Author: a.choudhry1

For my third blog post, I attended a networking event with IBM hosted by the Muslim Student Association Club. In the event, the speaker discussed the importance of networking and how it is imperative to keep a certain type of mindset while going to networking event. She discussed how you shouldn’t go to an event with the mindset that you are going to talk to one certain person/ company and be open to your options. It is better to have a well-rounded resume but when talking to a professional a person shouldn’t go off on a tangent by listing everything on their resume.

Then, we broke off into little groups into three with one IBM professional. The professionals at the event were recent graduates and this was something I liked because since we were so close in age it was easier to talk to them. The professional in my group was Nikita Mary Singareddy. She was a recent graduate from Columbia University and she showed us her Linkedin. She told me that it is important to keep an updated Linkedin and how sometimes professionals might just search you up at Linkedin. She told me that since I was a freshman, I should start looking for internships for the next semester.

One takeaway I had from this event was that when talking to a professional, it is better to ask them some personal questions like how was your day, what did you think of this job you had. One joke that the lady made was successful people love talking about themselves and you should use that to your advantage at times. After this event, I made a Linkedin. This workshop helped me realize how I should deal with professional at networking events which would help me in my career path.

I am a biology major in Baruch and I am planning on taking two science classes next semester. Although taking Biology and Chemistry together will be a challenge, I feel like I can handle it. The Biology class I will be taking has lab twice a week while chemistry has lab once a week. I have taken two science classes before in high school at once, so I think I can most likely handle the challenge.

          As a science major, I had to have a consult meeting with Mr. Wahlert who is the science department chair. The science department is on 17 Lex and is located on the sixth floor.  All students need to pre-register in the department office for the science courses in the semester prior to taking them. I had to go to the office for a total of three times. The first time I went to get the specialised major form and the second time I went to have the meeting with the department chair.

The meeting lasted for about twenty minutes. I told Mr. Wahlert that I am a biology major and he informed me about the prerequisites for the major. He also helped me fill on the sheet for the science classes I will be taking in the next few semesters. The sheet was about the fact that I am making a commitment to take these science courses as a part of my major. With his help, I made a tentative list about the elective courses I will be taking for my major and I learned what prerequisites i need to take in order to take a specific class.

After the meeting I was over, I was given a new copy of the intended science classes sheet that I was suppose to re-do. The consultation was very helpful as I became better informed on how I should proceed in the decision of choosing my classes for the upcoming semesters.

I took a picture of the worksheets he gave me because I thought it would just be weird to take a picture with him. Sorry about that. I can also show a confirmation email as proof that I went.

In the room, there were about fifty students, about half of them being freshman. The interest meeting began with a ice breaker. Everyone took turns stating what year they are in, their major and something interesting about themselves. This took about twenty minutes. The ice breaker was effective in introducing ourselves but I feel like they could have done a better job engaging everyone present with one another. As a prospective science major, I felt a bit relieved that some freshman also stated that they are a science major. Being a science major in a school where everyone talks about business is a unique experience.

In the meeting, it was revealed that the Muslim Student Association club is closely tied in with the Women In Islam club and the Muslim Business Association club. Women In Islam is a club that focuses on women and the rights/ role given to them in Islam. It is also a place to develop a sisterhood bond. Women In Islam often does co-ed events as well and is not always exclusively for girls. Muslim Business Association is a club that exclusively focuses on business and is a good club for people who are interested in business to join.

Muslim Student Association is a club whose primary goal is to provide a welcoming atmosphere for Muslims and non-Muslims alike in order to inform them about the religion of Islam. I appreciated this statement because as a Muslim it makes me happy that there is a MSA in college as well. I was actually the President of my high school’s MSA during my senior year. I also found out that Baruch has a designated prayer room for both girls and guys. The atmosphere emitted by the committee members was very welcoming and it was something I greatly appreciated.

After the meeting, everyone got to have food. The food was thai shrimp fried rice and I did not eat it as I had already gotten food earlier. Near the end of the meeting, the president of the Women In Islam club, informed us that there are available committee positions that are open to anyone regardless of their grade. She convinced me to fill out the application. I thought that this was a good approach as it got freshman to be more involved in a club. The best part of MSA is that it does not host meeting every week so it is possible to join several clubs.

MSA is hosting a Eid Party on September 19th and the best part of the party is that it is open to everyone regardless of whether or not they attend Baruch. I think that the Eid party will be a good way to actively engage prospective MSA members with one another. My friends and I are going to go to Eid event and we are planning on dressing up by wearing traditional clothing. Eid is an Islamic holiday and Eid-ul-Adha happened about twenty days ago. The event is good way to bring the Muslim and non-Muslim community together.

The picture is of Sadia and I. Sadia is the treasurer in MSA.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/11G0MwvPmuLyotvEXyWzb9Hnvtr6PtMBTyIsOe2ybTKA/edit?usp=sharing