Over the past three months at Baruch College, I feel that the environment is not that different than that of my high school. Most of the people know what they want to do with their life and have almost a clear-cut picture of their next steps. In Baruch’s case, the majority of the students are focusing on business. However, the classes I am taking offer more than one would expect from a business-oriented community; the professors are knowledgable and engaging while the students for the most part are all intriguing and kind.

Personally I feel that despite the opportunities provided here, I am kind of looking for a different experience that I have not yet found in terms of environment, people, and academics. While most of the people here are concentrating on business, I feel more closely related to biology and holistic medicine. Thing is, I am glad to be attending Baruch because it is a fantastic place where I have encountered wonderful people and learned a great deal so far despite my feelings. Therefore, like the photo delineates, I feel that I am unsure of the outcome from my efforts so far, but I know something magnificent is growing-I just have to wait and see.

Upon walking into the workshop, it was clear the presenters were excited and wanted to get started right away. The main purpose of the workshop was to inspire leadership into the audience. Throughout the presentation the speaker referenced several leaders that took initiative such as the Robeling family who designed the Brooklyn Bridge and Abraham Lincoln, the sixth President of the United States of America who came into office during a turbulent time of a nation on the brink of civil war. The orator consistently stressed the qualities and persistence each of the leaders mentioned had throughout their journeys, later asking us to contribute to the discussion with what we had as goals and thought were the qualities of a leader.
Personally, the workshop mirrored many of my emotions throughout the first semester at Baruch College. Many of the student leaders that were asked to share their experiences started out as modest and humble students focusing primarily on their academics and then gradually incorporated themselves into the community through a club, student government, or fraternity. Likewise I feel that education should always come first, but already knowing I want to be a leader, I plan to participate in several endeavors such as T.E.A.M. Baruch, join a club, and apply for an internship in the upcoming semesters.

1. What was the “theme” your group selected for your front page, and how did you select it? How did the articles you selected fit within that theme?
     The theme of our group’s New York Times Project was Medicinal Treatments after discussing the general interest of the four members, we all collectively agreed to focus our articles with the topic in mind. The article I selected fit within the theme since holistic medicine is an underrated approach to a human’s wellness and apparently has principles that would also benefit the world economy.
2. What was your individual role in the group process working on the NYT project?
     The individual role I took on working on the New York Times project was to find an article relating back to our topic on an international level.
3. How has your experience within this project influenced your understanding of “news literacy”?
     My experience working within this project has influenced my understanding of “news literacy” since I’ve realized the New York Times slogan “All the News That’s Fit to Print” may contribute to there being almost no articles on an alternative to traditional medicine on an international scope expect one that was released on October 22nd, 2013 discussing how people now rely on international countries as a way of obtaining necessary prescriptions due to the outrageous costs in the United States.