Baruch VSA

Year/Major: Junior/Accounting
Favorite Food: Malaysian’s my soft spot
Favorite TV Show: How I Met Your Mother
Motto: “As long as you tried your best, that’s all it matters.”
Why did you join VSA and why e-board?

It’s easy to think: “Oh he’s Viet, that’s why he joined VSA”. That was totally not the case. When I was a freshman, I was too caught up in my own head about what I want to be that I didn’t bat an eye to clubs. It took a certain e-board member tenaciously getting my attention to join VSA. The rest was history: A club that made me felt comfortable, gave me great friends who inspire and encourage me to grow. I fell in love with the club and its members. I want to honor that feeling by running for eboard, becoming president, continue making it a respite for everyone and many more to come.

Year/Major: Junior/ Biology
Favorite Food: I love pasta
Favorite TV Show: Psych
Motto: “Have courage and be kind.”
Why did you join VSA and why e-board?

I joined VSA because not only did I want to push myself out of my comfort zone, but I fell in love with the core values of the club and the kindness of the people. Culture, community, family and fun. All the things I was looking for as a lost college freshman, VSA quickly became my home away from home. As I found myself becoming more and more involved with VSA, I realized I wanted to give back and be even more a part of this family. Running for eboard was a natural decision for me, I want VSA to be a haven to everyone else as it has been and continues to be for me.

Year/Major: Sophomore / Actuarial Science
Favorite Food: Steak
Favorite TV Show: The Return of Superman
Motto: “Just be happy.”
Why did you join VSA and why e-board?

My first goal entering college was to break out of my introverted shell and I decided that the first step in doing this was to become involved with extracurricular activities. During club hours, I stumbled into VSA’s general interest meeting where I interacted with many friendly members and felt welcomed. Their hospitality made me want to return and even though I didn’t realize it at first, the people surrounding me would become a great influence in my life. Through several events and countless hours spent in the clubroom, I started to become comfortable with who I was and grew with their support. With the formation of my second family, even the insignificant and simple phrases such as “Let me know when you get home” or “Good morning” made me appreciate the presence that they had on my life. VSA has assisted me with my transition as a freshman by making the experience such an enjoyable one and creating many memories for me to reminisce on. As a part of the executive board, I hope to give back to the community and provide students with the opportunity to learn about a new culture, step out of their comfort zone and find a home they can belong to.

Year/Major: Junior / Finance
Favorite Food: Ramen
Favorite TV Show: Big Bang Theory
Motto: “I’ve been trying to become a person I’ve been imagining as my hero since I was very little.” - T.O.P (Choi Seunghyun)
Why did you join VSA and why e-board?

Come for the club, stay for the friends.

I expected to be on my own for my college career, figuring out what I want as things unfold. Fortunately, my best friend Ruthie (our Vice President) dragged me with her to attend a VSA general interest meeting and immediately I noticed how passionate and welcoming the board members were. And also because of the people, the clubroom became a respite for me and I always find myself there no matter the reason -- whether I want to spend time with friends or rant about my day. Now that most of those members have graduated, I want to continue to grow and work with the members that are still here to continue this family.

Year/Major: Sophomore / Actuarial Science
Favorite Food: Avocado rolls
Favorite TV Show: South Park
Motto: “Do it with passion or not at all.”
Why did you join VSA and why e-board?

In pursuit of a second home, I was eager to join a variety of clubs and organizations on campus after signing up for countless newsletters and following several social media pages. Perhaps it was fate that I came across one of VSA’s general interest meetings so early into my freshman year. Only minutes after I sat down, I was greeted by several members, some on the executive board and some who were just general members. To this day, I am still astonished at how welcomed I felt as just a diminutive freshman in the larger, already established community. These people were the reason why I continuously came to events and became comfortable to step into the club room by myself. I decided to become more involved with VSA during my second semester through the Shadow Program because I wanted to learn more about the organization on a different level. The e-board made their events look effortlessly planned, yet engaging and extremely enjoyable. However, I was able to see all of the hard work and great efforts that were made to plan out their events. Inspired seeing how a group of individuals came together for this organization, I knew I wanted to make a greater impact in VSA as the ardent individual I am. I have a desire to continue the organization’s legacy not only as an expression of gratitude to the past e-board members, but also as a medium to grow into the person I aspire to be.

Year/Major:Junior/Journalism
Favorite Food: Sushi and pokè bowls
Favorite TV Show: Game of Thrones / any superhero show
Motto: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.” - Maya Angelou
Why did you join VSA and why e-board?

