For my third enrichment workshop, my friends and I  decided to visit the STARR Career Development Center last week. As a business student, I want to get learn more about the opportunities and internships that Baruch offers. Moreover, I haven’t decided on my major yet so I hope through the different opportunities offered at the STARR career development center I can explore different majors. I applied as a marketing major but I am currently debating between accounting and finance. The lady from the STARR center directed me to another office where I can change my major. Additionally, she mentioned about the different minors Baruch has to offer us.

I have also learned that the Career Development Center provides many services such as mock interviews, career counseling, career workshops, part-time internships, full-time internships, on-campus recruiting and etc. Since most of us are freshmen and we haven’t had any experience with interviews and resume reviews. Although it is not required to have these mock interviews it always best to practice before heading to an official one.  In order to set up for these mock interviews, you just have to make an appointment for these counseling opportunities on their website. Moreover, the STARR Career Development Center also goes as far as lending out professional clothing for interviews for those who are not prepared.

This week was our last Freshman Seminar class. This semester is also coming to an end. Through this class, I met my first friends at Baruch and learned about the amazing programs the school offers. Today some students who didn’t present their monologues presented it today. Most of them sounded interesting. It was nice to know that many students were also going through similar problems as me.

This week for FYS we went to another room. We had a special guest from the STARR center who presented workshops the STARR center provided. She also spoke about specific workshops for specific majors which was really interesting. It was very helpful for us since it was preparing us for future interviews and job opportunities at Baruch.

This week in FYS we did our monologues. It was fun to hear many amazing and crazy stories. Yesterday I had two exams again for music and Math.  Math class is getting harder. I spent my weekend mainly studying for music since I thought the math exam would be easy. Next week my Psych test and I didn’t do well on the first test so I’m trying to get a better grade this time. So far Psych is my least favorite class.

In FYS this week most of us did our small introduction of ourselves to practice for the monologues.  Bernice and Gabi then spoke to us all individually about our concerns and answered any questions we had. I finally got my permit. I was supposed to go and get it last year, but I didn’t want to wait on the line.

This week my friends and I planned our classes for the spring semester. We had added all our classes to our shopping carts however by the next morning most of the classes were closed. since each of us had a different time for enrollment we weren’t able to have any classes together. I had something on hold so it took 2 days for my hold to process, but I still managed to get the classes that I need for my major.

Next week I have to exams coming on the same day. I have my second music test and my first math exam. Currently in Music, we’re learning about the classical era and there are a lot of songs and composers to memorize so I’ve decided to spend my weekend studying for that. For math, it’ll be easy to review since I took Calculus last year. I also have to finish my math homework. They’re all due this week.

Recently I haven’t been attending my logic class however our midterm was coming up next week, so I decided to go to class this week. I was completely lost since over the four weeks the professor had gone over a couple units for the upcoming exam.  In psychology, we are learning about the brain and honestly, I think its a really boring class since I can’t see what the professor is writing half the time. Overall classes are starting to get harder and professors are assigning more homework.

This week started off with my first exam at Baruch. It was for Music appreciation class. I didn’t really study for this test and received an average grade. I didn’t get a chance to memorize the songs but the class itself is not hard. The next test is coming up soon and this time I know what to study for. The week has been going well. I’m looking forward to the weekend. My family is taking a trip to the Poconos for a couple days.

For my academic workshop, my friends and I decided to explore the Student Academic Consulting Center, SACC, which is located on the 2nd floor. The Student Academic Consulting Center, also known as the tutoring center, is where undergraduate students receive extra academic help in subjects they find harder to comprehend. Students can also sign up for tutoring sessions early in the semester to be prepared for their classes. I learned that in order to sign up for a session, you will need to make an appointment online indicating the area of study you wish to be helped with, which is very convenient. The number of subjects the Student Academic Consulting Center provides math, business, modern language, SAM software, and etc. Furthermore, tutoring groups are organized as follows: three students per mentor; this was every student is given a sufficient amount of attention. 

Not only does the Student Academic Consulting Center center provide tutoring help, but it also provides weekly workshops that allow students to receive more help when they need it. The workshops are larger than the mentored groups, they consist of up to 50 students. The workshops are two hours long and run any given day of the week, including Saturdays and Sundays. 

The mentors are also Baruch students and many have achieved a high understanding of the subject they teach. Tutors have to proceed with a rigorous application, before becoming representatives for their subject expertise. In order to become a tutor, you’ll need a 3.3 GPA, 24 Baruch credits, and two faculty referrals.

This is a great opportunity for undergraduate students to do better in their classes; moreover, it will encourage students to aim for higher grades. The SACC not only helps students with academic work, but it also provides upperclassman with job opportunities on campus.