Freshman Seminar Fall 17 EWC

Joining groups halfway through events is a bad habit of mine. Considering that I was walking into the GIM of the American Marketing Association at Baruch, I thought I would be scolded for being so late. However, they just seemed happy to have another person interested. While I had no idea what it meant to be a marketer, I felt comfortable surrounded by people willing to walk me through the experience of learning how to be one. I am constantly surprised by how warm and welcoming clubs at Baruch tend to be. As I took my seat, after serving myself a cup of soda, I became very interested by what they had to say. However, while they caught my attention, I feel it may not be the best club for my interests. I will continue my search in finding the perfect club for myself.

Hey guys!

So recently, I’ve been going to the PFN club during club hours. What PFN is that it’s basically Baruch’s version of Saturday Night Live where they make skits, songs, you name it! So as a person that likes SNL and acting, I thought “Eh, why not?”, so I decided to attend some club meetings. The people there are a lot of fun and extremely welcoming (Ada’s kinda eh though…Jk!) and they never ceased to make me laugh. I remember the first time I went there, they had a skit to film that day where they were gonna have someone dressed up in a T-Rex costume and go around the campus. That’s not something you see everyday, and immediately I thought that this was gonna be an interesting club to join. I can’t wait to go back and see what they’re gonna do next!

• Mikael S. Habib

The Japan Club had its second general interest meeting on Thursday, October 5th and I had a lot of fun getting to know other people interested in Japanese culture. We played games—ironically almost none of them had anything to do with Japan—like bingo and something akin to cornhole. The bingo was interesting as we filled spaces by finding people in the room with a certain characteristics like “speaks another language” or “owns a cat.” Cornhole was dominated by (even though she was reluctant to play) a girl named Sayaka who was actually Japanese and it seems she came to Japan club hoping to find other Japanese people. The board members were a bit awkward but also very friendly so I’ll probably drop by again when I can. Also, on Thursday next week, they’re having a Japanese Conversation Class that I’m personally looking forward to, so anyone else interested in learning Japanese should come as well!

On Thursday, October 5, 2017, I went to a workshop in the Baruch writing center. The theme of the workshop was Developing Thesis Statements. Once I arrived, the teacher gave everyone of us a paper of two images. She made us state out the compares and contrasts of two images. Then, we take a look at both artists’ stances. At this point, I was thinking to myself, how is this related to today’s topic? Then, we take a look at some writing examples of comparing two artists, their images, and their opinions on each other. I realized that, all the previous activities were to build up to the topic. I learned that there are many types of thesis that we can use. Two of the most common examples are Call to Action Thesis Statement, and the Analytical These Statement. Unfortunately,  I had to end my section early that day, but at least I learned something from that workshop. I am looking forward to the writing center for helps in writings in the future. Because why not, their teachers are nice and friendly, they have a good environment, and it is free.

On September 19th, 2017 there was a lunch-time forum with the Mitsui company.

I was very excited for this meeting, mainly because it was my very first professional meeting I have ever been to in my entire life. I thought that everyone had to wear business attire, but surprisingly, we did not have to.

There were a lot of people joining in the meeting, to the point where some people had to stand throughout the conference. Some people left during the meeting, but the majority of them stayed, whether they were standing or not.

The meeting was quite long, yet short. The minute you sat down, there were three different packets, and each of them explained what the company was and what they did. Throughout the meeting, the president & chief executive was talking about the company and what they do. They also talked about where their businesses are located and how they were planning to expand it. To my surprise, the guest speaker was very entertaining and funny. He would add in jokes here and there, and he was always smiling. It took the bore out of the meeting.

Overall, the meeting was fun, and people got to meet new faces. For example, I met a girl who was entirely Japanese, and her friend knew how to speak Japanese fluently, although that wasn’t her first language. It was also really fascinating to watch people connect with one another through communications or through something they had in similarity.

I am hoping that next time, there will be more meetings like this.

I went to this workshop around two weeks ago. Since Mitsui & CO is an international business, the talk was about how the business became the size it is now, which is a very big company. The president of the company also talked about the conglomerate growth of the business, because he thinks that opportunity to grow the business is everywhere. The organizer gave us a brochure about the business, where all the statistics are in there and the president referred to it all the during the entire talk. It was an amazing experience to listen to the president of such a successful business talking about his experiences and struggles to set up and expand the business.

