Author Archives: joseph.ursini

Today I attended a workshop at the Starr Career Development Center in VC 2-190. The workshop I decided to go to was called Small Talk: It’s a BIG Deal! Part Two. In this workshop we first discussed about what is the definition of small talk. Many kids raised their hands to answer the question and they were all partially correct. Finally the guy said that small talk is generally an informal conversation among 2 people or a group of people. After we talked about what small talk, we discussed body language. Again the guy asked us if we knew what exactly is body language and a few kids raised their hands to answer his question. Body language is any sign given off by our bodies that has meaning to another person. Body language can be positive or negative depending on what kind of signal. For example we talked about crossed arms. Crossed arms is a negative body language and usually means “I’m thinking and don’t want to be disturbed. Stay away!” During the workshop we also talked about what open arms mean to another person. Open arms is the opposite of closed arms and means “I’m receptive and available for contact.” Another thing we discussed was that people should always remember to make eye contact when making small talk because eye contact sends the signal “I’m listening – keep talking!” As time progressed we came across how to remember people’s names. There are many different ways to remember a person’s name, but everybody is different and he or she may find it easier to remember a name in a certain way than another person. A couple of ways we explored were rhyming first names with other things (Example: Curt the Flirt), combining first names with sounds that are similar to action words or objects (Example: Phillip, as in fill up my gas tank), picking the same initial as a personal interest (Example: Bob the Builder), or choosing a feature and associate it with the name (Example: Julie’s big sparking eyes make you think of Jewel Julie). When a person wants to keep a conversation going he or she should try to use techniques to talk about hot topics. Some of these techniques are free information, iceberg statements, common interests, hot buttons, instructions, or key words. When a person wants to move onto a new topic, use key words. Trying to create small talk among others in a group can be hard once and a while. When approaching a group ensure that one always observes the energy of the group. One wants to be able to match their energy or be slightly higher. If one does not observe the energy, trying to start a conversation can be disastrous and create a bad first impression. Overall I thought this workshop was going to be really dumb and boring, but instead I found it to be very helpful and informative. These topics we talked about will definitely be beneficial to me when I try to create small talk with someone whether it is at a party or a bar because who knows I can probably meet someone who is a CEO or really high up in a successful company.

There are many characteristics in the world that can identify me, but the best ones are trustworthy and friendly. I am honest person and I am the type of person that will always be there for my friends and family when they need me. My family is the most important thing to me in life because friends will come and go, but family will always be there for you no matter what happens. My major goal in life is to graduate Baruch College with a degree in accounting and to find a well paying job straight out of college. Completing this goal would make me nothing less than happy because then I would have everything I could ever ask for in life. My personal motto that I live each and every day is “Winners never quit.” I am not saying that I am a winner, but to me this motto means that I should never quit or ever give up on something I truly want especially my goal in life. No matter how hard life comes at me, I must tough it out and find a way through it. Not everything in life is going to be easy and you should never give up when this happens in your life. Although I seemed determined to get what I want in life, there are some things in life that may impede me from achieving some things. Believe it or not I am self-conscious about myself and I am easily embarrassed. There are some things that get me really annoyed in life and sometimes these things haunt me for most of my life, but I try to learn from my mistakes and I try my best to make sure they don’t happen again. A good example is a bad grade on a test. When I get a bad grade on an exam I get all bummed out and upset because I know for a fact that I could have done better. Another thing about me is that I am afraid of heights. Certain heights I am fine with and then other heights I will not dare go to.

Right now school is going great for me. All my classes are pleasant and interesting. Also all my professors are nice and are willing to help me out if I need extra help so I don’t do bad on my examinations. The only thing I dread most about school right now is waking up every morning and going to class. Other than that everything else is terrific. I really like the new friends I am making in all my classes especially freshman seminar. These people will most likely be with me the rest of my life and they will be some of the best friends I will ever have in my life. I am really looking forward to all the good things that can occur in my life during my next few years in college and I will be more than happy to be able to spend those special moments with my new friends at Baruch.

My name is Joseph Ursini and I am 18 years old. I am currently enrolled as a Freshman at Baruch College and my intended major is Accounting (CPA). I am from Staten Island, NY and my favorite thing to do is play lacrosse. I hope to possibly start a lacrosse club sometime in the near future at Baruch if there is not one already. So far I am enjoying Baruch, it is very different from anything I had experienced before in my life. Although I am enjoying myself, I have many concerns about my freshman year. One of my concerns is how I am going to deal with the challenges I come across in my classes. College classes are very different from high school classes because in college the professors expect a lot more from me. Another concern I have about my freshman year at Baruch College is my grades. In college my grades mean everything. They will make or break me because if I do not keep my GPA up, I will not be able to get into the Zicklin School of Business. Also if my GPA drops and I don’t do well in my classes, it will be much harder for me to find a job when I graduate. A third concern I have about my freshman year is making new friends at school and in my dorm. Friends are one of the most important things in life. Without friends I will be all alone and I will not have the full college experience. College would then end up being the worst years of my life. Also the friends I make now may be some of my best friends for the rest of my life and as I go out into the real world they can be my connections to finding a well paying job. There are many things that will make my Baruch College experience different from my high school experience. One thing is the school work. The school work at Baruch is much harder than high school work because there a lot more things to learn in college than high school. Another thing is the student body. Baruch has one of the most diverse student bodies meanwhile in my high school everyone was pretty much the same. No one was really different from one another. A third thing about the Baruch experience that makes it different from my high school experience is the responsibilities. At Baruch I am on my own, nothing is spoon-fed to me like in high school. My first year at college will change me in many different ways. One thing is that I will be more of man. I will definitely be more responsible than I was before and mature as well. Another thing is I will be more intelligent. The material I will learn from college will make me a brighter student and benefit me as I experience life. Overall I am very excited I chose Baruch and I look forward to some of the best years of my life.