1. Tell us who you think YOU are!

I’m Sandra and a freshman at college trying to be someone in life. Also I’m an older sister and a daughter. I think I’m also a very caring person and shy. I’m a girl that likes to walk the streets of New York City, be with family, read the newspaper every single day, and collect pins. I’m still finding out who I am.

2. Share your top 3 concerns about your freshman year at Baruch College and explain why.

The first concern is my GPA because I want a good GPA to get to places. The second concern is to get involved with the school because is a school that is very different to others in the city. The last concerns I would have is getting along with the professor because they have a lot of students that they do not get to know each and every one.

3. So far, what do you think will make your Baruch College experience different from your high school experience?

My Baruch experience is different from my high school because I did not get involved in my high school like I’m getting involved in Baruch. In my high school I never want to join a club and now in Baruch I want to join so many clubs.

4. How do you think your first year at College will change you?

I think that the first year at college is going to change me and is already changing me because I was not the kind of person that would study for a test or sit at the library for hours. College is changing me already because I did not like libraries and now I sit there doing my homework.

1. Tell us who you think YOU are!

I’m a freshmen student in Baruch College who is trying my best to get on the track of my new life. I know it is hard and it will be hard for me, but I will not give up! I always believe I will be successful in the future if I always try my best to make everything done well and never give up even I meet great hard time.

I am 20 years old, my family is not wealthy, also I came from out-country. Those three situations remind me that I can’t be what I want to be, I can only be what I should be. So my personality has been changed a lot since I came to here. I used to be extremely lazy, now I start keeping pressure on myself to force myself to be hard-working; I used to be self-fish, now I always try to understand others; I used to be aggressive, now I always try to keep myself cool. As a freshman in Baruch college, I have tons of things need to learn, also somethings that I concern about, such as networking, GPA, and how to get involved. I consider the networking as my most important thing in the 1st college year, I don’t want to be alone in college, at least I need one friend per class, and also have some friends out-class, such as clubs and offices. GPA are also crucial for a freshman, I need to keep my GPA above 3.5 at least, otherwise it would be hard to catch up in the following years. Also I want to be involved in Baruch, so I am planning on join in some clubs, and visit some important offices, such as Starr Career center and SACC. I can see it is totally different between high school and college, such as the way how professors teach lessons, and the schedule arrangement. If you miss one lecture, it is going to be hard to catch up others; If you don’t work harder, you definitely will fall behind. Therefore, there is more pressure in college than high school. So I would work harder, and visit around the school, in order to enhance my English skills and get a higher GPA.

1. Tell us who you think YOU are!

I’m a college freshman who just entered the society month ago. I never thought I could be like Steve Jobs or Bill Gates, I just want to try my best and do well from the bottom of my heart. If you want me to use a sentence to describe myself, then that is “I’m a little little girl, in a big big world, it’s not a big big thing if you need me.”
2. Share your top 3 concerns about your freshman year at Baruch College and explain why.

First of all, I do concern about my GPA quite a lot, because that is the top affair to me as a student. Second one is my college new life, I have to get rid of my old lifestyle from high school and try as hard as I can to put myself in to a new environment. Third is time arrangement. I used to be a free person and never care about time. Now, I realized that I have to make a comfortable time table for my college life, not only for studying but also for the personal entertainment.
3. So far, what do you think will make your Baruch College experience different from your high school experience?

Like what I just said above, I have to rearrange my time to make sure that everything put in an organized and clear order. In high school, we don’t need to carry on too much about our class because teachers will let us know, but that is not the case in college. Hence, I’d better to make a judgement for myself so that I won’t feel confused about either school or life. Another thing really bothers me is that it’s really hard to have a friend like in high-school, people come and go like strangers. It seems that you know a lot of people or they probably all look familiar to you, but absolutely not friends like what I made and met in high school.
4. How do you think your first year at College will change you?

I attended several club’s general meetings so far, even though not join any of them, I put myself in a situation which I have to learn how to communicate with those people you never met. Also, for those classmates you don’t know the name of, you’d better to talk to them and be nice so that you won’t isolated throughout your entire four college years. Another important thing is that I have to learn for self-studying, not because we don’t have a good professor but we have to preview and review for tests or some other things. Therefore, both of these two things are the most significant things will change me in my first college year.

1. Tell us who you think YOU are!

I’m just someone trying to achieve my goals and live my life the way that I want to live it. Everyone tries to define life for you and tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. I’m just the kind of person who’ll define life by my terms and hopefully get to where I want to go.

