Author Archives: Joseph Catarcio

My first semester at Baruch has gone well. Coming into the school, I expected it to be a lot of work and it definitely has been. There were many things to get adjusted to including commuting to school everyday after walking three blocks to school for the past four years, dealing with getting out later then I ever have before, and handling the big workload I was going to get from my classes. So far, Baruch has definitely lived up to my expectations. I knew coming in that it would be a tough school and it has been but it is to my benefit. One thing that exceeded my expectations was the campus. I didn’t think it would be that nice and I also underestimated how important the library can be. Whenever I have a break, I usually spend my time in there.

I believe I’ve done pretty well in Baruch so far. I’ve adjusted nicely to all of the changes I mentioned above and as I type this, I haven’t gotten lower than an 80 on anything I’ve done to this point in my classes which I’m pleased in. The semester’s far from over since there are still more tests to take and papers to write but overall, I’m happy with how the semester has turned out. There isn’t much I’d do differently but there are a couple of minor things I would change going forward. One thing is studying better. While my studying habits have improved from high school, they still need to get better. I’m one just to go over notes I took and say I’ve done enough but it has burned me with some questions where if I made a study guide or something to that extent, I would have done better. Also, I still want to plan out things better. While I have when I’m doing stuff set out pretty nicely, I’ve gotten lazy and pushed things off. The next couple of weeks coming up are going to be tough since I have tests and papers due so I have to cut out some days where I decide to do nothing and focus on my work.

I have definitely changed since I started at Baruch back in August. While I considered myself mature coming into the school, I’ve become even more mature since then. Between work and school, I feel as if I’m no longer a kid and actually an adult so I’m starting to act like it. Also, I’m always busy with different things so I’m never sitting around bored. Last year, I napped everyday and just acted like a bum which is extremely different then this year where there’s never time for me to lay around the house especially during the week. Overall, I’m happy with how my first semester at Baruch went and I hope the future semesters go this well.

Dear Professor Dalavagas,

I would like to sincerely apologize for missing our Philosophy midterm. The day before the exam I came down with a very bad case of strep throat. I visited the doctor and I have a doctors note for my absences the past two classes. If you would allow me to make up the midterm, I would greatly appreciate it. Any day or time would work for me. Again, I’d like to apologize for missing the test and these classes. Thank you for your understanding and I’ll be back in class Monday.

Best Regards,

Joseph Catarcio

My life has always been about sports from the beginning. My three favorite teams are the Rangers, Mets, and Jets. I don’t know exactly how I got into sports but I definitely have to attribute most of it to my dad. Growing up, it’s pretty much all he would watch so I started to follow suit. One of my earliest memories is sitting down at the kitchen table as a three year old reading the newspaper to see when my favorite teams would play next. Reading is a very loose word though, more like just looking at the pictures. My dad would always take me to his teams softball games on Sunday mornings. He would play with his friends and they would bring their kids too so I got to play baseball with them as our fathers played softball. Days like these are ones that I miss as they became fewer and fewer as the years went on but it stuck with me as I grew up.

I decided to get involved in sports on my own when I was six. I joined Our Lady of Grace baseball here in Brooklyn and started off playing t-ball. One of the few highlights of my little league career was hitting a home run on one of the hottest days of the year. After this it started to go downhill for me as I never really had the skill set to play as well as some other kids. I was able to get away with it when I was younger as I had natural baseball instincts but eventually it caught up to me. Nowadays I’ll still play both baseball and football at the park with friends but I’m not in any organized leagues.

Professional sports has a huge impact on my life. I consider myself an extremely devoted fan and I don’t think anyone that knows me will debate that. I’ll get things done weekends in advance when I know I’m going to games so I don’t have the hassle of doing it at the last second. I base my schedule around my teams’ schedule. I’ve been going to sports games since I was four which I think got me hooked. Ever since then, I’ve been going to more and more games every year. Last year alone I went to 27 Ranger games, 10 Met games, and two Jet games. It’s something I can’t get enough of.

One of my fondest memories as a child is seeing the grass of the baseball field and the ice of the hockey rink when walking out from the concourse. It’s still something that amazes me even as an adult when I go to games. Everyone has a hobby or something they like and for me it’s sports. It’s always played a huge role in my life, still is, and always will.

My name is Joseph Catarcio though I don’t think anyone says Joseph, most people just call me Joe or by my last name. I consider myself a quiet person that usually keeps to myself especially if I’m around people I don’t know. Once I get to know someone though, I can become extremely outgoing.

Some of the concerns I have about Baruch and college in general are ones that have already been brought up by others. The first one is the amount of work I’m going to get and how I’m adjusting to it. I did take AP classes in high school (five to be exact) and I was also in honors classes so I already have a feel for what college may be like. The thing that worries me is going from senior year of high school to freshman year of college. Admittedly, I slacked off in senior year not doing much of anything. People I knew that had graduated the year before said one of their hardest adjustments was doing nothing their final year of high school to doing tons of work freshman year. So far, I’ve done pretty good in that aspect but it should get more challenging as more reports come up. The hardest part was getting into the groove of doing work again which I believe I’ve done.

Another concern I have is managing time. One thing that I’m big on is getting things done on time and early. In my four years at high school, I was never late to school once nor handed in any major assignments late. As I start college though, I have a job which takes away some time where I would do homework and study and I get home later now than I had in any of my previous years of school. I have to figure out how to balance my increased workload at school with my job as well as downtime for myself. It won’t be easy and it’s something I’m still getting adjusted to at this moment but it’s something I have to do in order to get good grades.

Though there are obstacles and adjustments to go through this year, I feel that this is the easiest transition from school to school for me so far. It helped that I already knew people here and that I knew what I was getting into work wise. Also, Baruch did a good job showing us around the school’s campus and library prior to classes starting so that we get a feel of where everything is. The first semester is usually rough with all of the things I’ve listed but I’m already starting to feel comfortable in the school.