Hi, my name is Christine Alexander. I’ll be turning 18 years old in November. I was born and raised in Queens, New York however with my parents being from Guyana we were back and forth a lot. From a young age not only did I witness poverty in my own neighborhood, but in my parent’s country as well. In high school, when we were deciding what college to apply to and what majors to choose and I really wanted to choose something that would allow me to help those in need, whether it be children, orphans, seniors, it didn’t matter, I just felt obligated to help make a change and try to help them have a life they deserved but couldn’t make on their own. After talking to many teachers, I was discouraged to do so, they said “you will bring their burdens home with you,” that somewhat startled me and I decided that the way I wanted to help wasn’t going to positively affect me in the future. I realized there are other ways to help without giving or taking burdens from one to another. With this being said, just because I wont be attaining a degree that would help me help others doesn’t mean that I’m any less motivated to help. In the end my goal is to use the tools and knowledge I was fortunate enough to acquire to give back to society and help, even if it’s one child, to get a proper education to live a better and successful life.

I enjoyed last week’s class as it has helped me to better understand Baruch’s campus area. Being a freshman in a larger school setting coupled with a fresh start and not knowing anyone can be intimidating. I have found it useful to have weekly classes to help me recognize the many aspects as to what Baruch has to offer. This week helped students, including me, get to know which Baruch buildings has to offer such as career counseling, where to rent, borrow books, buy school supplies etc. Associated with this topic was playing a scavenger game which I would say was great in allowing students converse with others who they usually don’t talk to. I learned about the STARR center and the writing center followed by the enrichment workshops, which I must attend, and use this knowledge to help myself understand life at Baruch and how I can make the most out of it in these next four years.

Hello! My name is Steven Reyes. I am 17 years old and will be turning 18 this November. Some interests I enjoy are playing video games, watching Netflix, and sometimes doodling when I’m bored. I am a shy person and it’s something that a lot of people recognize about me. While sometimes I seem as quiet, I care very much about those I’m close to such as family and friends. Being in a new environment is a new experience and much like to everyone, it can be awkward to meet new people especially when we all come from different environmental settings. It’s something that always was a struggle to me but I have made great friends in the past to which I still keep in touch with. I would say my high school years have been easier to interact with people because we would always have the same classes with the same people over the years making it easier to establish a relationship. Despite all that, I enjoy meeting friendly people who share similar interests and backgrounds which allows me to connect more personally.

My name is karla, I’m 20 years old, speak 3 languages and I’m currently working 4 times a week at a restaurant, people ask me how can I handle that, sometimes I just answer “I have no idea”, but in fact I think is based on the experience that I have been working for 4 years. Honestly, is just the matter of the fact that I can manage how I can organize my timing between studies and jobs. This past few years I have learnt how to prioritize certain things, it helped me to see another level of perspective, as well as viewing the money as something people worked hard for. Instead of spending the money in something that I like, I would rather save it. What’s saving money?. The first couple of years every time I saw something I liked I would work hard for it, once I bought I went broke again. This habit of mine went on and on until I finally realized that it was really bad in terms of “saving”, now I have a bigger goal. Save and invest.

On the other hand, I used my free time to go to the gym. I really enjoy going because it makes my mind at peace because I start forgetting the stressful things such as studies and work. Besides that, going to the gym it helped m build my confidence not only physically but mentally.

Last but not least, I only have one talent which is drawing!

Bye!

For the first enrichment workshop assignment, my friends and I decided to head to the Latin Heritage event that happened right after class. We went thinking nothing of it, it was mainly to help us complete an assignment. However, after attending the “Latin Heritage Month 2019” event, it was evident that the latin culture just as any was so warm and welcoming. There was a variety of sweet and savory food, which all was appealing to the eye. Along with that, there was a silent disco which was really interesting to witness and to see how Latin music makes others feel, more or less positive. The sway dance movements of those listening to the music showed a lot in the way that latino’s impacted the U.S. along with many other countries with their diverse and colorful culture. Being from Queens, “the melting pot of NY” you may think that you would always be around so many different cultures and be familiar with their music, food, etc. but that isn’t the case. For me and hopefully for others too, I’ve been isolated to only peers that share the almost the same culture and background as me. Having the opportunity to witness another culture was a really cool experience.

