l.debord – Freshman Seminar Fall 17 DWA

Resume and Cover Letter Writing Workshop

In class we talked of the many faces us students have while in given situations. With our friends and family we are personal, informal and just plain causal. With people outside of this group, usually authoritative figures, we are act professional, formal and serious. One authoritative figure we might act proper with is our higher ups in our jobs, the person who hired you for example. This might seem obvious to some people, but not at first with me.

All my pervious jobs, before my current one, was given to me by people I knew beforehand. I already had an established relationship with them, so I wasn’t worried or doubtful of getting the job. That doesn’t mean I didn’t take the application process seriously, my mindset was just that as long as I didn’t completely blow it, I’ll be fine. This mindset is the reason why my resume wasn’t done in the traditional way. Yes its showcases all of my previous accomplishments and achievements, spilling over the brim of volunteer work, activities, and past worksites; but it just wasn’t the right format. My resume wouldn’t have appealed to the business administration field that I intend to go into and it wouldn’t have be taken seriously by others.

Scheduling an appointment to work on my resume at STARR, has shone a light on the error of my ways. The sophomore, Baruch student, who assisted me in this process completely tore apart my resume, in an informative/respectful way. She provided me with a “Resume & Cover Letter Writing Guide” that I will for sure be using in the future. She let me in on tips and tricks she used for her own resume and encouraged me to come back again to work on my final draft.

Before this session I had no idea of the amount of work that went into making a resume. I just thought that it was a list of how you spend your days, but now I see that there is an art to it. An art I can’t wait to master.

Latinx Heritage Month

I always dreamed of being super involved on campus, socializing with people who reflected my vibe and shared my desires. I dreamed of walking through the halls of my school and recognizing the faces of fellow club members and being able to comfortably greet them and ask how their day has been.

Recognizing the faces of my classmates is not new to me. I come from a small high school where my graduating class was 35. My former high school is not just a secondary school, but a middle school as well, so I was with these classmates for 7 years. Being able to recognize the faces and names of my classmates was an experience that I treasured. We were able to grow up together and see each other off to better things.

Because of this sheltered socialization for 7 years I worried for my college experience. I worried that I no longer knew how to make friends. I worried that I had become socially awkward through out the years. With worries, comes desires and dreams and mine was that my worries would be wrong.

On September 7th, 2017 I went to my first college student club event. I walked through the crowded second floor and tried to locate eyes with a club I can identify with. A couple of steps before me stood ASEDOM, where they were giving out Mamita’s Coconut Cream Ices. My mouth watered. I took an Icy and soon found myself in a conversation with ASEDOM’s vice president. As the conversation progressed I asked, “What is ASEDOM’s purpose in Latinx Heritage Month?” She said

“ASEDOM’s role in all of Latin Heritage Month is just to put in a Dominican representation into the expression of Hispanic culture that we’re trying to show. We just want to show pride in both our cultural and academic backgrounds.”

-Katherine Hernandez, Sophomore, VP of ASEDOM

What the VP said impacted the expectations I had for my college experience. I realized it didn’t matter the amount of friends I had or how active I was it; the only thing thing that mattered is that within this experience I find myself and not just learn to express my self as an American student, but as the Afro-Latina I am.

El Museo Del Barrio Exhibition

El Museo Del Barrio is a museum in East Harlem. This museum is famous for its ability to bring light, to the almost fading, history of Hispanic culture.

The day I went to the exhibition, I arrived with only minutes to its closing. Hurriedly I checked my bag in and ran to the entrance. The guards within reminded me once again that I only had 15 minutes to go, so I started my search. The search was to find the most relatable piece of art. I soon realized it wasn’t far from my grasp as I turned the corner.

A woman’s face was trapped in a box, while the rest of her (her unruly hair) was out side. Underneath the box was inscribed “Tu Afro No Cabe en la Foto,” which translates to “Your Afro Doesn’t Fit in the Photo.” I quickly recognized this piece to be symbolizing the “hair issue” within the Hispanic culture, where European features are praised for having, but Afro-American features are covered by the swipe of a flat iron. The Afro within this piece represents the resistance, straying away from what is “traditionally” viewed as beautiful and not conforming ones self into societal definition of appropriateness. Her Afro is breaking these boundaries and taking her whole persona.

I found this piece to be relatable because while going through my natural hair journey, I too received unwanted opinions of my new untamed hair. To my surprise someone even told me, “I don’t like your hair like this, you look black.” Despite all of that, I learned how to embrace my hair and myself.

You may be asking your self, “Okay… but how did this event assist you during your first semester at Baruch College?” Don’t worry I’m getting there.

This event assisted me during my first semester at Baruch College, by further showing me that as long as I can embrace myself, the opinions of others shouldn’t matter. Therefore I could be open to my school environment and be unafraid to break social barriers.