Being a Jew in a secular college has its own challenges to say the least. But having spent a year and a half in Israel, I came into Baruch a semester behind all of my friends who decided to end their respective Israel trips six months before. So even within the tight knit Jewish community in Baruch I sort of felt like an outsider since everyone was so accustomed already.

Within the first hour of stepping into Baruch for my first class I heard about the Hillel. It was odd to me that I never heard of the Hillel on campus before, but when I came to visit, I immediately felt like there was a community in my school that I feel comfortable associating myself with and shares my values.

Hillel held an event two weeks ago to introduce all the various student run groups that they offer. YOFI (Youth organization for Israel) is a group that meets together to discuss different challenges and perspectives towards Israel. Tamid is a business-orientated group that tracks and studies the economy and market trends in Israel. Both groups and many others provide an outlet for like-minded Jewish students to get together and discuss substantive matters while simultaneously preparing each person with real life skills. Each board member of the Hillel went to the meeting and stuck around after to answer questions.

The Spring semester is a very awkward time to start college. Most of the students that surround you are already accustomed to the college environment and know how to navigate Baruch life. But the Hillel serves as a place where you know you have a community of people that can relate to what you’re going through and have the tools to get you started and comfortable in a place where that’s normally a challenge.

Even before entering Baruch College, I was warned about the difficulty of the Math courses. To my expected surprise, those accounts have proven to be quite true. Math and I have a very strained relationship to say the least. I wish that was not so as I truly feel that Math should be “easy” since it always works. Such has not been the case for my and my studies. Despite my lack of love for Math, I do recognize that it is invaluable.

During my Pre Calculus class, I consistently feel that I am hanging on for dear life. Or fighting a losing battle. These are definitely not feelings that inspire confidence and for someone like me, it only adds to the dread of each approaching class.

Baruch’s SACC or Student Academic Consulting Center is located in the Newman Vertical Campus on the Second floor in room 116. I received an email stating that they would be open for tutoring starting on the 8th of February. I immediately made an account and tried to sign up for MTH 2003 tutoring. For one reason of another, I was unable to do so. I decided to drop by the office to get a feel and also to check if there were any cancellations or an open spot of which I could take advantage. To my surprise, there was and I promptly signed up.

The pace of the tutoring like much at Baruch College is “fast paced”. I put that into quotation marks because I would categorize myself as a “slow learner” who relies on repetition to better grasp concepts. I could immediately tell that my tutor Abraham was extremely proficient with the material and the session felt as fast as normal class which wasn’t to my benefit. I was also required to have examples ready which I did not know about prior but was saved by my class notes and print outs. That’s a college wide lesson, “Always be prepared.”

My tutor was very helpful. I was able to get further information on topics with which I was having difficulty and received help with getting more familiar with the graphing calculator. I was very impressed with his ability to help two other students in addition to myself essentially at the same time with little to no (perceived) trouble on his end. The staff and tutors were knowledgeable, professional and proficient. I will surely be back for more tutoring because looking at the upcoming course topics, I will definitely need it.

My first Baruch event was the Winter Carnival put on the the Baruch College Student Life Organization. Ii did not have any prior knowledge of the event. I saw the sign on the second floor by chance and decided to check it out. My first impression was that this was no small shindig. For one, Baruch’s main gym is huge.

Upon entering the gym, I was taken aback by how many people were in there. There was barely walking room with lines as far as can be for every attraction and booth that was available. Some of these attractions were inflatable obstacle courses and a huge climbing wall. I would have participated however, my reasons for not doing so are two fold. Firstly, I didn’t have anyone with me to hold my personal items and secondly, I did not want to embarrass myself by my lonesome doing my best “Wipeout” impression sans the water.

Since I wouldn’t be engaging in the more physical attractions, I took this time to speak to the various members of the different booths at the Carnival. I spoke to two different booths’ representatives, namely the Health & Wellness and Undergraduate Student Government. I asked them about their particular goals, what requirements there were to join and general information about them. They were very open and helpful. I even got the t-shirt to prove it (pictured below).

On my way out, I spoke to Ms. Dannery Minaya of the Student Life Organization. She was extremely helpful and a stellar example of the Baruch Student Life Organization and Baruch students as a whole. She told me all about the Winter Carnival and how it always takes place during the first week of February. It was one of the more large scale events (along with Spring Fling) and as such, they try to include as many other groups (Health and Wellness and the Undergraduate Student Government) to increase their chances to meet and speak with students. I ask her about her personal feelings about the Winter Carnival and she had this to say. She felt that it was very successful. Many of the students that attended were engaged and participated more than usual as they usually partake in the free refreshments and exit stage left.

I could not have asked for a better introduction to Baruch Life than the Winter Carnival. I had already made plans to get involved in Baruch events and this sealed the deal. Everyone looked to be enjoying themselves from the students attending, the staff operating and overseeing the safety of the attractions and the people manning both the Baruch events as well as the stands providing refreshments to the crowd. My only regret is that I wasn’t able to stand in the line and get a personal sign made. There’s always next year.

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