Freshman Seminar Fall 17 DWB

On October 26th our Art History professor took us to the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Because this class has about 100 students in it, we were split into smaller groups. My tour guide was so nice and passionate about the museum which really made me enjoy this museum trip. Throughout my time at the museum, I was able to learn about the genocide that affected Jewish people living across Europe during the holocaust. We were able to see a variety of art pieces that have sentimental stories attached to them. I remember wandering off at some point to listen to one of the audio recordings and just hearing what had happened put me in an angry mood  because I just could not understand why someone would go through such extreme lengths to cause harm to a group of people.

Going to the museum was such an amazing experience because we learned so much and it was cool to see how some of the things we learned in class could be applied to the artwork we saw at the museum. This was one of the most memorable museum trips I’ve had because towards the end of the tour we were able to meet a holocaust survivor. Hearing her talk about her experiences and how they have affected her was so interesting to me. I’ve never met a holocaust survivor but now that I have, I will definitely remember it.

I went to the Wall Street Careers Panel with Ben, Jordan, and Fred. It was on Thursday, November 9. It was on the 7th floor in the Library, and it was a Starr Career Workshop. There was a panel of 5 businessmen and businesswomen who currently work on Wall Street. They talked about their backgrounds, their high school and college experiences, and their journey to Wall Street. They also gave tips on what to do in order to get a good job and what they did to get where they are now. They also had a Question and Answer part of the workshop for people to ask specific questions.
It was very interesting to learn about what they went through. They all had to work very hard to get where they are now, and they went through the same things we are going through now. They all had different stories, so it shows that different people can all have a great career, no matter their background. Working hard is what pays off in the end. I learned so many great tips from this workshop that I will keep in mind for now and for the future when I look for a permanent job. One of the panelists said you have to take risks in order to achieve your dream or to get a great career.
I don’t think I would’ve went to this event if I didn’t have to do this blog, but I’m glad I did because it was a nice experience to see how the panelists got such great jobs and what they went through to get it. It was comforting to see that the panelists had all different backgrounds yet they were all able to achieve such great jobs, which means if I work hard I can try to get a great job as well. Who knows… maybe one day I’ll work on Wall Street.

There is definitely a certain feeling of sophistication as you walk into the Metropolitan Museum Of Art on the Upper East Side of New York City. For CUNY students it is supposedly free, but when I showed my ID at the front desk, they quickly asked me how much I would like to pay. I gave them a quarter because I had a feeling that the Met is not an underfunded foundation. I went to the Met to start a project for Art history in which I would have to find specific pieces of artwork that were on display in the museum and answer questions of my findings. I enjoyed having this assignment to do while I visited the Met because it made me feel as though I had a sense of purpose in the museum rather than just walking around aimlessly.The most memorable exhibit was the Chinese garden on the second floor to the right of the museum. Though it was inside, it really felt like an outdoor garden somewhere in China. After walking through the dimly lit exhibits, it was so refreshing to step

into the garden with its babbling coy pond and cooling stonework. I know there is so much more of the Met to see and I am looking forward to going back as well as going to the many other fascinating museums in New York City.

On October 25 I attended a workshop, Finance 101, hosted by the Starr Development Center. Signing up for this workshop was not difficult at all, one can easily click into the emails the Starr Career Development Centers sends each week to check out the workshops they have available for the same and following weeks. To RSVP, you just follow the instructions provided in the email and you will be set. Apparently some workshops have seats that fill up quickly so if you find a workshop you are interested in, RSVP as soon as you can.

I went into the workshop knowing I did not want to major in Finance. I just went to learn about what the major is and what it gets you when you graduate. I’ve learned a lot in a workshop that lasted only a little more than an hour. Finance is such a broad subject there are so many directions one can go because of all specific majors under the umbrella of finance.

One thing I found interesting was that in a room full of about 30 students, most of them were not freshman. There were a handful of seniors at a Finance 101 informational workshop which I found interesting because I was just wondering if they were there to learn about a major they want to switch to because that just says that I do not have to make decisions as quickly as a freshman.

I found this workshop really helpful although I still do not intend to major in Finance after listening to all the opportunities you have when you enter the real world with a degree in finance. I look forward to attending more of these types workshops to broaden my understanding of different majors and minors.

On October 26th, my Art History II classmates (featuring everyone in freshman seminar with the exclusion of like 3 people) and I went to the Holocaust Memorial Museum. While I was there I was able to learn most about the genocide that occurred due to Jews being used as scapegoats for problems they had no part in. Also due to psychotic man trying to strive for eugenics that were being encompassed by blonde hair and blue eyes. At the trip we were able to see many different art pieces that were made as a tribute to the 6 million plus Jews who had their lives taken from the beginning of 1933 to 1945. My classmates and I were able to meet a holocaust survivor, which made it click in my brain that this atrocity is still very fresh. Which I also knew as well, but it’s so different meeting someone in which an extermination, had a direct and long lasting effect on. Rather then just reading about it through textbooks. Now that I look back on being at the Museum I am now so upset. Since the release of the JFK files which claimed that Hitler was seen in 1955 in Columbia, 10 years after the end of the Holocaust but they never tried him as a war  criminal because of the years that passed. But instead that is left was a apology to the events that tried to extinct the Jewish race and left over 6 million people without lives.