Angel

Walking towards the Main Gym felt like the most exercise I had in weeks; it felt like I was dragging a ton of bricks as I approached the gym doors. I was nervous, to say the least. I usually go to big events with a friend so that I wouldn’t be alone and have to fend for myself. This time I was alone. I contemplated retracing my steps, but I pushed myself. I pushed myself because I knew I would be missing out on the opportunity to find a club for me. If I went with a friend, I would most likely give into peer pressure and pick a club that we both could enjoy. This was my time to be selfish. It was all about me!

I walked through the doors and was immediately greeted with a smile. I looked around, amazed at how many clubs were present. I saw some people maneuvering from table to table through the crowd, some were dancing to the music with their friends, some were talking to representatives from clubs, and some were just looking around probably wondering where to start- just like me. I guess my feet decided to start on the left side because that’s where I was heading. I observed each table as I walked and briefly saw Lexicon and the Thespian club. I was interested in those two, but didn’t feel compelled to learn more. I guess I wasn’t ready to talk yet. I continued to walk around aimlessly, until I found a club called, She’s the First. Its mission is to provide education to girls all around the world. I found that inspiring and admirable. I also saw the Women in Business club, which is the largest club for females. Being that I am a female in the Zicklin School of Business, I knew this could also be a great club for me.

Feeling satisfied, I started walking towards the exit. I was proud of myself for coming a little bit out of my shell so that I could experience the unfamiliar environment and for learning more about the clubs offered at Baruch. I hope that I will become involved the clubs and one day, have a leadership position.

It’s ironic because initially I wasn’t planning on going to this event but my friend wanted to go so I ended up going up him. Surprisingly, it turned out pretty beneficial for me because I needed this for FRO but also because I got to gain some insight on how young entrepreneurs were able to make a success business and the steps it took for them to reach that. To be honest, I forgot the names of the speakers but they were around the ages of 22-26, and one of them was 30ish. They were telling us how when it comes to work ethnics, everyone is always spectating and observing how you work and how much effort you put into it. When it comes to business, it doesn’t matter if you’re good friends with someone, unless they’re as driven as you, you guys won’t be able to reach your goals. The business that they opened up was called Taiyaki which is like a fish shaped waffle cone with ice cream fillings. They got the idea from visiting Japan and Korea and realized how it was a popular desert over there but there was barely any back in the U.S. So they had an idea of what they wanted to open up and from there they molded that idea into a business. They also mentioned how they were short on cash and that it was okay to ask parents for help when it comes to this. I’m actually thankful that I got to hear and gain some insight on this because in the near future, I’ll be looking forward to starting my own business.

Hey everyone!

On Thursday, October 5th, I attended the USG general interest meeting with some of my friends. It was a really great and informative experience that really opened my eyes to what the club was and how it fit in at Baruch. It’s a mock government that helps students have a voice in the matters of day-to-day life at Baruch, as well as, organizing and investing in various clubs.

The atmosphere and people at this meeting was eccentric and inviting,  and with light humor and familiar faces, the club meeting was a really good decision. As well, the team building exercise we had, where we had to build the largest tower out of spaghetti, tape, string and a single marshmallow, was extremely fun. I even ended up getting a water bottle from it!

I hope to attend more meetings and get involved with USG, since it was a ton of fun.

– Alex Rozdolsky

The Student Academic Counseling Center is the tutoring Service that Baruch generously provides to its students. My experience with the student center was amazing since all my problems were solved and all my concepts were clear. It was very convenient to get help as I was not restrained by my professor’s office hours.

The day I had my calculus exam I was extremely confused on some of the topics that the exam consisted of. I tried to find my professor but I could not because of his office hours availability I then recalled our discussion in our fro class about SACC and figured that I should give it a try. When I went there it was so accessible and my concepts were clear. The fact that there were student tutors really plays in our benefit since they understand the specific problem we are confused about in the concept. Overall I had a great experience and I would definitely encourage everyone to use this service.