It can be said that Baruch College is now my new home. At the end of August, when school first started, I never thought I would be spending this much time in and around school. Being a commuter, my game plan originally was to go to school to my work and go straight home, however, that wasn’t the way things turned out. Currently, I’m spending four days a week in school and in the library. At the beginning of the school year, I was expecting to receive a lot more schoolwork then we have been getting. And with that, it is safe to say that my teachers have been great in a sense that they are funny, not too strict, and lead great discussions in class.

Aside from the teachers, the friends I have made also allowed me to make a quick adjustment to the college life. Originally, I believed that being in a block with the same thirty students was a horrible idea. However, after a month into the school year, I was quickly proved wrong. The block made the courses and the breaks a lot easier to get through. With just under a month left of school I am eager to register for classes and I am quickly preparing for Winter Break. The one thing I don’t look forward to is the final exams that are creeping up on us. To conclude, Baruch College has been quite fair to me, and a lot more than I expected. I look forward to another three years at Baruch. 

         I believe the enrichment workshop was meant to reiterate the fact that leadership is prevalent is everyday life. Just some of the many examples given include the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge along with Abraham Lincoln and his accomplishments with abolishment of slavery. Many of the examples were previously taught to me and it was clear that these people were major leaders during their time. The focused soon changed, as the man in charge began speaking of leaders in our lives, here at Baruch College. Furthermore, he said we were soon going to be the leaders in our school and our community. That in itself, did not exactly motivate me. What actually motivated me was hearing the stories of the older students who were once in the position that I am currently in now.

         All five of the students that spoke directly related to the way I was feeling. They came to Baruch College and it was strictly school work for them. As anyone can imagine, that was quite boring. They quickly matters into their own hands, and now mostly as seniors, they are Presidents and Vice Presidents of some of the Baruch College’s major clubs and fraternities. The students inspired me not only to join the clubs but to also become leaders of the clubs. I plan on joining Team Baruch in the upcoming semesters mainly to practice my leadership skills and have a better time here at Baruch College. Throughout the workshop, questions were also presented to us all based on our views of leadership. Every student had a different answer on what leadership meant to them and how they practice it within their everyday lives. To me, leadership means being able to cooperate and working together with many other people in order to achieve a common goal. We practice our leadership skills on a daily basis, whether we are working on a group project in class, or teaching somebody younger than us the right thing to do. To conclude, I believe I learned a lot more than I expected from the enrichment workshop.

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 our group chose was smartphones. The main reason we selected this topic was because of its relevance to students our age. All of our article selected were in regards to smartphones and their impact on our city, nation and world as a whole.

2. What was your individual role in the group process working on the NYT project?

Not only was I the administrator for my group, but I also was assigned to doing a world article regarding smartphones where I discussed India, and a national article regarding smartphones where I discussed how they distract teens.

3. How has your experience within this project influenced your understanding of “news literacy”?
Provide a link to your NYT Front Page Project.

If this project taught me one thing it would be that our news is quite relevant to us teenagers nowadays.  The link to our blog is: https://blogs.baruch.cuny.edu/theuseofsmartphones/

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then my slideshow should be worth eight thousand words. The series of pictures is the perfect summation of my life and it is safe to say that they speak to exactly who I am. First off, the most important thing in life is family. My three brothers are the people that have always been there for me in my life. We tend to argue a lot but it is safe to say that I am never bored when I’m with them. The same can be said with my friends. The groups of friends in the picture are just some people I have been with since diapers. We spend our summers together in a small town on the North Fork of Long Island called Mattituck. Water sports such as wake boarding, tubing and waterskiing are just some of the ways we spend our time.  When it is not summer, and I am not with my friends, I enjoy traveling.  My favorite place to travel to is the Caribbean Islands. Just some of the islands that I have been to are St. Lucia as seen in the picture, St. Thomas, Barbados, Aruba, Turks and Caicos and many more. Education is one of the most important things in anyone’s life.  Studying hard and pursuing a great career would be the best way to live comfortably and continue doing what I enjoy doing.  Lastly, culture is a very big part of my life. Whether I am spending time with my family on holidays or attending church on Sunday mornings there’s always something to get out of it. With that being said, anyone can learn a lot about who I am by observing my slideshow, whether it be my classmates or my teachers.