Last week Thursday I decided to go to Soca Club after seeing a poster for it on the wall.  Soca club is a club dedicated to people  on the Caribbean but open to everyone.  Soca is actually a genre of music that  Caribbean people listen to.  When I arrived to the room I immediately enjoyed the vibe.  I came a little late but I came in time for introductions.  They started with some questions of what borough  you were from what is your backgrounds what year you are  in college and a fun fact about yourself.  We went around the room I learned all about each other.   After instructions they gave us some information on upcoming events they host from the fall to the spring.  Are we interested in the carnival event they’re hosting in the spring.  They also mentioned a game night which sounded pretty fun.   After introductions we eat Domino’s and played a game.  The game was a sort of jeopardy on trivia about the Caribbean islands.  One of the questions actually helped me with my history midterm I just had a question about hatian independence which was actually a question during the trivia and it helped me remember the year (1804).

The one thing I didn’t like about the club though is that they didn’t acknowledge Puerto Rico as a Caribbean island which bothered me. Despite this I would still go back and enjoy the club.

They mentioned that their sister club is the west Indian club and that they are having a general interest meeting this Thursday which I will also be attending. Overall it was a good experience and I plan on joining both clubs for the fun vibes and music.

For my second blog post I decided to visit a museum. Every day on my walk to school I always pass by the Museum of Sex but I never have the chance to go. This was the perfect opportunity for me to finally go. I didn’t know what to expect from it but I knew a couple people who went and they told me how awesome it was. One of my favorite exhibitions was the Zana Bayne Collaboration. They showed many different types of clothing that was very interesting. The museum overall assisted me as a first semester freshman because it taught me many things. I learned to be very observant and appreciate art more. I am also currently taking Art History so it was the perfect time to go to a museum. This activity also helped me as a first semester freshman at Baruch because is thought me how to navigate a little better in the city. Since I am from long Island, I am not really used to the way the streets are. Overall I think it was a great experience to go to this museum because it helped me a lot with my first semester at Baruch.

 

On Tuesday I went to Museum of Sex with a classmate of mine in my block. As a museum with such a unique and interesting name in one of the most diverse and popular tourist regions on earth, it is no wonder almost everyone has heard of it before. Although people have heard about the museum and even tried, there is a required age for admission of 18 years or above. My whole life, I have been “a bit too young” to get admitted to the museum, but now the perfect opportunity has risen. I need to go to a museum for a school assignment and I get to enter the once forbidden museum. Now that me and my friend, Ben, are of age, we decided to buy tickets to enter.
First things first, we had to get there. The walk from Baruch College to the Museum of Sex is actually a leisure stroll through the bustling streets of Gramercy and Flatiron. On our way there, we came across a military tank which was said to have been in the same spot for months. We also came across these 2 vans with a ton of packages from sephora, Amazon, and urban outfitters. The packages were all over the sidewalk, probably put there by the workers, but they could have so easily been snatched and stolen. It’s a surprise nothing happened and the workers were able to complete their job without any situations arising. As we walked up to the building, I was a bit dissapointed to be honest. It looked like any other normal building/store front except with the sign saying “Museum of Sex”.
After entering the building, we were asked to present ID, which I held out like they didn’t believe I was 18 HAH that’s disrespectful! After purchasing our tickets and entering for the first time, I just looked and absorbed everything around me in awe. I don’t want to get into too much detail, but it was a fun experience and I would actually do it again with different groups of people because the experience is different whenever you’re with a different person/group of people. Following this post is a photo of one of the more modest photos that I had took at the museum.

I needed a last minute thing to do for the blog post this week so I decided to go to the Museum of Sex with my friend Jordan yesterday. The Museum is on 27th and 5th ave which is close to the school so we able to go during club hours. I have always been low key curious about the museum of sex and what they have in there. Going into the museum I honestly had no idea what to expect. I was a little afraid to be honest, I didn’t know what I was going into. However, I still wanted to go, I was still curious about it. When we go in we bought tickets and then went into this bar area where there was an exhibit about New York Disco in from 1977-1979. There were photos by Bill Bernstein which showed the New York Disco scene in the late ‘70s. Some of the photos were pretty interesting but many of them were strange and very explicit so I had to prepare my self for what else was in the museum because this was just the beginning. We only saw a couple exhibits but the one that I thought was interesting but also very strange was the sex life of animals. These were sculptures of different animals having sex. The museum wasn’t really what I expected, it was pretty explicit and kind of weird. I didn’t know it was more of an art museum rather than informative. However, it was an experience and was I learned some new things which is always good. Despite this museum having nothing to do with anything I am learning at Baruch, I did take away some things that I can use at Baruch. While at the museum I kind of felt uncomfortable being in there. I’m not really sure why but I found this to be a good example of me stepping out of my comfort zone which can be really useful at college. It is important to be able to step out of your comfort zone some times and be able to talk to people, meet people and try new things.