Freshman Seminar Fall 17 BWB

One Monday afternoon during class Gavi Mayer and I had some free time. This kid who is in our sociology class introduced himself to us and told us how he’s an active member in the Hillel. He and another initiative leader took us out for coffee and explained all the different things the Hillel does. For example there’s pizza every Monday and Wednesday and all the upcoming events. They then took us to see where the actual Hillel was located and showed us the memo board with all of the upcoming events. Then we went to a meeting room where a video was being played about the terrible massacre in Las Vegas. Then they switched the mood to let us know that they were building a Sukkah (it’s a Jewish tent basically) on the 8th floor terrace. The Hillel was a cool and interesting place. Definitely a good resource on campus.

A couple weeks ago I went to the general interest meeting for the Baruch Radio club. Music has always been a passion of mine. I’ve played the saxophone since elementary school and I want to learn more about music production. It was cool to see so many students interested in music, I didn’t expect that from a business school. The club members all seemed friendly and very knowledgeable about their departments. There were DJs, producers, sound engineers, musicians, rappers, and singers. I was most interested in the production department. The production department works in the recording studio and schedules time with student artists. I want to learn more about making music so this seems like a place I’ll be spending a lot of time.

For this assignment I decided to go to the Baruch E-sports club’s general interest meeting. I’ve been playing video games for as long as I could remember so I was excited at the thought of joining this club. I walked into a crowded room of both freshmen and returning members, all united in their love for video games, I took my seat and the president of the club began to introduce herself and describe the club. I learned that the E-Sports club has their own competitive gaming team that plays against other schools. They also have a newly renovated room in the library that contains gaming computers that members are allowed to use during club hours, which would’ve been enough to convince me to join on its own. We spent the meeting talking amongst ourselves about our favorite video games, and I joined a group of people talking about my personal favorite game, Overwatch. I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting and I’m glad I joined this club.

My experience in the game room was quite unique. I didn’t expect for a college to have a game room. There was a pool table, ping pong table, and other different interesting games. I had an interesting time making new friends and learning new tricks. The environment there is really chill and friendly. Of course on the low key people were playing for more than just the entertainment. I only spent about 40 minutes there which flew by faster than I would imagine. I would recommend this experience to everyone in Baruch, it’s defiantly something that I would do again. Enjoy– Davit Sahakyan

Recently I decided to purchase a new laptop for college but if you know me you know I suck at technology. My first week at Baruch I decided to not bring in my laptop because I was still trying to set up all the programs and apps my laptop needed however my first day bringing it into class I realized I didn’t have any of the Microsoft programs installed so when class started I didn’t know where to type up my notes (sigh). After class I had an hour break and decided to pass by the technology help center on the sixth floor in the library building since I had read on the Baruch website that students got free Microsoft installation. The workers were super helpful and guided me through everything and it turns out that the program isn’t available just yet but now I know where to go when I need help with my laptop.

Having participated in Model UN for most of my high school experience, I was decently thrilled to see that Baruch had a Model UN club. I enjoyed Model UN in high school and I planned on further exploring it at Baruch. Unfortunately, it seems as if Baruch’s Model UN club is nonexistent, seeing as not only could I not find it, but neither could Deana, who also shared the similar interest of joining Model UN. After unsuccessfully finding the club, I came to the conclusion that either a) I thoroughly convinced myself that Baruch had a Model UN club or b) Baruch’s Model UN club isn’t too good with recruiting new members. On our way out of the building, we were stopped by someone part of the National Society of Leadership and Success, who informed us about their many benefits such as networking, scholarships, and more. While I was disappointed after an unsuccessful Model UN hunt, I was pleased learn of just one of the intelligent organizations Baruch works with. So, it was kind of alright.

After hearing about the Small Business Development Center I had no choice but to go take a look. Last Monday I went to the Center and scheduled a meeting in regards to  some questions I had for my upcoming business and as of the 12th I had a meeting with a professor in the business department. It was a pleasure to not only soak up all of the knowledge she had for me but also to get a taste of what my life in junior year would be like. In addition I found that often with baruch you get a lot more than you bargain for. By that I mean that I walked in with a few questions and when I left I had those questions answered but a new 100 questions to think about. While I thought I had a good amount of what I plan to do already planned out, I then noticed that I have only begun. I am beyond grateful for all of the time and information she gave to me and after finishing my business plan I will be scheduling to meet with a Lawyer then an Accountant and then back to the Small Business Development Center I go! I am extremely excited to see what else baruch can offer me and how this school can challenge me to think more in depth.

I had a couple of questions I wanted to confirm about my financial aid so I decided to make a trip over to the “other” building during my class break. Just for my relief I decided to go during a 50 minute break I had on Monday. As soon as I arrived at the front doors I wandered off to the library thinking the elevators were there to take me to financial aid office. However, soon enough I found my way to the 7th floor . As I turned the corner to what was a financial aid office was a indoor six flags. The line was incredibly long. Eventually, I was late… however the line went by pretty fast. The financial aid workers gave me a great experience as they guided me through and relieved my worries.

As an incoming Freshman, I’m pretty sure we were all a little apprehensive about what these next 4 years would look like. Fortunately, the amazing tour guides during orientation were able to give a solid layout of the many resources the students at Baruch have at their disposal. As a result, I was able to quickly locate the registrars office (which was litt) and take care of the paperwork I needed. Just wanted to give a quick shoutout to all the legends who helped make freshman orientation what it was. Its nice to see that the community is really supportive and willing to help you out when you need it.

This week to explore the clubs of Baruch, Nalisha and I visited the club rooms on the 3rd floor.  We got lost while trying to find the room for Model UN, spending a good half an hour roaming the halls. Finally, we got too frustrated and gave up- deciding to leave the campus. On our way out, we were stopped by someone in the lobby offering to tell us about The National Society of Leadership & Success. We were told about the program which provides students with opportunities on and off campus- along with the specific training sessions and networking teams. I was satisfied to see that Baruch offered so many opportunities and that I was able to discover possible options I had as a student!