Author: s.tatynskiy

second blog post

shawn tatynskiy

This week I was able to attend a Hillel event which is an organization of jewish students that is led by a rabbi and many guests are brought in to share their experiences as a jew. This week the club had invited a holocaust survivor to speak about her experiences during the second world war. The stories she told greatly resonated with me and many of the people attending because I have family members that either lost their lives or lived through the holocaust. people around we were also clearly moved by her experiences because they probably have relatives who lived through this terrible time as well. The topic of her stories, the holocaust, is a monumental event effecting countless groups of people but was especially significant for people of the jewish faith. Because of the holocaust many of us have lost family and millions of other jews around the world experienced the same tragedy we did. While I wasn’t alive at the time of the holocaust the conditions and hardships faced by the jewish people during this time were very vivid in my imagination. This club not is very enjoyable because we have the opportunity to learn the history of people of the same religion and culture. We are able to find out how and why certain practices were created and what their purpose is. The club also allows members to learn and grow from the experiences of the people that come in to give a presentation. By hearing the various struggles and experiences they had throughout their life as a jew we are able to apply their advice into our own lives and possibly learn from their examples. Overall I felt very welcome in this club as everyone was very kind and polite and they even offer free pizza during their proceedings. I highly recommend anyone to join this club, weather jewish or not, because of the valuable lessons about life and jewish history that can be obtained through this organization.

study abroad fair-shawn tatynskiy

This week I had the pleasure of visiting the study abroad fair. I chose to check this opportunity out because I heard Baruch has great study abroad programs and that couldn’t be truer. Baruch offers a vast amount of options when it comes to studying abroad as they have a list of countries, covering almost all of Europe. As a high school student growing up I would always dream of spending my time learning in a different country. I was excited to not only excel in school but to also learn the culture and traditions of a European country. Baruch offers its study abroad program for juniors and seniors mainly. To go through the study abroad process one must meet with their advisers and set up their courses of the semester they will be studying abroad as it is vital to stay caught up on your education during your stay. Some of the countries I dream to visit would be Amsterdam and the Czech Republic and maybe Prague. These countries are of interest to me because they are so different from New York City and I want to take that opportunity to learn the culture and the ways of the people that live in these countries but also to take a step away from hectic city life and try something new. At the study abroad fair I was able to meet with people that took this opportunity and were able to study abroad. This is what excited me the most about the fair since they got to share their experiences with me and really got me excited to seize this opportunity in the future. My junior and senior year I will definitely take part in these programs and fulfill the dream I had since high school. With Baruch’s great many programs and options I know I will be able to study abroad to experience the ways of life in Europe and to also excel in my education, as the new experiences will definitely reflect on my work in the classroom.