Category: Uncategorized

A while ago, on October 31st, I decided to attend an On-Campus Recruitment workshop under the now-revealed-to-be false assumption that “on-campus” specifically meant that the workshop was for ordinary part-time jobs and that, by attending, I’d be eligible to get a job, which I did and do somewhat desperately need in order to prevent myself from falling prey to the ever-increasingly-likely chance that I shall become the bum I know I am most likely to be and to be able to raise the social status I have within my family from “the guy who mooches off them” to “the guy who’s less likely to mooch off them.”

So, yeah, going to the workshop then would have been somewhat a waste of time, if not for the additional information covered within the presentation. For example, one of my biggest questions regarding job hunting was covered: whether it would be overkill to send a thank you email after a job interview or a job fair or whatever else to the person to whom I’d spoken, so as to better my minuscule chance of getting a response back; and the answer to that question is that, no, sending a thank you email is not overkill, but rather the recommended action to undertake a day after an event.

To speak with respect to how this workshop will help me with my career path, I gained interview insight, was reminded of some helpful interview tips, and confirmed the best amount of time to be early to an interview, 15–20 minutes.

 

On November 2^nd, I attended Baruch Voices with the homies JJ and Ryan. I’m sure we’ve been told a couple of times where it was going to take place but we forgot. We ate first and then wandered around the first floor. We spent some time exploring and eventually found the room and ran into Noshin! After everything settled down, we sat and waited for the monologues to begin. There were so many faces I haven’t seen before and a thought popped into my mind. “Oh yeah, they’re freshmen too”. Not only that, but also that the speakers went through similar experiences with their first year at college. The transportation was a mess, and the early classes didn’t help either. Most speakers seemed to share the experience of being nervous and meeting new people. It’s a good thing Baruch is a huge school with a lot of students. You see a new face almost everyday so you’re bound to make a new friend! It’s also surrounded by multiple places to grab a bite with friends. Overall, the monologues were relatable and funny. I didn’t expect it to turn into such a good time but it felt nice having company with me. The room we were sitting in turned out to be the first room we went to during the day of orientation. It took me back to that day where I was surrounded by so many faces and yet felt like a stranger. Looking back at it now, despite it only being 3 months, I don’t feel like one anymore. I’m glad I was forced to come out of my comfort zone because I was able to meet new people. Those new people turned into some of my homies and it’s pretty cool. Baruch Voices helped me realize that we all share something in common. 

I, Allen Light, went to Baruch Voices. It was entertaining. It is now Sunday, and I only remember four of the performances, so I would say that only four were memorable.

The first person that was memorable was the Asian male that talked about biting down on ‘juicy, tender’ pop eyes chicken in a tone that made clear that he was thinking about something a good deal more lewd than that.

The second person worth mentioning was a Black female, who talked about how people tended to judge her, before getting to know her. They saw her hair, which according her took two hours to do, and decided someone who spent so long working on her hair can’t be smart. They looked at how she dressed, and decided that she was a whore who had a sugar daddy (her point, not mine). She then went onto this awe inspiring tangent about how she was not average, and that “magnificence radiated off her skin.” I found this to be quite refreshing, because everyone else was there either to do a blog post, or to get something for their resume.

The third person worth noting was a second Black female, who talked about her hair. She remarked that all the models on T.V. had straight hair, so from a young age she tried to imitate them. It was a classic coming of age story. Hated something about herself that she couldn’t change. Tried very hard to fix said defect. Grew up and realized she was perfect just the way she was. She know has curly hair. After her performance I complimented her on it.

The final person worth noting was a new friend I made before the show. Her name is Abigail. She is a Caucasian female. Her monologue was about her life in upstate New York, and how much more exciting the city is.

Because it had been a while since I reviewed what was required to be an actuary and what actuaries do and because everyone who was familiar with Actuarial Science and everyone’s mother had told me that Actuarial Science was hard, I decided to join Baruch’s Baruch Actuarial Science Society to get a better general sense of what an actuary does and to figure out my plan to my career option. And golly gee willikers am I glad I did: all the claims that Actuarial Science is hard—which is mostly why I am decided on this major—were reaffirmed and greatly supported, and it has been stated in every other meeting that it would be best for any would-like-to-be-actuary-majors to start preparing for the actuarial exams in one’s freshman year, while one is not as busy as one will be in the following academic years.

