i.huang – Freshman Seminar Fall 17 LC10

Career Workshop

On October 30th, I attended a Starr Career Development Workshop for internships. It provided me knowledge on resources that I can use to find internships and apply for them. Before I went to the workshop, I did not know much about internships and the different kinds that are available to me. For example, I did not know that there were credit internships and that unpaid internships without compensation are illegal. I also learned about On Campus Recruitment, which is when representatives from companies come to the Baruch campus to interview and recruit students for interning. Although it sounded like a very competitive and difficult application process, I am considering on applying for it. During the workshop, I learned more about paid internships and that they must pay at least minimum wage. For credit internships, I learned that they can you can receive credit for certain courses when you intern. Baruch has a lot of resources for internships, including workshops and tutorials. They also provide help with making resumes. The presenter talked about how to write a resume and gave us guidelines to use. Although I already knew how to write one, it is good to refresh my memory on how to write it. The presenter also talked about interviews and how to present yourself during one. He went over what would happen during an interview and what type of questions interviewers would ask. He also went over how we should prepare for interviews and that after interviews, it is polite to send a thank you letter to the interviewer(s).

It is best to start an internship as soon as possible, but I might want to wait until sophomore year to apply for one. I’m not quite sure what I would like to do, but I know I would prefer a paid internship over a credit internship.

FIT Museum

Today, my friends and I went to the FIT Museum out of curiosity. We decided that we should take a look at it since we were so close to it. The ongoing exhibit is called “Force of Nature,” and there were some stunning pieces of fashion displayed. According to the pamphlet, “the exhibition reveals how nature has historically influenced fashion, and how fashion can serve as an indicator of society’s relationship with the natural world.” One of the first pieces that caught my eye was a beautiful evening gown with a flower-like bodice. It was designed by Charles James in the 20th century, and he was known for envisioning his clients as exotic flowers. Many of the dresses were based on European fashion and designed with the theme of nature in mind. There were dresses with floral textiles, and there were dresses with animal patterns. One of my favorite animal-themed dresses was based on the red tanager. It was a black and red dress accompanied with a hat adorned with red and black feathers. It was quite fascinating to see all these pieces of European clothing featuring different flowers and animals that were found in nature. I was always interested in fashion, so this exhibit was really cool in my opinion. The exhibit was not that big, though. My friends and I expected that it would be a lot larger, but despite its small size, it was nice to see so many different pieces of fashion.I learned a lot of information about the history related to the fashion and the designers who made the pieces. It was trivial information for me, but it provided a different insight on the history from the 18th century to the 20th century, especially on the Enlightenment. Although the exhibit itself did not really assist me in my first semester here at Baruch, it was nice to socialize and spend time with my friends outside of the school. I have not explored the city a lot, so it was nice to go to a new area and familiarize myself with this place.

UCLA Meet

My first impression of UCLA, the United Chinese Language Association, is that it is a very large community. All the club members are very friendly, and a lot of people seem to know each other there. UCLA is a club that is designated to Chinese culture and heritage, but everyone is welcome to join and participate in its events. Out of curiosity, I decided to go to its second meet on Thursday, September 7th. When I arrived to the meet, I was pretty surprised to see how many people there were. The room was packed, and all the seats were filled, so many people were sitting on the floor. Although I was kind of late, everyone was very welcoming. When I joined them, they were in the middle of a Google Feud session, which was pretty hilarious. A lot of people were participating, much to my surprise, and I found myself wanting to take part in the game as well. Everyone was yelling a plethora of silly answers, and it was very amusing. After playing Google Feud, we played Zoom, a game where we had to guess what the very zoomed in picture is. This game was harder than I thought, although other people had no problems with it. There was one person who got most of the answers correct. Throughout the meet, many students were laughing, shouting out answers, and enjoying themselves. Eventually, the games had to come to an end, but the meet was not over yet. There were refreshments, which were Chinese food and drinks. As we all ate, we socialized and talked to people both familiar and new. UCLA seems to be a very inviting group, and I am considering in joining it. Although I don’t particularly like large groups, UCLA is very friendly, and I feel quite comfortable to be in a group like theirs.