I joined VSA because I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and become a more outgoing person. During high school and my first semester of college, I kept to myself much of the time and never really pushed myself out of my comfort zone. As one of my 2017 New Year’s resolutions, I decided that I was going to try to be more social and so I joined VSA to achieve that. What I didn’t realize is by doing this, I’d do so many things that I’d never thought I’d do and that I’d join the kind and caring VSA family. I am the person that I am today because of the people I’ve met and been inspired by in this club and because of that, I joined e-board to give back to the club that gave so much to me. I want to build VSA into a place where anyone feels welcomed to join our big family and grow as a person, and more importantly, experience a new culture in a safe and respectful manner.

Year/Major: Junior/Marketing Analytics
Favorite Food: STEAK PLEASE!!!
Favorite TV Show: FRIENDS
Motto: “Do it because you love it, not because you like it.”
Why did you join VSA and why e-board?

Transitioning from a small high school to Baruch was one of the most difficult tasks that I had to overcome as a freshman. With only a handful of students from my high school, finding friends to converse with was extremely difficult until I was brought to VSA. Never did I ever think I would be heavily involved in a club, nonetheless a cultural club; however, fast forward two years later, VSA has become a family to me. Stepping into the clubroom now has become a respite for me, where I can alleviate my stress and bond with others who are suffering from the same problems. After being in VSA for over two years now, I decided what better way to give back to the club that gave so much to me than by being e-board, giving back to others and making a difference myself.

Year/Major: Sophomore / Marketing or Finance
Favorite Food: Taiyaki
Favorite TV Show: Walking Dead / Flash / The Office
Motto: “To get something that you never had, you have to do something that you never did” -Denzel Washington
Why did you join VSA and why e-board?I joined VSA because my sister was a part of it. Not knowing anyone in VSA besides my sister, I came out with a new family. I joined eboard because VSA saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself, my hidden capabilities and potential. Ever since shadowing for social chair, I learned more about myself and about building strong lasting relationships with others. If I had to share only one piece of advice that I got from VSA, then it would be that leaving your comfort zone will make any hard challenge seem a lot easier than it once had seemed.

Year/Major: Junior/ Finance
Favorite Food: Portuguese custard tarts
Favorite TV Show: Westworld
Motto: “Keep it simple stupid.”
Why did you join VSA and why e-board?

I joined VSA because I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and be more active on campus. Throughout my freshman year, all I did was come to Baruch for my classes and race home directly afterwards with hopes to avoid all of the MTA delays. Entering sophomore year, I realized that there is a lot more that I want to take away from my college experience and VSA provided me with a caring and comfortable environment that I had never experienced before. I decided to join e-board to give back to the club that made me the person I am today; I want to create memorable experiences for current and new members so that they will always remember VSA not as only a club, but also as a family.

Year/Major: Sophomore / Finance
Favorite Food: Ramen
Favorite TV Show: Naruto
Motto: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift--that is why it is called the present.” - Master Oogway
Why did you join VSA and why e-board?

I joined VSA because I knew that one has to take the initiative to find opportunities. I was fortunate enough to have met great people that I could build long lasting relationships with and have similar interests in--getting to know each other while improving ourselves. E-board was something we all individually could strive towards as a collective whole. E-board is a way for me to give back to VSA so that future and recurring members could experience their own wonderful experiences as I did.

Year/Major: Junior / Advertising and Marketing Communications
Favorite Food: Ramen
Favorite TV Show: Game of Thrones
Motto: “Never allow yourself to be defined by someone else’s opinion of you.”
Why did you join VSA and why e-board?

Being a transfer student in Baruch, it was hard to make friends. A lot of people had already made friends with people in their block from freshman year, and most people would only come for their class and go home. I was always the shy, introverted person growing up. I didn’t have a good experience in my first college, which is why I transferred to Baruch, but it wasn’t any different. I came to realize that I was expecting something to happen, I was waiting for something to show up. I decided to take action instead of waiting. A lot of people questioned why I joined a Vietnamese club when I’m Chinese. VSA isn’t a club that is specific to one ethnicity, but is open to everyone. VSA was one of the very first clubs that have shown me what it means to be part of a family outside of your own. I’ve found my second family in VSA, and I am grateful for the friends and memories that I have made. It was because of our past e-board and members that made me the person I am today, and I want to be able to give back the same thing that I experience to those in the future, our future.

