When I arrived on Orientation day at Baruch I was pleasantly suprised to find out about a multitude of academic facilities, programs, and clubs that could and would enable and support me to improve and grow my knowledge in any given subject. My Orientation leaders told me about the “Writing Center”, SACC (Student Academic Consulting Center), Business Clubs as well as the VARK quiz, the subject of my blog post.

I believe that one of the greatest tools we have access to is knowledge. Whatever topic a person wants to study he can study. We have the Internet that showers us with information, and we have college which gives us access to specialized knowledge. We are very lucky in this Information Age. In my opinion it is very important to take advantage of this luxury!
How can a person take the most advantage of the knowledge he has available to him?

By understanding what would be the best way for him to retain this information.  We are all very different in the way we process and retain information. Some people need to see something , a chart, a picture , a diagram. Some people need to write notes, some people need a teacher that is engaging and walks them through a process step by step. If a student or any person for that matter doesn’t learn information in a way that his brain will respond the best, then that information will not stick to the highest degree.

That is why I took the Vark Quiz.
V- visual
A- aural
R- read/write
K- kinesthetic

This test helps you identify which learning style best fits YOU!!

My results showed that I have a multimodal learning style. In a nutshell that means that the more different ways you learn something the more you will really learn it! The more different ways you learn something, the more you will remember it! The more different ways you learn something, the more you will genuinely understand it! I find this totally true!!

knowing this information helps me pinpoint the best ways for me to study. Personally, I need to write notes! it helps when I have visual imagery in front of me and I respond well to a teacher that is engaging not just a lecturer.
I highly suggest other students to take this short quiz. In my opinion it will give them a better understanding of how to understand better.

Below is a snapshot of my quiz score:

As soon as I checked the list of the weekly events that were gonna happen at our college,I knew exactly which event I was gonna attend this time.As a sports lover,I knew that the Battle of Lexington would be the most exciting and entertaining event for me to watch.This was gonna be a men basketball match between our Bearcats and the “Brooklyn College Bulldogs”.

I was really excited because this was my first time attending an event like this one as I had never attended an indoor sports event before.As soon as I got to the gym,I could feel the atmosphere from all the people who were gathered to watch this amazing event.There were more than 1300 spectators in the arena cheering for the teams.

The match started well for our team as we were the first ones to score.The first two points were scored from our player with number four “De La Cruz” who got an assist from Roscigno.The “Bulldogs” reacted fast as they drew with player number 23 “Gjonbalaj”.Our team reacted fast as we scored 2 consecutive times and got an advantage of 5 points but very soon we were gonna lose this advantage.In a short time the “Bulldogs” drew us and they gained an advantage of 6 points by scoring 11 points in a row.The first half  finished 23 points to 19 in their advantage.

The second half of the match didn’t start well for us as well.In less than 4 minutes we saw ourselves in a disadvantage of 16 points.Our team tried to react during the remaining time but they couldn’t do much as our rivals were quite superior towards us.The final score was 73 points from “Bulldogs” to 58 from Bearcats.The MVP of this game was the albanian player of “Bulldogs”,number 23 “Gjonbalaj” who scored 20 points while the best player for Bearcats was number 15 “Roscigno” who scored a total of 17 points.

Despite the result,I can say that I really enjoyed this match.I had never seen this kind of high level of play live before.Our team has a big potential and I believe that they will recover fast after this defeat and give their best to win the upcoming matches.Let’s go BEARCATS!!!!!!!!!!

My very first Baruch Student Life event was Move Ya Body (Black history month event)!!

Truly unexpected joy as soon as I entered. As I walked in to the rehearsal studio a little late, I recognized six people in a circle on the floor in crisscross apple sauce style listening to some African Hymn. I calmly asked the photographer if I was able to join still and she replied with such excitement, “Sure!!”.

As I joined the circle, I immediately fell into place. Following the yoga techniques of relaxations. I closed my eyes, took deep breaths, repeated motivational sentences such as, “Know your worth!” and “Be Strong!”. The instructor then asked us while mediating to figure out one word that you would like to become coinciding with the hymn ‘I AM’ repeated over and over again. As I was searching for this word, I felt hands come across my shoulders, instantly relaxing me.

