Category: Uncategorized

Earlier in the semester, I attended the Study Abroad Fair at Baruch College. It was a good experience for me, especially because studying abroad is something I have always wanted to do. Everybody there was super helpful to me because they provided a lot of helpful, and useful information about the variety of study abroad programs that were offered.

I also learned about all the different types of programs offered for credits. They have one year programs, one semester programs, as well as winter and summer programs. For myself, I think I would benefit the most from doing either a winter or spring program just because I plan on trying to get a job or an internship in the city very soon.

I also learned that a lot of the study abroad programs have study abroad internships, which would be a really unique and fun experience. That would definitely benefit me career wise because it would give me a different kind of work experience and maybe even an advantage. It would strengthen my resume and would probably be an aspect that a lot of people can offer to potential future employers.

I think I would really enjoy doing a study abroad internship program in a European country such as Ireland, England, or Italy. I am very familiar with the cultures here because I am all of these ethnicities. I am currently in school to be an accountant, and by doing an internship program in a professional setting abroad, would look really great for me because it would provide me very unique, very diverse experience with people of a different culture and possibly even a different language, which would be a great aspect to be able to improve upon. I look forward to hopefully participating in one of these study abroad internships very soon!

Having a job already, I honestly did not think that I needed any help with my resume. However, on Monday I decided to set up an appointment for a peer to review my initial resume for the sake of this blog post on Wednesday. At the STARR center, I learned that although my resume was good, it needed a lot of revision to make it more professional. The appointment was pretty self-explanatory, she reviewed my resume for about 30 minutes and she made a lot of revisions. These were merely “superficial”, she didn’t go bullet by bullet and look at the wording of my job descriptions specifically, that would happen in the final resume review.

At the review, I received a thirty-page packet that she (Zoe, the peer reviewer) described as my Bible to resume writing; the Resume & Cover Letter Writing Guide. In it, there were steps to write your resume and there were also about five or six examples of resumes for specific majors and job experiences. I learned about formatting a resume; for example, a resume should have 0.5″ margins, not the standard 1″.

Some examples of revisions that Zoe made for my resume was to take out the summary I had at the beginning of my resume. I remember I had added it because I thought I needed it for retail jobs; but I was sadly mistaken.

One other thing I learned is that I need to join clubs. Apparently employers are looking for people who engage in a variety of different activities outside of class. However, they need to be related to my major. Lexicon, USG, and Baruch’s Key Club (I don’t know the name of it) are examples of clubs where I can possibly interject CIS and show not only creativity but my versatility.

Either way, this resume review was greatly appreciated and greatly needed.           

As a orthodox Jew, coming to Barcuh was terrifying to even thinking about, especially coming straight from Israel. In Israel I learned all about Judaism and for one full year that’s all I did. So coming to a conservative public school, I wouldn’t have any of that here. In Baruch, it was all math, science, English, and barely anything to do with religion.

Before I got here I received an email from the Hillel at Baruch and they told me to stop by during orientation to which I did. They took both my email and my phone number and would constantly send me messages to update me on what was going on the upcoming week. Hillel is a organization that is run by Jewish people to help inform either people who are either Jewish, not Jewish, or not religious about what they do and how to be more connected to the Jewish world.There is one in almost every college. If they don’t have a Hillel, they definitely have a chabad. They organize programs, events both in school and out of school to help students meet each other and interact with each other. They also have programs with different Hillels fromother schools in the city. They bring in phenomenal speakers who are Jewish to help students find their passion and what they want to do with their lives. They recently brought in someone in the army to speak about his experience.

There was one event that I attended with Michael and Stephan that basically just brought all the jewish students a Baruch together and made everyone feel at home. It was really nice and comforting to be in such a great environment and to always know that even at a place like Baruch where religion isn’t so prominent, you would always have the Hillel there to guide you.

About a month ago, I decided to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (the MET). Although I am not passionate about paintings and sculptures as much as I am about other forms of art such as music, I appreciate the grandeur of the art in the museum, as well as the skill required to make such a work of art. In addition, I appreciate art because, like music, it has the ability to convey and/or illicit emotion that words cannot.

It was raining, so there was a lot of people on the line going in, it was wrapping around the trees which cover the block. However, the line moved fairly quickly and I was able to take a look at some of the pieces and leave. One of the pieces that I looked at which was especially beautiful, in my opinion, was Cristobal de Villalpando’s Moses and the Brazen Serpent and the Transfiguration of Jesus. 

My first impression of this piece was “Damn, thats big!” It is over 28 ft tall and 18 ft wide. Villalpando was a Mexican painter who painted during the Baroque period, when paintings and music became grander, more opulent. The subject matter was one which many Catholics knew and believed, the Bible. What struck me about the painting was the scope of the work of art, and how Villalpando was able to connect two seemingly unrelated stories from the Bible almost seamlessly. The brazen serpent, built by Moses based on God’s instructions, is depicted on the bottom. On the top is transfiguration of Christ as He goes to Heaven. They are both related in that the brazen seprent on the cross is a foreshadowing of Christ’s death on the cross; in other words, they are both means of salvation.

Overall, the painting and the other works of art were beautiful to look at and they represent ways in which any emotion can be conveyed, even without words.
         