Year/Major: Sophomore / Marketing Management
Favorite Food: Shrimp steamed rice noodles
Favorite TV Show: The Boondocks
Motto: “Whatever happens, happens, but don't ever regret anything you do.”
Why did you join VSA and why e-board?

I came into Baruch without a plan, not knowing what was my first step. I guess I was lucky enough to already have a couple of friends at Baruch. On my first day, one of my good friends Adam, who was an active member of VSA, told me he wanted to show me some of the coolest people ever. He pushed me into the VSA clubroom and immediately left., I wouldn’t know it at the time, but my life would be totally changed from that moment on. I didn’t know what to say at first, there were only a couple of people in the room and they simply said “hi” and gave me a space to sit. But not long after, those couple of people began talking to me. We started off with why Adam had even pushed me into the room without a word. We shared laughs and I was surprised how quickly I got comfortable with everyone. I met some amazing, passionate people who care so much for each other and the community they’ve built. I felt so welcome so soon that I just started going to the clubroom anytime I had free time and I really felt like I belonged with everyone else there. It didn’t take me long to realize VSA spanned far beyond Baruch, and I made even more friends and memories at the VSAs at other schools all across our region (Northeast can’t be beat!) VSA has made me push my boundaries countless times. I learned that VSA isn’t just any other social / cultural club, it’s one giant family and because of it, I’ve had some of the best moments of my life so far. That’s why I decided to join e-board, not only so that I can grow and further myself, but also so that I can give back and help this family of mine grow and further itself too.

Year/Major: Sophomore/ Actuarial Science
Favorite Food: Kimchi Fried Rice
Favorite TV Show: Line Walker
Motto: “Happiness is not something you have to achieve. You can still feel happy during the process of achieving something.” - My Lord and Savior Kim Namjoon
Why did you join VSA and why e-board?

Racing out the doors of Baruch immediately after the last lecture of the day, while initially a notion I had embraced, is truthfully an incredibly dismal college experience. Things have a funny way of working out, in that something used to occupy myself during club hours became something for which I would willingly arrive at school early and leave school late. It took merely a general interest meeting, where I learned exactly how much toilet paper is too much, to decide that these are the people with whom I want to endure the supposed ‘best four years of my life’. There’s something remarkably stimulating about witnessing people dedicate their time and effort into an organization from which they are not guaranteed to receive any tangible reward but spending any length of time in the clubroom will reveal that it’s the bonds formed between people who may have otherwise never met and the extraordinary sense of community that draw unsuspecting freshmen (just kidding) in to the ever-expanding family. Stepping foot into room 9-135 (late, but no one is surprised) for my first and all subsequent events has been an upward spiral of meeting some of the most important people in my life. After everything VSA has done—and continues to do—for me, I hope that maintaining a position on the executive board will allow me to be a part of the reason even one other person may find a family in VSA the same way I have.

Year/Major: Sophomore/Political Science
Favorite Food: Anything hehe :)
Favorite TV Show: Scrubs/It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Motto: “Do the right thing, always.”
Why did you join VSA and why e-board?

Coming into college, I wanted to be active in clubs and in school life since I wasn't really part of any clubs or had much friends in high school and wanted to change that in college. I told myself to be more outgoing and get out of my comfort zone. I was introduced to VSA when I was bored during club hours in September and I was taken to their second GIM by a friend who said there was a club that was amazing with really cool people. I didn't know anyone at the event, so I sat down being all quiet and timid. I remember Maggie (our former VP, Ruthie’s chi and alum) and Tam were the first people that talked to me, and they were really friendly. Even after that event, Maggie kept on bugging me to come to more events, and I’m really glad she did because I love VSA, and it’s something that I can call a family. Over the course of my first year, I’ve met so many amazing people who brighten my day whenever I’m around them, who I really do consider a family. These are the kinds of people I can go to and talk about anything, from joking around to expressing my feelings and problems. I joined e-board because I saw how dedicated the e-board was for VSA. I’ve heard stories about how VSA was this club whose general interest meetings would be attended by over 90 people and how packed the club room would get, which you could barely fit inside. The year I joined VSA, the number of members had slightly dwindled from what it used to be but despite this, everyone was still so passionate about VSA. I wanted to give back to VSA and promote its success as well as continue the organization’s legacy that past e-boards helped create. I want to create amazing experiences for new members that I had in my first year because of this club!