As we took our final steps to cool down, she paused the music and asked us individually what word do we want to become. My word was fearless because I deal with a lack of confidence, especially when it regards expressing my emotions or feelings towards someone I deeply care about. I repress certain emotions because I am afraid of the consequences. As I explained to the group, there is a certain girl I have deep feelings towards. We established that we are great friends, but I am afraid of losing that friendship in hopes for something more. One member stated that if we were really friends that she would understand and continue even if the outcome was not in my favor. That made me take a step back and ponder on my situation. From that statement, my instructor asked,” when are u gonna tell her?”. I responded with a clear mind,” Soon because I am FEARLESS!”. She then continued to go across the entire circle, finding solutions, planning actions to achieve other fellow member’s goals.

Coming to the end of the session, I could feel a sense of clarity upon myself. Understanding what I need to do in order to become the person I want. I had fun, I was relaxed and sure of myself for the first time in a long time. That session really brought the only joy to a very tedious day of work. I decided to request e-mails for the following sessions, only after I asked for a selfie!!

I believe this is the only post about the VARK quiz while everyone wrote about the “Candy Land” and “Dear White People” events. Although I missed both events, I believe they were really fun by the looks of the other posts.

I did the VARK quiz this weekend. It was not that bad. The questions were short and sweet. They mostly give you a situation or scenario and ask what you would do. I think the trick to the quiz is to give the first answer that came to your mind. As this is a form of personality test, the first thought usually reflects the sub-conscience of the mind better. If you think about the question too long, it might lose its purpose. The test gives you a score in visual, aural, read/write and kinesthetic aspect. Everyone should get a score, high or low, in all the areas. For me, I had the highest score of 9 in the kinesthetic aspect.

This exercise may look simple. However, it helps greatly when we are studying. By knowing how we learn best, we will be able to use the shortest time to learn the most. This is especially important during the first semester. The first semester is like the starting point of a race. When we are able to get a hang of these information at the very start, it will be so much easier for us along the way to graduation. For example, when I had the highest score in kinesthetic aspect, this means that I am able to learn best by “hands on” rather than observing or learning or writing. With this information, I will be able to learn or study for my classes easier.

I would recommend the others to do the same exercise as I believe that everyone is able to benefit from this.

 Candy Carnival!!!!

I attended the Candy Carnival a couple of weeks ago at Baruch. It was a great opportunity to immediately get a feel for the school spirit and community that Baruch has to offer. It was pretty “sweet” because I got free candy and fruit smoothies, and having the sweet tooth that I do….. I took full advantage of the free candy stuffing a bag full of starburst, pixy sticks and jolly ranchers. I have lived in a couple other places before I arrived at Baruch for my first semester of college, and while living in these locations I have had an easy time meeting new people and making friends. Upon my return to New York I noticed an unsettling monotonous trend which consisted of work and no school whatsoever, I longed for a higher purpose and a more elevated existence. My next move was to apply to school despite my apprehension and fear of the academic world and how to meet people in this new social setting. I applied to most of the CUNY schools, Baruch being one of them. During the time I was waiting to hear back from schools I thought to myself “What if you got into Baruch?”… “That would be pretty cool!” given that I was expecting only to get accepted to community colleges which is not what I wanted. Then I got the acceptance e-mail, I couldn’t believe it! I was actually going to college! Fast forward now to the first day of the spring 2016 semester, I was so overwhelmed with the whole college environment that I didn’t even know what to do with myself that first day, it was so surreal. I was so relived to feel the focused energy inside the Newman Vertical Campus, everyone here seems so professional and that is the exact kind of surrounding I need in order to stay motivated.

My first official Baruch event was the Candy carnival! It was very sweet;)

Starting at Baruch I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I have a sister that just graduated from the school but other than that I didn’t know much else. How do the classes work, how are the teachers, what’s my schedule going to look like, what clubs could I join, will it be easy to meet new people?

I had many questions and luckily almost all of them where answered in the first few days at the school. My classes are great, my classmates are awesome, there are many clubs, and there are so many people to chill with at this school!

