Freshman Seminar Fall 17 LC04

The first few weeks of college have been marked by meeting new people and joining clubs. I decided to join She’s the First, a club that raises awareness and promotes girls education across the world. I also joined the Marketers of Baruch, simply because that is my major and I figured it would be an easy way to meet people with similar interests.

The first club meeting I went to was She’s the First which was my favorite. While the club focuses on more serious topics, the activities they do look really fun. I also recognized the club leaders from the club fair and we all remembered each other. Everyone was really welcoming, and the small group that attended seemed like a big family within minutes. I met even more people and had a slice of pizza, so it was an overall success.

I attended Marketers of Baruch later in the week and that club was packed. I didn’t really have a chance to meet people because the club leaders talked about internships for two hours but overall it was informative and their events will probably benefit me academically. This club will allow me to network and connect me to opportunities.

I am looking forward to more meetings in both clubs. Both hold many events, whether it be business oriented or charity oriented. The GIM were super informative and give me after class activities to look forward to.

The last whole week was dedicated to suicide prevention at Baruch. My boi pierce hmu and said that it was interesting and we should go. I too thought it was interesting so I decided to go to the seminar they had. In the seminar there was a therapist and a counselor who worked outside of Baruch, there was also an army veteran that is going to Baruch, a counselor that works on campus and lastly the head of the psychology department was there.

One of the main things that we talked about was why people commit suicide and how we can prevent people from commuting suicide. We were told that we should always let someone know if we see a friend or not even a friend, anyone we know acting differently , not showing up to class or some sign of depression, we should just go talk to them. And we should be straight. We shall go and ask the person if he is going to commit suicide and even ask him how he is going to do it. This is really weird but that is what the head of the psychology department said so it probably has some truth to it. And of course we should always notify someone.

Another main thing that we talked about was that the term “kill yourself” also known as “kys” became too popular. The popularity of this term really affected the situation badly because someone may say “I want to kill myself” and then you would think it was a joke but what if it is not? Lastly we talked about how Baruch had a free counselor department that is ready to help anyone. We also talked about how we should not feel ashamed of saying that we see a therapist because you would not be ashamed to go to the doctor.

In the end this was a great experience for me and I am glad I attended the seminar.

Last week at Baruch we had a whole week dedicated to suicide and depression prevention and awareness. On Thursday I attended a seminar with a panel of professionals involving this particular topic. We had a school counselor that works on campus at Baruch, a counselor and therapist that works outside of the school campus, the head member of the psychology department, and a Marine Veteran who has had direct involvement with the depression that members of our military often times suffer.

Key topics discussed were trying to keep self-depreciating culture out of our jargon in today’s time. We often times slip self-depreciating words on ourselves when talking with others. Though ending speech patterns like this are hard, it’s key to always be mindful when people speak this way due to the fact that it might be more meaningful than on the surface.

The other main thing we talked about was the need to be conscious of your friends and loved ones. Be constantly aware of changes of mood and demeanor. Always ask and checkup on the ones around you. Anyone can help anyone, it just takes a bit of care.

Lastly, what I’d tell other people about this experience that I didn’t know is that Baruch has a free confidential counseling center. Anyone, at any time could grab an appointment to talk with a counselor about not only depression but anxiety, social pressures, or help at home. It’s a resource open to anyone and I advise people to take advantage of it.

 

From the GIM, I can tell that Lexicon is much different compared to the other clubs here at Baruch. There is a separate team for all aspects of the club, ranging from finance to marketing. This is of high interest for me, since I do not know what field of business I want to join yet. Joining this club would give me more insight into different types of business.

Along with giving me more insight, this club would also help me ease my way into making more friends and really putting myself out there, since this club is present at all the events at Baruch. This would give me an opportunity to meet new people and get more comfortable with the college atmosphere. The current members of the club also seem like great people to surround myself with, since they come across as warmhearted and welcoming. Especially as a freshman, those are the type of positive people I want to network with.

