We were not allowed to take pictures during the workshop. I decided to go to a Networking workshop for my third enrichment workshop. I chose this instead of other because I wanted to have an idea of the technical aspect of this essential skill and practice. I enjoyed going to the workshop because the information was straightforward and helpful. Although we started later than expected, we managed to complete the workshop. It was Networking 101, therefore we only got an insight of what this practice is about. We were provided a manual that had all the information from the Power Point presentation for us to focus exclusively on the content. We discussed how to take advantage of networking opportunities and how not to make it awkward. We received some advice from people who knew about the topic. The course was taught from our perspective, meaning it focused on what we as students can do when any networking opportunity comes, and how to behave. Another activity we did was to prepare a personal pitch, I had never done one. It was difficult at first but then we managed to design it pretty well. I still think I need to come up with something good when the time comes to introduce myself to someone I could network with. Also, by going to this workshop I realize how many opportunities and workshops Baruch has to offer, and how I do need all these workshops because otherwise I would feel pretty lost in the professional world. I am looking forward to attend more workshop because even if they are short and focus pretty much on technical aspects, they can open paths to more knowledge and to build confidence on me that I could probably survive, again the professional world. I am really glad to attend a school that concerns about this, and I am willing to take full advantage of these opportunities. Something I would have liked to do more during the workshop is to actually practice how a networking interview would go, because again, as they were explaining, is really hard to achieve goals from one appointment and the wrong impression could significantly decrease my chances to build a strong network connection with someone else. Another important thing I learned is the power of Linkedin. I had never considered to create a profile before attending the workshop because I had not understood the potential this social network has to build networking connection. I guess I will attend a workshop that teaches me how to properly created a profile, to avoid any mistakes and wrong impression and expand my networking opportunities. Again, I am aware that I still have many workshops ahead to learn and develop better skills that would allow me to succeed in professional fields.
Month: November 2017
Going to the MOMA
For my final blog post on the academic section, I chose to go to the museum. I was asking my friends for museum recommendations and they all suggested that I go to the MOMA or Museum Of Modern Arts. Entry was free with student ID so how could I not go. Going to the Museum of Modern Arts was a new experience for me because the last time I went to a museum was in elementary school and I could not remember anything about that trip. I was looking at paintings on the 5th floor of the MOMA. The 5th floor has many pictures from the French. So the first picture that really interested me was a picture from Henri Matisse. The title of the picture is Interior with a Young girl from 1905-06. The picture was a intimate scene of his daughter. Such a simple scene was painted so nicely and had a lot of messages. The next picture that really interested me was a picture by Georges Braque. The picture is titled The Large trees from 1906-07. Georges Braque had a goal of making more vividly colorful images of nature. He painted some trees near the Bay of Marseilles. Again, we see such a simple image turn into something complex with colors popping that gives us many messages. The final picture that interested me was by Andre Derain titled Charing Cross Bridge from 1905-06. In this picture, Andre Derain drew the London Sky with very dramatic color. In the summer of 1905, he developed this bright palette while painting along Henri Mattisse in France. They both produced the most radical canvases to date. Going to the MOMA made me realize that painting to me is really relaxing. I went by myself and stayed for almost an hour. During that hour, I was just reading the paintings and their history. The history behind some paintings were really interesting. For example, some paintings from the holocaust were interesting because those painters were there and encountered what was happening in the world at that time. This MOMA experience makes a part of me wanting to take an Art class next semester because I realized that painting isn’t boring. Painting is a way to express one persons feelings and stories. I’m really interested to see what other painters stories are so i’m seriously considering taking an art class next semester.
Linkedin Workshop
I went to the Linkedin Workshop today 11/27 from 12:30-2:30 at the Newman Vertical Campus room 3-215. I found this workshop through the Baruch Student Life website. I was really interested in going to this workshop because I knew very little of Linkedin and wanted to know more about it. All i knew before hand was that it’s a profile where employers look and determine if they should hire you or not. This workshop was an explanation of Linkedin and how to improve your Linkedin profile. So the first things they talked about is the purpose of Linkedin. I learned that Linkedin is kind of like a social media site that helps people network professionally. This site lets you find business, peers and clients. So the first thing they talked about on how to improve your Linkedin account is to update your profile and take a good picture. Post a professional picture with you smiling with no colored background. The picture is important because it shows what kind of person you can be. The next way to improve your Linkedin profile is to make your own custom URL. The main purpose of this is to make yourself easier to find. Next tip for a better Linkedin account is to ask for recommendations. They compared it like a restaurant. No one would go to a restaurant with no reviews at all. People would go to restaurants that have many reviews and good ones. So they encouraged us to ask colleagues, supervisors, generally anyone you worked with for recommendations. They can go a long way even if it’s just one. Another way to use Linkedin to it’s best advantage is to not only follow people you know, but follow people you don’t know and join groups. This is all about networking and part of that is meeting new people that you can help and that can help you. Lastly, they said to stay active on Linkedin. For example, post your own content. Overall this experience was a good one for me. I never really used Linkedin before but now, I am probably going to give it a shot. Going forward, I learned that Linkedin is a great way to find jobs through networking and learned some few tips on how to make my profile a standout one. With these tips that I learned from the workshop, I will use them to the best of my ability.
