Freshman Seminar Fall 17 LC04

There are so many works of art in the MET. All of these works are made by so many different artists. Although some of the works are straightforward, there are also abstract works, which do not have a specific meaning. One artist whose work I came across which was abstract was Rothko. Rothko uses dark colors. From learning about Rothko in an Art History class in high school, I knew that there is a specific distance you are supposed to stand from the painting and a specific amount of time you are supposed to start into the darkness of the painting. Although I tried to do this, it was hard to with all of the guards standing by, keeping a close eye on the visitors.

The section that I loved the most was the section with all of the paintings of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. These religious works were so beautiful and precise. There were so many types of Madonnas and it was interesting to see the evolution of these paintings over time. There were works regarding so many different religions. There was also the area where the works of Islam and the jewelry was on display. The jewelry was so exquisite and so beautiful. There were so many different types of jewelry. It was really so breathtaking. It was amazing to see all the beautiful works and artifacts all together in one place.

It was also a great experience visiting this museum because there were so many works that I have learned about that I got to see in person. Especially taking a course on art history at the moment, it was amazing to see the works up close and personally. It was a new and different experience to see these works personally when I have been learning about them and just seeing projections of them on a screen. Overall, it was a beautiful experience and I plan on going back to visit again soon.

Looking over the boring list of things I must do to make sure I pass my FRO class I figured the Career Fair would be the best choice. I didn’t have much of an interest in going, and to be perfectly honest I didn’t learn much from attending the event.

I took applications and learned about a few companies, none of which I was particularly thrilled or wooed by. I caught myself mostly staring into space and focusing on the hunger in my stomach.

I suppose I did get a good feel for what types of companies I should be looking at. It made me re-evaluate my career choices and whether or not Baruch was the college for me. Even though my response wasn’t the most positive I can see how this could be a beneficial resource for young students looking for guidance in their careers.

During this semester I took a trip to the Jewish Heritage museum in Battery Park. The museum provided a more in-depth look at Jewish culture as a whole and also, paid special tribute to the events of the holocaust.  A structure that really stood out to me personally was the Garden of Stones by Andy Goldsworthy. This garden holds tremendous symbolism. It features 18 trees spread out throughout the garden, each of these trees are portrayed growing through a rock. In Jewish culture death is often associated with inanimate objects such as rocks. But what makes this architecture so unique, is that the trees are growing out of the rocks. Trees are often associated with life and the preservation of life. So the memorial represents life growing out of death. It conveys a powerful message that we must not let the death of the Jews be forgotten, but we must not let it place a hold on our lives. There is also, a very symbolic meaning behind the number of trees. The 18 symbolizes chai which is the Jewish word for life, again Goldsworthy tries to find meaning from the large amounts of death and devastation. The museum also featured a room, filled with pictures of the victims of the holocaust. This part of the exhibition was very melancholy, but it also made me realize just how many lives were lost in this terrible event. My favorite part of the museum by far was the top floor, in which you can overlook both the garden and the statue of liberty.

Overall, the museum was a great experience. I would recommend people visit it at least once in their life. It really provides insight into the Jewish culture and delves deeper into the holocaust and the events that took place during WW2.

Although this wasn’t the last option in our handbook, for some reason I felt least comfortable completing this one out of all of them. I have always been good at being on top of my game when it came to school work that I never really paid much mind to life after school has ended. My parents always told me to focus on school and nothing else. And here I am 18 years later without having worked a single day in my life. Dressing up and meeting new people to talk about future careers seemed quite daunting to me, even though I am pretty good at first impressions and coming up with small talk. But I worked up the courage, put on a business casual outfit, and made my way to Baruch to complete the last task for this class.

When I initially got there I was surprised to see how many people were already lined up. It made me feel kind of left behind actually and that I was not being proactive enough in figuring out what I want to do with my life after school ends. I still have four years but with this semester flying by in the blink of an eye I finally realized that if I am ever going to start now would be the time. Before I walked in I felt kind of nervous. I usually do well in these social interactions situation however, this felt different. There was more pressure on me because I realized I am now responsible for myself. People were surrounded me and I approached people and they approached me. Soon enough, I felt myself getting more comfortable with talking to all these professionals and learning about what I can do in my life beyond Baruch. I spoke to them about future careers and internships while still in school and just how life changes. It was light conversation yet incredibly informational.

I left the career fair with heaps of information and answers to questions that I didn’t even have before that day. It is very easy for me to say that I am now more confident in going out there and grabbing my future and all these opportunities that are right in front of me. Although that day was informational I was not quite ready to commit to anything because I was not yet settled into Baruch and college life in general. However, I know for a fact that the next career fair I will enter with a more positive attitude and no nerves within me ready to take a few steps forward into finally committing to my future.

Earlier this semester I used Baruch’s Starr Career Development Center in order to help me perfect my resume in my job hunt. Up until that point I hadn’t written a resume in almost two years and was looking to completely re-write the one I had. However, I wasn’t in high school anymore and didn’t have my business teachers available to help me in doing so. Once I had deleted my old resume I was feeling really lost on what to do. I didn’t remember what I had learned about formatting, organization or how to write a cover letter. I was terrified that if my resume wasn’t perfect, I’d be hopeless in getting a part time job. (You most likely wouldn’t be hopeless, but it is really important to have a great resume!)

However, I was happy to find out that Baruch offers an extensive program that helps its students find careers, and even do the small things such as writing a resume (and the cover letter!). I personally used the Starr website, which is just as easily accessible as the Starr Center on campus. So, I sat myself down and watched the tutorial video on how to construct my resume. There was also extensive articles and step-by-steps which I made sure to refer to as well. It definitely helped me a lot. It was good having that professional guidance, and it was really easy do it online as well. Had I just asked a friend to help me write my resume, it probably would have been a disaster and I most likely wouldn’t have gotten the job I applied for.

At the end of it all, I was super confident in my resume and am really grateful that Baruch offers these sorts of resources. I am looking forward to continuing to use and discovering more about the Starr Center during my time at Baruch. I feel with these resources on our side, students can really benefit, whether it be in small or big ways, in their future careers. 

I heard about this career fair after finding out that I couldn’t play basketball because of it.  After already walking downstairs, I figured I might as well check out what all this fuss was about.  I came from a job interview, so I was already dressed professionally, and was good to go.  The event took place in both gyms and had a lot of students and companies.  At first, I was a bit nervous and intimidated because I didn’t know how to start a conversation with all these wealthy businessmen.  After a while, I felt more comfortable, and I was able to talk to different people from different organizations.  After speaking to many companies, some of them offered job applications.  The reason behind me visiting this fair, however, wasn’t to find job, but to just expand my knowledge and help myself understand what I want to do when I’m older.  I went home and researched some of the companies that I saw at the fair, and I learned a lot about what they do and more.  After all this, I realized, even though you can make a lot working for different companies, I want to follow after a Jay Z quote from “Diamonds in Sierra Leone” in which he said, “Im not a businessman, Im a business man”.  I would recommend this fair to everyone, especially incoming freshman who don’t know exactly what they want to do when they’re older.  It really helped me find out a lot of things I didnt know, and although at first it may be intimidating, you will get more comfortable, and learn a lot of things, and maybe even figure out what you want to do when you’re older.