Gerald M Tabaosares

I think what was most encouraging for me was seeing just how open all of our resources were: Maria, Mr. Medina, Mr. Francoeur, etc. They were always willing to provide their guidance about anything we needed. Having trouble doing research? Not doing well in a class? Just want to have a pleasant conversation? They were all very willingly supportive, which makes me very comfortable with going to them to draw upon their expertise for anything I need. I am very thankful Mr. Medina helping me set up my schedule for the next semester and Maria giving our learning community a whole class dedicated to running through our presentations to give us helpful critiques that led to a very successful day of presentations! (Congrats to everyone for doing a great job by the way!)

I remember the first college paper I had ever written in my history class I received a C+. And this was just a smack in the face for me screaming that I should seek out some help! Specifically the BEAUTIFUL writing center! I took a few workshops there and had my second history paper worked on with one of the writing center professionals… and HOORAY I got my first A in college on my second history paper! I also plan on visiting the STARR career development center in the future to help me look for internships and possibly going to the SACC tutoring center for classes I may struggle in. So far it’s just been the writing center though.

I have joined Baruch’s FUSION Club (Filipinos Uniting Students in Other Nations) because I wanted to continue embracing my filipino culture. I have found several new friends there whom I feel strongly connected to, and I’m always looking forward to club meetings. I am also going to try and go about forming some kind of ensemble of students with musical instruments to hone our performing arts skills. If elementary schools can support having a band, I don’t see why Baruch College cannot!

I think the notion of humbling myself and accepting the responsibilities that come with my privileges as an honors student are what give me an edge in my other courses. This is because these characteristics influence me to want to learn for the sake of learning; not just to get a good grade (which of course is important!). It also helps make school much more enjoyable and worth going to.

My understanding of community service through this project has really gotten me to think about WHY I do the things I do. It makes sense to perform community service I am passionate about and want to follow through with rather than just trying to fill up credit requirements. I hope this way of thinking stays with me throughout my college years as I discover what I want to do with my life. I hope to see myself graduating with a sense of understanding in myself and a plan for the future created through the help of my resources at Baruch.

ALSO I’D LIKE TO GIVE A BIG SHOUT OUT TO MARIA AND MR. MEDINA FOR BEING SUPER AWESOME!

And a big shout out to the rest of my BEAUTIFUL learning community!

What does it mean to serve your community?

Just to set things straight, I understand that this journal is 2 days late, but I hope that fact does not cause my readers to think that I did not put any effort or thought into this post. Alrighty so here goes!

First of all, before talking about being a Baruch Scholar I think that it’s already important that I’m a part of Baruch College! It’s such an honor for me to say that I’ve had the opportunity to seek higher education where so many people are not able to. Through my completion of college I will be able to give back to my community in being able to find a job to benefit my society and support myself and my family.

In the few months already that I’ve been a part of the Baruch community, I’ve noticed a drastic split among the students. Maybe this is just my personal opinion, but I see students fall into one of two categories:

1. The students who are involved–they join a club or a team; are involved with community service or volunteer work; have school spirit; enjoy life!

2. The students who are not involved–commute to class; commute home; repeat forever.

Hopefully all of the students in the Baruch community (myself included) will fall into category 1 soon! I also think it’s important for all of us at Baruch College to recognize just how significant it is that we have the honor of calling ourselves college students. This is especially important for me as a scholar as well because it means I have distinguished myself from other students in my academic pursuits to achieve a higher standard of excellence. In order to show our appreciation for the notion of higher education and idea of scholarship, I think it is our duty as students to give back to the community–whether it be through getting involved with school or taking part in community service. I think the goal overall as a scholar would be to take part in community service or some other form of giving back because we want to rather than just because it fulfills some credit requirement or that it’s mandated in the program etc. I think that we should be grateful for having such a wonderful opportunity for education and would want to help contribute back to the society around us in order to make the world a better place!

Where have you been and where are you going?

Hi, my name is Gerald. I like to think that I’m easy to get along with because I’m very open to new things. I used to be very shy and soft spoken; but now I am an outgoing individual unafraid to voice my ideas and speak my mind. I think I can safely say that my transition in character is because of my experience with music. As a musician, I joined the band ensembles in my middle school playing the saxophone. Being forced to play concerts at the end of the year really led me to appreciate being on stage where it is no place to be shy.

My experience in performance continued through high school as I played the saxophone in my school’s Jazz Band. I also joined the productions of my school musical in junior and senior year which further brought me a love of the stage and performing arts; a passion I hope to keep pursuing in Baruch despite the fact that Baruch College isn’t the strongest in the arts.

As a college student, I realize that I have several more responsibilities upon my shoulders now than ever before. Having this much freedom really puts the pressure on me to succeed in my academics. I had no idea how much reading I would have to do; it’s really eating up a significant amount of time compared to how much less I would read back in high school. My main concern is falling behind on school work because of all the reading I have to do. I do hope to keep myself disciplined with good study habits and a healthy lifestyle throughout college as to set a strong foundation for the rest of my life ahead.