Career: Attending an On-Campus Recruitment Workshop
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.
Baruch Voices
For my career blog, I decided to go to Baruch voices. Baruch voices is an event where freshmans just like me get a chance to present their monologue in front of their peers. I decided to go because I wanted to hear different monologues. I wanted to see the different stories everyone has to share and the different backgrounds they come from. I went into Baruch voices a little late so they already began their monologues. That’s why I only took a picture of my hand with my name on it. So, the first person I listened to speak talked about how 9/11 affected his family and made non muslims racist towards muslims. It was a strong monologue because he was facing racism everyday. People were calling him Osama and he was getting picked on at school. The second person I heard from was talking about moving to America and being lonely. He came from China and had no friends because he didn’t know how to speak English. It got really sad when he was talking about how when he moved from China, he left his parents behind in China because they were giving him the education he needed to pursue his dreams in America. The third person I listened to was rapping about fake friends. He was rapping about how one of his best friend betrayed him and was talking trash about him behind his back. The rap was really emotional for him because you can tell he was really in to it. The fourth guy I listened to was the most funny. The 4th guy was talking about a spongebob episode indirectly. He mad it seem like it was his life and it was through his point of view, but in the end it took a huge turn and everyone knew that he was talking about a spongebob episode. It was really funny because throughout the whole speech, he was really serious until the end. The final person I listened to was talking about how the 5 dollar box in Popeyes meant the world to him. He said if there was no 5 dollar box then life would be useless to him. I relate to that because I always get popeyes when they have that deal but when they don’t, I have nothing to eat. Overall, my experience there was pretty cool. I got to know some peoples back stories and listened to some really interesting monologues.
Writing Center Session
Around three weeks ago, I visited the Main Writing Center at room 8-815 on the Newman Vertical Campus. I had to schedule the appointment a week prior to my meeting and I was very surprised at how quickly the available spots filled up. It seemed to me that the Writing Center and its resources are in high demand by other students, and so I believed that my meeting with them will help me write and improve the essay I brought. My English professor required my class to consult the Writing Center for a critical analysis essay we had and I wanted to check out the center regardless so I was able to kill two birds with one stone. Thankfully, the session was quite beneficial. The 50 minute meeting started out with both me and the staff member (Sasha Graybosch) reading the draft of my essay and annotating. Afterwards we exchanged our opinions and observations on my draft. She noticed significant things about my essay and gave good feedback from a third person perspective that I would not have noticed on my own. I told her the struggles and worries I had about my writing and we attempted to tackle it together. One aspect I had trouble with for example, was forming a connection between the literature and society, as was a key component of the essay. Sasha and I discussed possible ideas and came up with a few strong ones I could use. At the end of the session she filled out a report about what we covered during our session and she emailed that to my professor for proof and also to myself so I will not forget my progress. After the Writing Center session, my essay took a drastic turn and was changed a lot. However, it helped make it stronger and of higher quality. Meeting with Sasha was incredibly helpful and I plan on returning to the Writing Center in the future for any assignments I experience difficulty with.
STARR Workshop
Recently, I attended a workshop that was hosted by STARR careers. It was called “Let’s Get Started: Building Blocks for First and Second Year Students.” At first I was a bit hesitant about going to this workshop because I felt that I had already knew enough about this school and about the resources that were available to me. However I decided to go anyways as it couldn’t hurt to find out more.
At first, I was a few minutes late so I was a little hesitant in walking in. A few other of my peers also showed up and so we all walked in together. The speaker welcomed us in warmly and filled us in the few minutes we missed. I had found out that there were much more resources that are available on campus to help settle on a major. I learned that talking to a professor in that field often helps because they might have past experience working in the jobs that we are seeking ourselves. Their insights can settle any wavering thought between majors or even convince us why not to pick that job.
Another thing that I learned was that making a LinkedIn will be beneficial when applying for jobs and internship. A lot of information that is not on our resume appears on our profile and it sheds a light on our personality that may not be seen during the interview. Also, we have to make sure that nothing inappropriate is posted or even shared to any of our social media accounts. Anything that is public can be found by future employers and seeing a picture of us drinking or anything else bad won’t be seen positively.