There was one experience that I had that really helped me feel like I came to the right place. The candy carnival. It wasn’t so much the variety of candy, smoothies, moonbounce/ Rock climbing machines, which where awesome by the way,that got me excited but it was the environment in which all of these great treats where in.

Walking to the gym, I wasn’t sure what to expect but as I walked down the stairs I heard the heart pounding music and could feel the fun energy and good vibe coming from that area.

I walked in and saw a bunch of different faces, all smiling, all enjoying their time , just having fun. That’s what got me excited about Baruch. It’s such a diverse crowd but at the same time everybody is connected, I didn’t feel a barrier between the groups of people. White, black, Chinese, Indian, Jewish , Christian, Muslim whatever it might be, it didn’t matter.

I met a fellow FRO student at the event! Barry! Drank a few smoothies (got to be strawberry and banana), chewed and stashed some pieces of candy in my mouth and pocket and enjoyed the rest of the event.

The Candy Carival was my first event at Baruch but it was the event that confirmed that this is the place for me.

I recently attended the showing of the film “Dear White People” conducted by The Deaprtment of Black and Latino Studies on February 11th. I met up with another FRO classmate, Soffiya, and we sat together. The film was definitely relevant to many of the issues we have today regarding racial tension in the US. I actually saw some of it before attending the showing, but this was my first time seeing it in full.

“Dear White People” is a film that encompasses almost all aspects of being a young Black American in today’s world; from being mixed, to homosexual, to the lightskin vs. darkskin debate, and more. The film takes place at a renowned university following the lives of several Black students attending the school. One of the main characters and students happens to be biracial, and is the president of an all Black house on campus. She is presumably the “cause” of many racial incidents happening on campus and regards herself as a Black rights activist. Having a White father and Black mother has caused her to feel like she must make a choice between which race she most identifies with. This is seen throughout the film as she outwardly identifies with being proudly Black, being the president of the all Black house on campus and running a satirical Black blog called “Deat White People” however, having a White boyfriend and personally enjoying things that would more or less be labled as “white.” Moreover, the film later revolves around a party happening on campus held by a house with mostly white members who are in opposition of the “Dear White People” blog. In an attempt to mock the blog, the party is themed for guests to dress up as if they were Black. This “Blackface” party causes outrage and ends up with the Black Student Union, led by Lionel who is a homosexual Black student formerly belonging to the house hosting the party, sabotaging the event.  It ends in violence with Lionel being seen as the hero and media coverage of the party being broadcast nationwide.

After the film, we were all led into discussion about various topics covered within it. It was a very good debate, with us talking about very controversial topics like if Black people can actually be “racist” or if the film and many other films in present day, carry a blatant gay agenda. Although it was relatively short due to time contraints, it was a very constructive debate and I enjoyed the film!

As soon as I saw the posters advertising , I knew I had to go. The excitement began when I formed the line to enter the event (I know, I know because forming a line is super fun), but I was eager to experience my first college event with new friends. I was handed a waiver to sign and since I was of age, I was admitted with a blue wristband.  As soon as I walked into the event, I looked around taking notice of giant inflatables, and massive amounts of people standing on long lines. There were bouncy houses, arts and crafts, a smoothie station, cotton candy, popcorn, rock climbing, and of course a candy buffet to top it off for the candy land event. There was even a photo station set up where you can take silly photos with candy props. My friends and I, decided to try rock climbing because it seemed pretty bad-ass, however the line was way too long so we ditched that idea. I made sure I got to bounce away in the bouncy castle and load up on candy (and no I did not get a sugar rush). I also made sure to grab a couple smoothies and even got an illustration of my friends and I drawn.

So to be honest, after a little while of bouncing inside the bouncy house, (you know, getting in touch with my inner 7 year old),  I couldn’t help but feel a tiny bit embarrassed. The word ‘freshman’ probably read across my forehead as I jumped and laughed away. The whole scene of the Carnival deemed very kid-like to me. But, I wasn’t complaining because in reality I ‘m a huge kid at heart and I did in fact have fun.