Hey everyone,

For the first enrichment workshop I decided to first focus on academics and thus, decided to go to a museum. I wanted to experience something that would introduce me as to what being a unique college student would be like. Being that I wanted to not travel far, I decided to go to a close museum in the Bronx. The exhibition featured a man by the name of Alvin Baltrop. Baltrop was an ex-navy medic who photographed events while serving such as structural ruins or portraits. Featuring pictures taken by Baltrop they also revealed an interest to erotica, mainly men. Through his photos viewers can see that Baltrop was interested in men and would often take pictures of them partaking in an activity and would sometimes even take nude pictures of them. During the late 1900s, being gay was not as regular as it is today and would be treated as hostile. However, Baltrop, knowing the struggles, partook in helping out local gay communities by teaching them about STDs and health and would even help little kids in need.

Learning about Baltrop has taught me that as college student, only I know my purpose for going to college and how I can contribute to helping myself and others. Even if the challenges are discouraging because I’m either different than most or because statistics say so, being able to stand out because I’m different can make me a great student. While Baltrop was different for his sexual orientation, my reason for being different is likely my inability to express myself clearly thus resulting me in being more shy. However, being able to identify what I have and how I can improve on it can help me break out of that shell and hopefully become an outgoing Baruch student. Knowing myself and what I enjoy in life can help me in earning my degree from Baruch because learning to accept myself and use my skills to help the community can be enriching. Being a student doesn’t mean going to classes just to pass but to become involved and I think that’s what Baltrop introduced to me. While he was serving his country, he also made it his responsibility to help those that were in need. Like Baltrop who found his own community, I will also meet people who are like me, people who are motivated to work hard because they want to better themselves and others. Also it’s not just about working hard for the rest of my life or at Baruch but also learning to capture the moments that mean the most just like Baltrop did with his camera.