Neeram Lekha

Participating in the Community Service Project has definitely encouraged me to draw upon the help and expertise of certain faculty and staff. Without contacting officials from Yeshivah of Flatbush, we would not have known specific details about the program. Theodore did attend the school which made things a lot easier to understand as he already had background in what to expect. Additionally, this made contacting the school even easier because he already knew who to go to. However, although Theodore’s experience made finding information easier, it would have been almost impossible without contacting someone. If our group tried to do the research ourselves, it would have taken a much longer time and we may not have found certain details about the program.

Doing this for our team project has also given me an edge in my other courses at Baruch because I realize how important it is to utilize the resources I have at hand instead of trying to get everything done myself. Sometimes it is necessary and important to have some sort of dependence on others. This is what makes group work, organizations, companies, etc. so effective.  The willingness to work together with other people and effectively use all available resources is crucial in being a good student.

My understanding of community service has not really changed as I always knew how important it was to give back to my community and pay things forward. However, I never really found the time to actually go out and do this but I’m thankful that the Honors program is requiring this of us and making us find the time to fit it into our schedule because it is important and it is important to learn that we should always try to make time in our busy schedules for others.

Honestly, I don’t know where I see myself in the next three years. I am still unsure of what I want to really major in and I don’t really know what path I am going to take. It’s hard to tell as a freshman what life is going to be like in three years as these next three years is going to involve lots of changes and experimenting with what I want to do.

In Baruch and the broader community as a Baruch scholar in the Honors Program, my role stretches beyond doing well in school. While that is very important, there are other things that are equally as important. Firstly, I have two younger siblings and it is important to me to be a role model for them. Being the first one to attend college in my family, they look up to me. They always come to me for help with schoolwork and I am always working with them. Outside of my family and school, though, we are encouraged to engage in our communities and perform some type of community service.

Community service gives us an opportunity to  experience something out of our comfort zone and help our communities. Whether it’s helping children, handing out food in a soup kitchen, or working on a political campaign, it’s a chance for us to do something that is greater than us. We are helping society and this is important for us as Baruch Scholars. We learn the value of putting others before ourselves which is an important value to have. It will help us turn into better people and help us in our future careers. Additionally, it puts things into perspective as we realize that certain things we stress so much about may not be so serious.

No matter who you are, you have experiences that shape who you are. Off of the top of my head, I can instantly think of a few things such as my first time traveling outside of the country and recent elections.

I was seven years old the first time I left the country, going to my mom’s home country. I had no clue what to expect at all but the trip was something that has stuck with me for years. My mom is from Trinidad – a beautiful country rich with culture. I thought I had known so much about my own culture and my own roots but being in the place where my mom was raised and where so many of the beliefs that we have originate from, was something extraordinary to me. I was like an outsider completely learning new things on a daily basis. It was an experience that made me realize how important culture is and made me realize my love for traveling and experiencing new cultures. I truly have no idea about what I want to be in the future but the one thing that I do know is that I want to make traveling a big part of my life.

Another thing that has become a big part of my life is trying to voice my opinion on certain topics. This became a part of my life because of the recent elections and having – sometimes heated – discussions with peers. I started to take a passion in keeping up with the news and what is going on in the world. With this, came disagreements with people and I realized how important it was for me to express my thoughts.

As a college student, I have a lot of expectations. Firstly, I expect to explore different areas of studies to figure out what I want to do in my future. I have no clue what I want to do and I hope that I can figure this out through clubs, internships, and through learning about different fields. Mainly, I just want to continue growing as a person and enjoy college while still enjoying my time learning.

For my first semester, I hope to simply adjust properly. I took a few college courses in my senior year but I honestly never took it too seriously because it was never something that would affect me really. I want to make sure that I don’t carry over this thinking into Baruch where things matter more. I’m also worried about time management as most people probably are but that simply comes with time. Overall, though, I look forward to the rest of the first semester.