Wake up. Snooze. Snooze again. Put on your snapback. Walk to school in your pajamas.

Wake up at 5 am. Shower. Work out. Read industry news. Schedule your day. Write your emails. Flip on your favorite podcast for your 90 minute commute to school.

One routine is a typical college student and the other is a routine of a successful Baruch student.

Baruch College is a school that is often overlooked, even though the establishment consistently makes appearances on “best value” and “highest starting salary” college lists. Perhaps it’s due to the negative connotation of CUNY or being overshadowed by our friendly rivals, Stern.

Nonetheless, Baruch remains to be a hidden gem – as companies are now beginning to see the talent found in the student base. We went out and interviewed several Baruch students to see what they had to work for to find success in a campaign called #BaruchWeHustle.

The premise behind this project was to highlight individual success stories stemming from overcoming outstanding challenges. Baruch is not a target school, which means students here have to hustle to achieve greater success in their careers.

“When it came to making my college decision my mom cried to me and said she was so sorry but she couldn’t afford to pay for me to attend a more competitive school. She kept apologizing and crying and I can promise you that seeing your mother cry is probably the worst feeling in the world,” one student writes.

“I choose to go to Baruch and pay for school on my own. I knew that if I took advantage of the city I would be just as competitive as a student who attended a 40k/year university. So I bust my ass every day to make sure my mom doesn’t think she put me in a bad position, because she didn’t, and I’m better because of it.”

Another student recalls his father coming to the United States and eating fortune cookies for sustenance.

 

Since the campaign started a month ago, we’ve highlighted numerous hustle stories with not only Asian American students, but with students from numerous cultural backgrounds. Baruch is truly a special place when it comes to diversity and hard work.

Initially, this project was designed to highlight individual success. What I did not expect was to speak out on a larger subject that resonated with the entire school – to be grateful of the opportunities given to us and to ultimately make the most of what we’ve got.

Baruch stands as the most ethically diverse campus in the United States. There are hundreds of hustle stories and incredible journeys to be highlighted – from rags to riches immigrant stories to successful entrepreneurs who lived off of crackers. Nonetheless, it’s important to understand everyone’s story and put aside our differences because in the end, the world is a difficult place. It’s up to us to work together and hustle together.

To read more about this campaign and the impact it has made, please check us out on Facebook.

#BaruchWeHustle