As shown by the provided photo showing my ugly face, I recently went to the club’s Resume Review/Interview prep workshop-like-thing that was stated to be the prelude to the actuary Alex Zaslaviskiy’s continued Interview/Exam prep workshop-like-thing. By the by, purported by the club’s facebook page, Alex is the founder of the club and “[…] works at New York Life,[—a life insurance company that everyone and everyone’s grandmother would kill each other to work at—]and has firsthand knowledge of the actuarial interview process.”
Back to the resume/interview workshop, I believe it wasn’t a waste of my time, even though the majority of the information covered was definitely more valuable to those of the club who have already taken some of the exams or have completed some of the VEE classes that Baruch can’t offer to freshmen: I saw what a typical, rather a desired, actuarial resume looks like; I learned some useful interview skills; some more possible answers to the dreaded “So, what are your strengths and weaknesses?” question were provided; the requisite and desired actuarial skills have been expanded on; and pizza was given.

So, yeah, whereas doubtless few people are able to become an actuary without any which kind of help, I believe that joining this club, the club able to teach a very not-smart person like myself the basic steps to becoming an actuary, was a great choice.

I decided to take advantage of my Baruch ID and go to the New York  Hall of Science for several reasons. First, it is close to my home, I had never gone and always wanted to, and finally, because I figured my little brother would like it as well. I’m currently taking chemistry, a subject I’m not really enjoying at all. I came to the New York City Hall Of Science seeking a topic or exhibition that would bring me closer to like chemistry, or being interested in it at all.

Since the New York City Hall Of Science is an interactive museum, learning was not as tedious as I thought it would be. The first exhibition was really engaging, it explores the possibilities of life beyond earth. Using certain chemical explanations of reactions and patters that have happened at Earth, the exhibition was really interactive and presented several hypothesis of how life could be generated at other places in our solar system. The scientific explanations were pretty simple, and easy to understand, which made it easier for me to enjoy the visit. There were several chemistry terms and explanations I was able to understand, and at some point I did find interesting.

Nonetheless, I have always liked Physics and mechanics better, so my favorite exhibit was the one on my picture called Seeing the Light. There were several exhibits about light and other waves as well. Since it is an interactive museum, I got to understand how light travels through exhibits that would have me doing activities and exploring material.

Although it made me feel like a young child, the Hall of Science was an opportunity for me to see that I do enjoy science, it only takes me a more interactive approach, for me to enjoy it as much as I enjoyed those exhibitions. I believe that the greatest effect it had on my academic enrichment was finding out how to access and study science, since I have to deal with that chemistry class on my block schedule.

A while back, I paid a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in order to draw some kind of inspiration for my college life, for honestly, I am quite the uninspired person. As I went through the exhibits, going over and studying all the paintings and sculptures that dare to be called such, naught seen did anything for me: they neither inspired me nor appealed to me nor even looked so sophisticated or so detailed as to be featured at such a well-renown museum—though I do indeed deny any claims that I have an artistic mind or that I am not one of the worst critics one can recall to have ever been.

However, near the beginning of the latter half of my visit—literally right as I was gearing to go—I came upon the painting featured in my photo, Jackson Pollock’s Autumn Rhythm (Number 30): a literal mess, and indeed a familiar face, or painting—whatever.

Familiarity is due to that I had once had the oh-so-blessed pleasure of having to study the painting during my senior year of high school, in my United States Government class—there wasn’t going to be a regents test for the class, so my teacher didn’t have any which reason to not do whatever he deigned. And as during my museum visit, I had bethought it little more than a mess only prized for humankind’s affinity for the bizarre and original.

However, after recognizing the painting and making the same conclusion about it, I once again made a hilarious connection between it and myself: I, like the painting, am a mess—in fact, in my youth, I was oft called a “hot mess” by my mother for my disregard for decent fashion and for, well, appearing decent. This painting, with its disorder—the painting which I did, and still do, proclaim literal garbage—symbolizes me, who am a walking, talking, surprisingly-still-kicking hot mess; and it convinces me that, since it could gain renown despite its weirdness and disorganization, I can “make it big” and gain fame—though I’d much prefer the former, for I despise attention. This weird manner of gaining confidence helped me regain however much of the confidence I got after y first acquaintance with it and, hopefully, will help me retain such throughout my college years.