Gabriele Forbes-Bennett

My participation in the Community Service Project and the freshman seminar classes I attended has provided me with a great amount of information that will no doubt help me throughout the rest of my college career.

I have found the majority of our freshman seminar classes to be very helpful and informative. Even though I am still in the first semester of my freshman year, I have already utilized various library, staff, and student resources. I’ve used the study rooms in the  library for studying and presentation practices, I’ve used the big, industrial-sized printers to print long readings for my English class, and I’ve even used the library to take out books! I mean, if borrowing a single Anthropology textbook for a few hours counts. Let’s say it does.

Working with a group of my fellow scholars to find a community service organization for us to volunteer with next semester was also a great learning experience. Not only did I  learn about different ways to help my community, but I also learned more about working with others as a team. Our triad worked fairly easily and efficiently together when finding and contacting potential places of service. After agreeing to work with a specific organization, we worked together to generate a plan of action, so to speak, that specifies the times that we would volunteer and the types of activities we would partake in.

I have also engaged myself in the student life that Baruch has to offer. I am a member of NYMIA, Baruch’s Music Industry club and I have been a regular host on their weekly radio show. Over the next 3 and a half years that I have at Baruch, I plan on getting more involved in different clubs and opportunities. I am looking forward to joining organizations like the Pre-Law Society, getting involved with the SACC center, and hopefully studying abroad.

Now that I have learned about the things Baruch has to offer me, I am very excited to utilize them and really understand what it means to be a Bearcat!

To me, community service is more than just doing a few things to help out groups of people. It is an effort we continually engage in to try and improve the lives and experiences of community members and it is a way for us to give back. When I was in high school, I took part in a variety of community service projects (both school-sponsored and not). I did this not only to fulfill the yearly 20 hour service requirement, but also because I felt that I needed to give back to my community and try to help those in need. I volunteered at a local day camp in my area each summer throughout my high school career, and I have participated in a handful of events that helped the rebuilding effort in the Rockaways after Superstorm Sandy. I felt that I had an obligation to help out with this cause because after the storm, community service organizations like NY Cares and the Build-It-Back program helped my own family out.

Serving my community has taught me certain values and ideals that I plan on applying to my experiences here at Baruch. The Baruch Scholars program places great emphasis on community service and giving back, and I look forward to upholding its standard. I have only been a part of this program for a little over a month and I have already learned a lot about the different types of community service opportunities that are available in this area and in neighboring parts of the city. I plan on choosing one of these opportunities to use for the community service project I will complete with my group members next semester.

Hi! My name’s Gabriele and I’m from Rockaway, Queens. I’ve lived in Rockaway all my life, and I think it’s a pretty nice place, but I don’t think I like it as much as I like the city. When I was younger, I used to take any chance I could get to travel to Manhattan. In elementary and middle school, I used to always ask my mother to take me with her to her work on my days off, even though I would usually end up just sitting in an office all day. I don’t really know what exactly it was that I found so appealing about Manhattan at such a young age, but I do know that the excitement I felt when walking through the streets is something I still feel today. This is a reason why I was so eager to start my studies at Baruch.

I’ve only been a student here for a little over a month and I’ve been stunned by its size and all it has to offer. Baruch has over 14,000 undergrads and almost 200 clubs, which is incredible. I’ve already met a lot of amazing people, and I can’t wait to meet even more. I’ve also gotten a lot of free food for going to different club interest meetings, which is nice.

So far, my college experience has been great and I hope to make it even better by making new friends and continuing to adapt to this new environment.