 

This past Thursday I attended Starr’s LinkedIn event. Here they taught us how to create the best type of online profile to appeal to the career and motive of your choice. Although I already have a pretty strong LinkedIn profile, I thought it would helpful anyways. The first thing we did was look at different types of profiles. We looked at profiles that weren’t necessarily good or bad, but different in their intent. For example, some people had every category of their profile filled out, but some people didn’t because those areas of the profile didn’t pertain to their intentions. The purpose for my LinkedIn account isn’t necessarily for the purpose of growing my network, but rather to re-establish it. The people I have connected with on my LinkedIn include past employers, alumni, and companies that I have worked with. I hope that people I have on my LinkedIn will see my profile and remember my accomplishments for any future hiring opportunities or for referrals to others in the future. I have a strong network of people from Buffalo, people from my Vietnamese Catalyst Foundation, and some in the dance field. I definitely have to remember to keep my LinkedIn updated when certain interests and intentions for its use change.

Last week I attended a Star Career development workshop. The workshop was taught by Ricki Weitzen. At the workshop I learned how to make a cover letter and what it is. A cover letter serves as your formal introduction and first impression on a potential employer or professional contract. For this reason, it is very important that you send a very well written cover letter with a very thorough resume when applying for any professional position. A cover letter is often required and can act as a writing sample for positions that require strong writing skills. A cover letter is a one-page statement of objective that should demonstrate to your employer that your skills and strengths will make you a good match for the organization, corporation or desired position. At the work shop I learned the proper way to write a cover letter and what not to do. I attended this Star Career Development workshop with two friends who also needed to attend it for their freshman seminar class. I already started working on my resume and my cover letter.

Last week I went to the metropolitan museum of art with two of my friends whom also needed to go for their freshman seminar class. Otherwise known as the MET. The metropolitan museum of art is the biggest art museum in the United States of America. There was on oil canvas that really stood out to me. The picture was of a man getting executed and had multiple colors that stood out and called my attention. The canvas was The Execution of Saint John the Baptist. It was painted in the year 1770. This work, by one of the leading painters of the eighteenth-century Bologna, is an oil sketch for a major altarpiece in the church of San Michele, Vercelli, Mid way between Milan and Turin. The painter was Ubaldo Gandolfi. He is an Italian Painter Ubaldo Gandolfi has endowed the scene with a visionary quality, as angels appear to the saint. The contrast between of the executioner rolling up his sleeve and the prayerful attitude of the saint is especially effective. As you can see from the canvas described you can tell why I would be intrigued and fascinated by this painting.

This Thursday I attended a CUNY EDGE workshop being run by Rebecca Marrero. The workshop goal was to teach and inform about proper business etiquette. From the workshop I got information that I already knew and information that was new to me. The information that I already knew was like basic obvious things. Such as be professional at all times. Other information that I already knew about was stuff I learned previous workshops and programs. An example of that is to use a subject, so as to make sure that your email gets read. So it just re-instilled the truthfulness behind the advice. The information that I did not know until the workshop feels that they will come in handy in the future when I am in a professional setting. One that I did not know is that you are supposed to introduce the most important person or the highest ranking first. I had no idea and I will most likely need that in my future line of work. Another thing that I learned is that you should use a signature in your emails. Stating your name and contact information, and also stating that I am an undergraduate and my class (i.e 2021). The instructor gave us a email template to have us write a email for a scenario. Which she used to show us what is good to do and what we should avoid in certain scenarios. She also had volunteers come up,I didn’t want to but she called me out because no one else wanted to. She gave us a task and it was to have one volunteers to introduce the other to me. The setting was an office party and we each had a ranking. She did it to have a visual example of business etiquette. At the very end of the workshop she gave a pamphlet.

Last Thursday, I decided to go to the interview workshop offered by the Baruch Actuarial Science Society. They went in depth into what goes on a actuarial resume and was very helpful answering questions. The club is more than I expected, they offer a lot of advice and help about becoming an actuary and I see that I should attend more of their meetings. They used an example of a bad resume and a good one which, again, was helpful. They were very engaging despite not talking about something fun and emphasized organization and making good bullets. They also had pizza which was great. I was kind of sick and very nauseous so I was worried about throwing up but I guess eating something warm helped. I did not participate since I was so tired and unwell but it was still nice experience to sit back and just absorb the information. There had been a Hong Kong club Halloween meeting and the Anime Asylum club maid cafe that day but since I was not up for socializing or smiling I went alone to this club instead. After going over to resumes, the president continued with going through the process of getting an actuarial job or internship. He mentioned fairs and events, the process of interviewing and how to answer certain questions which was very helpful. The overall process seemed very intimidating and kind of scary but whatever. He and the rest of the eboard members also talked about their own experiences in interviews which was nice. He talked right up to 2:25 which was annoying because I had class in 10 minutes 8 floors down and also because I had to pee. I did not hear what he was saying at the end and I did not really care. Thankfully, the elevator came swiftly. 

Baruch has a lot of amazing clubs and a wide variety to choose from. From student life clubs, to sports teams, to recreational activities like archery, Baruch is sure to have the club for you. I was shocked by the amount of clubs there were at first; the fact that the club fair had more than 50+ booths set up, and that the fair had to be extended to the other gym was amazing. I looked at a few student life clubs like the Hong Kong Club, due to the fact that my mother is from Hong Kong, along with UCLA: United Chinese Language Association that my friends are in. In that club, a few of my older friends that I met through hanging out with my cousin were part of it, and they were sharing their experiences along with what they do and what events they plan out. I have not joined yet, but I do plan to in the near future. Another club that I am joining, however is the archery club. I love archery; ever since I was a Boy Scout going to shooting competitions, to winning my first trophy, to purchasing my first and second bow, I have become an avid recreational shooter that I plan on continuing. I plan on doing another blog post on that soon.  (Please excuse the photo; wish that I had taken another one)