Lexicon is a club that I would be highly interested in joining. Not only would it give me insight into different types of business, but it would also help me become more comfortable with actually pursuing a career in some type of business, since it would give me more experience. In the meeting, the staff also mentioned that you could switch the field that you are in within the club, which is even better.

One thing that really interested me about this specific club is that it is the only real company, or business,  club at Baruch. This was surprising to me because Baruch is mostly a business school. Due to this, I would imagine that there would be more companies or businesses on campus.

Along with having many different teams being involved, Lexicon also goes to all of the events at Baruch. This aspect of the club would help me become more social and comfortable with the Baruch community.

 

 

It is Thursday, September 14th, and I decided to go to the Beta Alpha Psi event.  For all of you that don’t know what BAP is, it is a club at Baruch that helps students that are in the finance and accounting fields to build a network, and in the future to hopefully get a job in their field.  I heard about this group from many people, and heard it would really help me with my interview skills, connections and more.  I went to a general interest meeting last week and heard everything I wanted to hear about the group, but this event was made so we can meet some of the club leaders and just have fun.  I attended this meeting with a friend, and really didn’t know anyone else, but after the meeting was finished, I knew a good amount of new people.  At the event, there were many ice breakers and fun things to do, along with free food!  One of the activities were to pick a skittle out of a bag, and based on the color of the skittle, we had to say something about ourselves whether it was an embarrassing story or the weirdest food we ever ate.  Another activity we had to do was to cover an egg with three different materials, and try to make sure it didn’t crack.  They gave us materials like bubble wrap, cotton, and more.  Ultimately nobody made a good enough cushion for the egg because every single egg cracked, but they gave the win to the peoples egg that cracked the least, and sadly, it wasn’t my group that won..  The last activity was to write a fact about yourself, and crumble it and throw it.  You were supposed to go pick one up, and find the person that wrote yours, but mine said something like, “Sometimes, I lie in bed and think about the one that got away”.  I never found the person, and to this day I still wonder what they were talking about.  This event was a great experience, and it helped me meet new people, which is sometimes very hard to do in college.

When I walked into the general interest meeting for Lexicon the first thing I noticed was the excitement in the room. Usually upperclassmen try and seem superior to the underclassmen however it was evident through their vibrant personalities that they wanted to promote inclusivity and actually help underclassmen assimilate to the new college environment. As the member started talking about their participation and role in Lexicon it was clear that they are extremely passionate about what they do. This is what really got me interested in finding out what Lexicon is and what my role can be if I do decide to join, something that seems really likely right now. What spoke to me the most was the marketing aspect of Lexicon. I want to major in corporate communications so learning how to promote and present Lexicon would provide me with a good foundation for the future. Joining the marketing team will also help me meet new people in Baruch College and actually make friends with people other than my classmates. Another team that sounded interesting was the finance team. The director of this team seemed really happy and excited with what he does which made me excited in it too. However, when he mentioned that finance is the only department that needs to complete paperwork I leaned more towards marketing. I would actually like to attend more meeting and eventually just join the team because it seems like a very fun and productive environment to be in. Instead of just wasting my three hour breaks doing nothing or just eating, I could be doing something useful with my time, like participating in Lexicon. Especially as a freshman, it is important to get involved in clubs as early as possible, as the Lexicon members told me, and I think this would be the best fit for me.

Today I attended the Lexicon GIM meeting. I heard about this club on convocation day when my Freshman Seminar class teacher, David Alverez told my class that he was the President of the club. He encouraged all of us to come to this meeting and that’s what I and some classmates did.

It was really interesting to see what’s this club provides for the school. They have multiple departments to deal with different parts of their club (photography, management, finance etc.). One piece of information from the meeting that I thought was very cool was that this club is notably unique. This is because they create a product, market it and then ultimately sell it. They are a self-sufficient business that is operated by students. I’m really enthusiastic about joining this club full time, but I’m not sure what department I’ll join. I think it will probably be the management one.