2. Share your top 3 concerns about your freshman year at Baruch College and explain why.

First off, I’m hoping to pass my classes and keep an admirable GPA. Secondly, I’m thinking about next semester and how I’m going to have to pick all my classes on my own. Hopefully everything works out there and I can follow the appropriate schedule to make sure I have the right amount of credits. Lastly, getting involved in school is also important.

3. So far, what do you think will make your Baruch College experience different from your high school experience?

It’s a lot different from high school already. Longer hours, more work, and a larger push to get involved. I don’t mind any of the above due to the fact that it all comes with a lot more freedom and a lot more options. I switched around high schools in different states, so it was mainly a “get in, get out” kind of deal. College actually requires my attention, it was my choice to go here. Unlike in high school.

4. How do you think your first year at College will change you?

I can’t foresee the future, but I definitely know it’ll be a positive change. If anything, I hope to be more confident and more free by the end of my first year.  However, it’s not only college that can affect me by the end of this year. I have a personal life and a home-life that will try to change me just as much as college. As long as I’m getting more independent and doing things to benefit my life, college will be great. Honestly, I’ve had a bunch of personal goals before I even stepped through the doors of Baruch. So, college is just a stepping stone for growth and is only going to continue pushing me to where I want to go. I’m looking forward to whatever’s in store.

Dear Students,
I think that you did really well on this assignment; it is clear that you all understand the importance of networking and the impact daily social decisions have on your future. I was pleased that almost every student picked a group that had not already been chosen, which demonstrated the varying interests and talents in our class. Although every student contributed something valuable to the discussion, there were a few things that stuck out to me and I wanted to point them out just in case anyone in the class missed them.
1. Janice: I thought your comment on social ecology was great. There truly is a connection between the way we develop as social creatures in a more and more “connected” world and the way we network. Further, I think questions of social ecology come to the fore when we are considering that today’s connectedness is often over the Internet. How does networking shift when the old Rolodex paradigm is defunct?
2. Li Qu mentioned that networking helps us keep a competitive edge, but it also helps buffer us from disappointments. I couldn’t agree more. The networking we do now and in the future and our life as social creatures in the present shouldn’t just help us professionally. Our network can help us through the disappointments that are inevitable in a job market such as ours. There should be a personal benefit to you and to everyone in your network from these interactions.
3. Cristian: I really appreciate that you used the term “near future” to describe how soon college networking can pay off. It always alarms me when I hear students saying things like, “well I’ve still got four years. Getting a job [etc.] is still way off.” In truth, it goes by so quickly and if you aren’t careful, you will wonder what you did with all your time! Seeing the end of college as the “near future” will help you keep things in perspective.
4. Lynda: I appreciated your comment about practicing in college in preparation for a career. This is a good time to stretch yourself socially, and even to make mistakes in the social realm — primarily because there won’t be dire career consequences!
5. Aleksandr: First, I appreciated the host of fascinating metaphors you used. They were very helpful. Second, I want to bring in the concept of “social capital.” I would like to suggest that you don’t have to choose between meeting people and being beneficial to them; it doesn’t have to be an either/or. When you are beneficial to people, you are building social capital that you will often find available in the future. The author in the second article addressed this specifically and at length — he did not often see the benefits of making himself available to people right away, but he depended on the payout of that capital in the future, and often found he had a number of favors to call in when he needed it.
6. Finally, I liked how Seungjae said, “There is no work we can do alone.” I think that about sums it up for me.

Good job, class!

Assignment:
Please read the two articles below and then answer the following questions in the comments section.

“When Job Hunting, It’s Who You Know that Counts,” by Brian Chappatta at Crain’s New York Business website.

“Its Who You Know…and What You Can Do for Them,” by Beth Silcox of Success magazine.

After reading these two articles, please answer the following questions in the comments section on our class blog. We will be keeping track of who answers and how well you do it — so take it seriously. Please number your responses as well so everyone knows what is being discussed. Email Hiren or myself if you have questions.

1. Why did we have you read these articles? What is the connection between the idea of networking and participation in college extra-curricular activities?
2. One of these articles talks about networking as a lifestyle, and the other focuses on the idea of referrals. Based on these articles, what is the difference?
3. Will networking and/or referrals in the post-college job market impact the social decisions you make now? Why or why not?
4. Find two clubs or organizations at Baruch College that would positively impact your post-college professional experience and list them here.

Welcome Class of 2015! I am proud to announce that I will be the peer mentor for your Freshman Seminar Class! I look forward to meeting and getting to know each of you. If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to contact me and I will help you out however I can!