On Friday, October 2nd, I attended the Career Fair. First of all, I was not used to being on Baruch’s campus all day on a Friday, so that was strange. Not to mention, there were only a handful of freshmen who attended the Career Fair, me, Sabrina, and Deborah being the only ones in our block in attendance. As soon as I got to Baruch, I immediately noticed everyone was dressed to the nines in professional attire. So was I, but I just felt like I did not fit in. After spending 2 hours perfecting my resume in the library and printing out 10 copies, I finally got to the Career Fair. Right off the bat, I made the choice to not hold myself back and not be shy. I reminded myself I took the initiative, I was already there, so what did I have to lose? I went to almost every table in the 2 hours that I was there and talked and networked with all the business professionals and even ordinary salesmen. It surprised me how open and understanding some people were and how willing they were to answer all the questions I had. Others, on the other hand, for example Bloomberg, essentially laughed in my face for even considering coming to their table because they only accept applications from rising seniors. I was told I was ambitious for a freshman which was nice to hear. I even realized that I might want to go into the Peace Corps after graduation and I wouldn’t have figured that out if I hadn’t had a long conversation with the Peace Corps representative. Going to the Career Fair as a freshman opened my eyes to how many opportunities Baruch has for me in the future. I already put my email down and gave my resumes to various companies as well as held conversations with the representatives and exchanged contact information with them, so at least I know I left some kind of a lasting impression on them. It was intimidating, at first, but once you accepted the fact that everybody there is older and more qualified than you are, it is great. I am honestly so glad I went to the Career Fair as part of the Career Workshops.