Overall, it was a pleasant experience because I had also learned that my peers were stuck in the same place I was in. The other students had some sense of what they wanted to do but was not sure of the first steps to take. I had thought that most of the other students at this school would already have their paths planned out but it was reassuring that they did not. 
Career- Baruch voices
The real and only reason why I attended Baruch Voices was to complete my blog for my FRO class. This was probably the reason for a lot of the audience to come, since the announcers reminded everyone to take their picture for the FRO blogs. I thought the Baruch Voices would be very plain and simple, including of poems and stories of everyone’s experiences. I wasn’t wrong but there was something special about the event. Baruch voices included poems, raps, inspirational messages, and personal stories. Although these appear very plain and simple, there were a lot of times where I felt like we shared the same experiences. I felt connected being surrounded by my fellow peers who are all new to this environment. There were a lot of times where I caught myself laughing or feeling empowered, a roller coaster of emotions. I really enjoyed a couple of stories such as: a student talking about his first week in Baruch and his first time experiencing Popeye’s chicken and the happiness he felt from eating a Popeye’s chicken. Or another story about someone who was interning at a hospital and while shadowing a doctor, messed up really badly with a patient and almost got him more injured. There were also inspirational speeches. One inspirational speech that stood out to me was about her individualism and how she is perceived but she does not care about others opinion and “how dare they judge her?”. I thought that I would gain nothing from this experience and it would be a complete waste of time besides being able to complete my blog for FRO. I was wrong, I actually enjoyed going to Baruch Voices and also made a friend through it. So it wasn’t too bad and I felt pleased that all of us in that room had the same feeling of worry but excitement about our new adventure together.
Sat in the front row on the right. Forgot to take a picture of me in the frame lol.
Baruch Voices
On November 3, I went to Baruch Voices with a few my friends. It was a bit difficult trying to figure out where it was because in the back of my mind, I knew it was at the multi-purpose room, but my friends didn’t believe me and thought that it was at BPAC or the Lawrence and Eris Field Building. We decided to check out BPAC first since it was closer to Baruch’s main entrance, but we got lost in the process of trying to get there, so we went to the multi-purpose room instead. By the time we got there, we were around ten minutes late, but thankfully the event didn’t start yet, so we didn’t miss anything. It was an enjoyable experience listening to perform their monologues. Many of them were about the same topic, which was adjusting to Baruch and starting a new life in college. Nevertheless, it was great listening to different people share their experiences, dreams, and aspirations. Some of the monologues really stood out to me. One of them was about a girl facing discrimination for being an African American. She explained how teachers were shocked to see her give correct answers eloquently because of the way she dressed, the way her hair looked, but most of all, the color of her skin. Despite this, she ignored all of the unwarranted judgment and holds herself high, proclaiming herself to be an over-achiever and an academic scholar. There was also a monologue about a boy’s hospital experience. He thought his life would be better once he left high school, but that was not the case. It was really funny because it was entirely a blunder. He kept making comical mistakes one after another, and he provided funny commentary to help everyone envision his experience. In a way, I kind of pitied him because some of the things he did were terrible to a level that should not be spoken. In the end, I had a good time at Baruch Voices. I thought it was going to be boring and dreadful, but it was a lot better than I expected.
Career workshop
I decided to come to Baruch for better education in order to get better career. Even though I am a freshman now, my final goal is successful career, and I think I should start learning and preparing for it. Therefore, I decided to attend the On Campus Recruiting Workshop.
On-campus recruitment is a special program that recruiters from many famous companies to interview students on campus such as EY, JP Morgan Chase, and Bank of America. Students can interview for internship and full-tine job. Full time job is only open to seniors and internship opportunities is open to juniors (some freshmen and sophomores may be considered.)
In the workshop, the instructor explained steps about the On-Campus Recruitment program very specifically and answered our questions. She went over resume, cover letters, interview skills, and OCR deadline policies. For resume, she told us it will be better to limit the resume to one page and the format of the resume is really important. Interview is the most important part for getting a job opportunity. I learned that research about the company and position before the interview is very important because it provides more information to answer the questions and show you are really care about this job and this company. Also, she told us show your confidence, but try to avoid arrogance. Try to make eye contact and stay calm during the interview. After the interview, it is better to send a Thank You note to the people you meet. In this workshop, it provides me many important information that I didn’t know before. It gives me a direction to prepare my internship in the future. Therefore, this workshop is very helpful even though I am not applying for On Campus Recruitment right now. It provides me more information on how to achieve my goal and my career.