the Paris and New York art scenes dabbling in abstract expressionist art forms, working primarily with oil and charcoal. While her early work evokes the dissonant colors and wild brushstrokes of the Fauves, and the broken up, asymmetrical forms of Picasso, her later paintings exhibit the formation of her own individual style marked by the heavily shaded forms, which mold together into one whole, losing much of its’ clarity while retaining all of its visual impact. While Matter’s work proves to be both prolific and monumental as shown from the carefully selected paintings in the exhibition, her art until this day has been over shadowed by her male counterparts from the abstract era. Leaving from the gallery I felt partially revived knowing that I had obtained easy access to such obscure cultural stimulation.

Today my registration appointment was at 1:45pm. I grew more and more scared as everyone who asked me my appointment time said I would be lucky to get the classes that I wanted because they were being taken up fast. As I count down the time for me to register sitting in front of my laptop my hands begin to shake. Finally the time came and I plugged in all of the registration codes. I got all the classes I wanted but one…I was kind of disappointed but I’m pretty fine with how my schedule turned out. Can’t wait until it’s time to register for next year…not.

I really enjoyed doing the Adopt-A-Soldier community service project. It made me feel good to know I was helping someone out even if it meant sending little things to a soldier that we here take for granted like a pair of socks or a t-shirt or even a warm hat to wear. Thanksgiving is approaching and I hope doing Adopt-A-Soldier helped our soldier feel a little better about not being home with his family for the holiday, although nothing can compare to spending the holiday with the people you love. This is something that I will always remember.

The novelty of college life inevitably will wear off in the months to come but when that natural wave of nostalgia hits us all, our first semester of freshman year will undoubtedly take precedence in our minds.  The emotion laden memories rife with anticipation and anxiety will perplex us as we weigh the differences between our past and present selves. We will probe our freshman experiences through a more mature lens of perception and try to make peace with our previous disappointments and frustrations, while looking to our most pleasant past moments as evidence that life can be something more than just a stress induced journey. Acknowledging to ourselves that we successfully overcame the hurdle of freshman year, even amidst pervasive feelings of uncertainty and insecurity, will only aide us with future confidence to tackle upcoming obstacles knowing that life’s problems aren’t differentiated by their perceived degree of harshness but by the manner in which the strong-willed individual chooses to tackle them. Freshman seminar, in retrospect, enabled me to mold my experiences in a highly structured way where my disorganized mind could prioritize all the tasks that were thrown at me. Attending seminar made me all the more conscious of my identity as a freshman student who was in great need of mentoring. Instead of diving head first into college life, directionless and utterly confused, seminar guided me and made me recognize that I might have been overly confident in my knowledge and expertise which often prevented me from reaching out for help. Luckily, our seminar instructors reached out to us whether we needed it or not. Every seminar class allowed me to assess my abilities, whether academic, personal, or professional, at that given time forcing me to strive harder when needed. Even during my sporadic bouts of insecurity I am always revived with a surge of confidence knowing that I have Baruch as somewhat of my safety belt. The hustle and bustle of Manhattan seems less intimidating when I know that my second home lies at that great university on the corner of Lexington Ave.

I enjoyed being able to send things to people in Iraq because I have heard so many stories from friends that came back from Iraq.  The situations for some soldiers are not as bad as others.  It can be a very traumatic experience, so I guess little things like these to help them out can make things a little easier.  I remember doing this while i was in jr high school.  I actually wrote a letter to the soldier and did some research.  I even considered joining the armed forces myself and realized it wasn’t a good idea.  Besides my parents would not have let me because of the high risks.  Ever since then, I have had a great respect for anyone in the military.