Author: d.levy

This past Thursday I attended the Start-Up Tech Fair hosted by Hillel at Baruch College. There I networked with the industry’s leading power players in the tech field. The experience was like no other. One particular company I spoke with aimed to revolutionize advertisements. This company, ChatDynamo are experts at growing chatbot audiences. Chatbots are automated messages generated by a computer to stimulate conversation between itself and the human consumer. I enjoyed speaking with the CEO of ChatDynamo the most out of each company representative at the Start-Up Tech Fair. I also had the opportunity to meet other students involved within the Hillel community that I didn’t know prior to the fair. I made a strong decision in deciding to attend the fair which surely paid off. I aim to now build upon the connections I created and attempt to gain an internship out of one of the companies I envision myself within. I also aspire to keep strong the friendly relationships I created with the Hillel students I met. The advantage of attending Baruch College is that the school provides many opportunities to meet with business professionals. By having a hard working office of Student Life that works behind the scenes to allow clubs such as Hillel, the college is able to permit networking events weekly. Earlier in the semester I struggled to envision my future as a student of Baruch College. Gradually I’ve become more comfortable and have began to see all the opportunities the College provides. After Thursday’s event, I am proud to say that I am a Baruch College student looking to prepare for his future. Thank you Karl and Jean for your continued support from day one. As my mentors you shaped me not only as a student but as a member of the Baruch College community.

For my second blog post, I have decided to write about my experience with the SACC Tutoring Service here at Baruch College. Amidst an upcoming math midterm, myself along with a few other students decided to take a journey to the SACC in an effort to familiarize ourselves with the content on the exam. The first step I took in guaranteeing myself a tutoring session was signing up online at SACC’s own website. Their, I entered my Baruch Emplid ID and my name and reserved a two hour slot with a private pre-calculus tutor. I then proceeded with my school day, for my session would not occur until the following afternoon. Twenty four hours later, I traveled to the SACC center and was met by my tutor and fellow classmates. As a group, we worked together in tackling the Pre-Calc Midterm 1 review sheet which we never even 100% completed! Despite this, i still enjoyed my only second time in the SACC center, an event well worth the trip. Upon competition with the session I concluded that I had not only learned much but now had an instilled confidence within me, in regards to performing well on the exam. I also found joy in the fact that I spent quality time with my classmates outside the classroom (something that does not normally occur). Two days later, I found myself applying all the information I have learned onto my very own pre-calc midterm. Afterwards, I was relieved that the exam was over. Although, when the test grades were released online nearly two weeks later, I saw that I did not perform to my highest expectations. I received a 70 out of a possible 100 points. This was the first test I took within Baruch College and would serve as a reflection until this day. Unfortunately, this test broke my freshmen heart. I thought it was all over. I believed, “that’s it, i’m done, gotta transfer out of Baruch and go to a different college”. I did not know what to think. But as I would soon learn, despite how much I prepared for this test, it was still my first test of college and was only one of many to come. I realized that I had the opportunity to raise my grades and my spirits and travel back once again to the SACC, in an effort to redeem myself. T-1 Week until my next pre-calc midterm. Gotta go!

This past weekend I attended the 35th annual leadership weekend hosted by Baruch College at YMCA Camp Speers in Dingmans, Pennsylvania. This trip was a great opportunity to make friends and gain leadership qualities. The trip began with a 4 hour bus ride that eventually led to myself making about 20 friends. Those individuals quickly became very close to me and eventually we formed into a so called, “back of the bus squad”. Upon arrival at camp, I was happy that I already had 20 friends and quickly grew even closer to them through dinner and the rest of that night. I continued to make new bonds and express myself through others, eventually staying up until 7:15AM. The first night proved to be an exhilarating experience that would model the remaining 2 days of the trip. The next day, I awoke and headed to breakfast and felt safe and comfortable amongst people I knew and people I would eventually get to know. The day consisted of myself making more friends and developing my strengths through a multitude of leadership activities. I later explored my new found relationships through team building activities such as zip-lining and later a relaxed basketball game. Later that night, there was a talent show that was truly a life changing event. People shared their talents as well their stories. Those stories reflected upon their own personal experiences including family, friends, and travel. The reason the talent show affected me so much is because I was able to appreciate the acts and more importantly the people performing them. It takes strength, courage, and the attributes to become a leader, to go up on stage in front of over 100 people and be yourself. I am astonished by these acts and the confidence of the performers. After this event I felt that the Leadership Weekend began to take shape and impact me. That night I took it upon myself to make even more friends and try to show them my own leadership qualities. The next and final day, I sat through a speech by Dean King. Although I nearly fell asleep, the small bits and pieces I do remember reinforced the qualities of leadership that I learned over the weekend. My favorite part of the entire trip were the meal times of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I love all you can eat food and to be honest I was very happy. Although, that is not the reason I enjoyed the meal times the most. The reason was as follows; when I sat around the table and saw and recognized all the familiar faces, I truly felt I was surrounded by family. It replicated the family dinners I have at home every week. Leadership Weekend did teach me the qualities of being a leader, but more importantly it introduced me to 99 other strangers that eventually became my good friends. This experience was life changing and I feel blessed I was able to participate in this event. I will remember leadership weekend for a lifetime and will stay connected with all the friends I made and represent the great leader I became!