As a freshman in Baruch, it is our duty to take initiative and join clubs and engage in extra curricular activities. Especially as a commuter school, it is extremely hard to make friends and be part of a community without joining clubs. Thankfully, there are various options on campus to choose from. Regardless of an individual’s major, there is a club or organization for anyone. For example, there is Marketers of Baruch (MOB), however they accept people of different majors as well. Furthermore, there are other clubs such as Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) and UCLA. These clubs all offer a sense of a community and make Baruch feel more at home. I personally have attended events hosted by MOB, and have talked to many of the members there.
After completing the community service proposal, I have realized that giving back to the community is extremely important. Although I have not volunteered at the specific organization that my group presented, I have volunteered at a different soup kitchen. I have volunteered at The Father’s Heart Ministries, which is located in Manhattan. Despite receiving a hefty parking ticket of $125, I still left the location feeling very satisfied, knowing that I helped out and gave back to the community. At the location, I helped with resetting the tables. This job entailed interaction with those who came in looking for a hot meal. During my time there, I noticed that there was a large number of Asians, specifically Chinese elderly coming into the place to eat. This really made me see things in a different way, as I saw these people as people who could have been my grandparents. That meant that these people were someone’s grandparents. It made me feel extremely grateful to be able to help out these people, and knowing that they were able to have a hot meal to eat, really made me feel that I gave back to the community. I even spoke to many of the people who came in, in a specific Chinese dialect, and many of them were very surprised. As soon as I started to speak to them, their eyes lit up and there was a smile on their faces. Their reaction to me just simply speaking to them in Chinese, made the experience a memorable one.
It’s great to hear that you’ve become really involved socially at Baruch through different clubs and organizations. I look forward to becoming an active member of such a community in the coming semester as well. I also really like everything you said about volunteering, especially how you were able to create a personal connection to the patrons at the soup kitchen and even managed to get closer to your cultural roots through your experience.
I also realized that giving back to the community is extremely important. Great job!
I think it’s awesome that you’ve joined clubs this semester. I totally agree that joining such clubs makes Baruch feel more like home. It’s just nice to have a constant group of friends because it does become hard to stick with the same people even in a single semester so to see people from the clubs you join every week is nice.
Your commitment to helping others is extraordinary. It also shows that it’s definitely helped your mood…I don’t know how mad I would have been over a $125 ticket haha. If you haven’t already, I strongly encourage you to use the resources like the SACC and Writing Center.
Keep up the good work!