Author: s.datta1

Last Thursday I attended Women in Business’s professional event Exploring Career Opportunities. There was a panel discussion with 5 professionals from the business field. I had an opportunity to explore the various career paths in the business field and network with the professionals.

Lena Bakis is a Senior Manager in EY’s Financial Accounting Services and graduated with a BBA in Accounting from Baruch College. It was interesting to know about her experience because it is a path I plan to take in the future through Baruch College. She was explaining the important factors in interviews. I learned that it is vital for an interviewer to get to know you personally, not only on a professional level. Also, most jobs look for a person everyone can work with: a team player. She was telling us how people can have perfect resumes and straight A’s, but a boring personality can prevent them from receiving the job. I got the chance to speak to her personally and she was telling me how important it was to show potential in an interview. It’s important to learn about a company before going in for their interview and showing passion about it. I got the chance to know about many interviewing techniques, which will hopefully help me in the future when I am looking for an internship or job.

Michelle Broom is the Head of RMG’s Global OTC Regulatory Reform Compliance Group at Macquarie. We learned about her experiences and struggles through her discussion. She was telling us how important internships are to get to know more about the subject you are studying. Internships will truly tell if we will be happy with our career in the future because they will provide an insight on the job.

Karina Davidoff’s is a Senior Manager at Morgan Stanley and her story was very fascinating. Reason being, she graduated from Pace University and during her final semester, she hadn’t applied for any internships or jobs. However, a professor of hers helped her get a job from one of his former students. After a phone call and interview, she got the job. She showed us how it was not necessary to have thought out plans for the future, but how important it was to have connections and graduate from college. Karina’s story inspired me to stay focus in college. Although it wasn’t a great idea to wait for a job at the last minute, her experience can teach us not to procrastinate and just rely on graduation.

Networking with these professional individuals and listening to their personal experiences opened my eyes to the various types of careers out there in the business field. I would’ve never known that there are so many opportunities for me after I graduate. Speaking to them personally and attending the panel discussion helped me learn many things and I look forward to attending another career event.

~ Sudipa Datta

 

On September 14, some of my friends and I attended the study abroad fair because we all were interested in going out of the country for a semester. It was a nice opportunity to explore all the options we have. Since I am considering majoring in International Business, I wanted to gain experience of studying in at least one other country so I can be comfortable with my major. The study abroad fair helped me understand the application process and cleared up my confusion.

One thing I was concerned about was my financial aid. I wasn’t sure if I would receive any and I didn’t want to spend too much money to study abroad. I learned that Baruch covers the tuition fee and all we have to pay is the living costs, which can also be expensive. However, we can apply for scholarships for up to thousands of dollars. We can use this money to cover our living and food costs, which is very beneficial.

I personally don’t know which country I want to go to yet. I’m confused between a country in Europe or Sydney, Australia. The fair helped me learn about each country and its advantages. For example, London has a great program for my intended major and covers full tuition. There are also many colleges in one country and students have the opportunity to apply to most. So, if I don’t gain admission into one, I might have the chance to get admitted into another one. I also got to know about the personal experiences of previous study abroad students, which gives a little insight on how it’s like to be an international student.

There are also many benefits of being a study abroad student at Baruch because it’s a CUNY school. Reason being, Baruch doesn’t have a study abroad program in all the countries in the world. So, if you want to go to a country that Baruch doesn’t have, you can go to that country through any of the other CUNY schools that provide it. For example, if Baruch doesn’t have a program in Austria, but Queens College does, a student can apply through Queens College and study in Austria. I think this is a great opportunity because not all colleges have this advantage. The study abroad fair taught me many things and persuaded me to try it out, which I hope to at least once in my college experience.

~ Sudipa Datta