By: Shirley Cheung
Peer for Career, Majoring in Accounting
Class of 2013
If there was only one token of advice I could give to someone starting off college it would be: know and understand what your environment has to offer.
When I started Baruch I had a class called Freshmen Seminar also known as FRO which was a weekly meeting that enabled me to learn about Baruch College.
The topics ranged from the different services offered by the college to how to register for classes. Because it was a pass or fail class some students did not put in much effort.
But when I started Baruch my goal was to know how everything worked to make the most out of my four years. I knew this class would help me accomplish this goal and so I paid close attention in order to take advantage of every opportunity that came my way.
In one freshman seminar class we took a field trip to the Starr Career Development Center and a staff member spoke to us about services the Center offered and about a career leadership program available to students, called Peers for Careers.
Instantly I became engaged. Leaving high school with work experiences as a muralist and volunteer was great, but being a student leader in college seemed to be a solid starting point for my career.
That day I took the initiative to stop by the Center’s office on the second floor of the Newman Vertical Campus. I asked, “How do I become a student career advisor?” They said I would have to apply to this umbrella program called T.E.A.M. Baruch, commit to the training sessions, and later apply to the Peers for Careers program.
Upon completing the T.E.A.M. Baruch training I heard about another leadership position on campus, to lead freshman seminar sessions—the same class where I learned about so many of the resources at Baruch.
After successfully completing the application processes, interviews, and trainings, I became a Peer for Career at the Starr Career Development Center and a Peer Mentor for a Freshmen Seminar class. Working at the Center brought forth many great opportunities to learn about writing resumes and to develop my interviewing skills. I met many new and diverse people while becoming friends with them through my role as a Peer Mentor.
My interest in knowing more about Baruch and becoming a student leader helped lead me down the path of obtaining an internship at a leading Wall Street financial firm. So listen, learn, and discover all you can, because you never know where these opportunities may lead.