 

In today’s Freshman Year Seminar class, we became so much more knowledgable on Baruch as a whole. By saying this, I mean physically. Gabby had  us do an activity which was extremely helpful in telling us where important places are that we should know as a freshman. Along with this we were told more about the enrichment workshops we needed to attend that were mainly to get us acquainted with other freshmen/students, club members, etc. Towards the end of class we discussed academic integrity. Academic integrity is important in building one’s knowledge and helping them grow overall. It allows you to cite someone’s ideas that you yourself found to be intriguing, not only that but it helps you realize that everyone’s ideas is their own. Although you may want to add on and tweak it to make it your own, you still have to recognize that originality of it.

Greetings everyone!

I hope classes are going  smoothly for you all so far this week.  A recap of our last class.

• we reviewed how to make your weekly reflection post of blogs @Baruch
• we had a representative from the Study abroad office visit our class
• we had a Honors Program representative visit our class.

A reminder your first enrichment assignment is due by September 17th, 2019.

You all are required to submit 2 posts for reflections: 1 for this weeks post and the reflection assignment due next week.

This weeks assignment for the reflection paper is to write about yourself – tell us something about yourself that other people do not know ,but may find interesting. ( reminder only write about things you are comfortable with sharing).

Reminder i will be choosing some people next week to present there reflection papers. This is to help us all prepare for the monologues presentation that will take place on October 29th.

Gabriela will post (before the end of the week) , different enrichment opportunities to help you all complete that first assignment.

Have a great week!!!

Day 2 of FYS started by providing us with a fun group activity to find out more about the resources Baruch has to offer for different kinds of situations. This also gave us the opportunity to make conversation and get to know our classmates better. Gabby made sure that we knew exactly where to find those resources as well as gave us advice on what we should do with them based on her experience. As a freshman, I appreciated the valuable information. For the second half of the class, Bernice elaborated on the idea of values and ethics in regards to academic integrity(one thing that Baruch stresses) and personal integrity. I also had the opportunity to listen to my classmates’ opinions on specific situations that were given us to interpret in terms of integrity that allowed me to expand my perspective and prompted me to think.

For my first Enrichment Program assignment, I decided to head to The Met on Fifth Avenue. At such an early point in the first semester of the year, clubs are not holding as many events and I am not familiar enough with the school to approach career workshops, so the museum seemed the easiest route to complete my first assignment.

Having never been to a museum before, the experience was really educational and eye-opening to me.  I managed to see for the first time how accurately certain historical elements have been portrayed in mainstream media. In regards to art, from the mythological figures and religious art of the ancient eras to the Impressionism of the 19th-century, I noticed the evolution in what artists chose to depict and it enabled me to peek into the society and culture of their time through a historical lens . I also gained admiration for the distinctive styles of art used in different times; I walked from one gallery to the next, contrasting the different forms of art, such as the Greek vase paintings to the European oil paintings. Apart from what was depicted in the art itself, the descriptions of each piece of art allowed me to better understand the context of the respective time periods they were crafted in, which made me appreciate the art and the history behind it more. Besides general works of art, however, I was also greeted with displays of  artifacts in every gallery I entered. Again, it was surreal to observe how intricately most of these artifacts were crafted with beautifully engraved details, from the Greek/Roman sculptures and bone carvings, to the coffins of the Egyptian Pharaohs, and just like the works of art, it was amazing to compare the different styles incorporated into the craftsmanship of these artifacts.  I’m grateful that FYS pushed me to have this experience.

today i had FYS