Readers,

For the past year, I have been The Ticker’s news editor; however, my work for the Baruch College community started long before then.

I’ll be graduating this May with a double major in journalism and political science and am preparing to begin the next chapter of my career at the CUNY Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. As I reflect on my past four years at Baruch, I am thankful for the opportunities this community has granted me along the way.

In the past four years, I’ve been a Dean Scholar; a Model United Nations delegate and executive board member; an interviewer; a photographer and social media manager for Humans of Baruch and a Globus Scholar, as well as a senior staff writer for The Ticker’s opinions, business and news sections.

I am honored to have carried these titles at Baruch and will continue to carry myself as a Bearcat with pride. None of this was easy, as you could imagine. This wouldn’t have been possible without professors, academic advisors, the Office of Student Life and our fellow students.

Grades have always been important, but there’s something more that makes your years in college worthwhile.

This past year has been called a lot of things: unconventional, unprecedented, unparalleled and more. If the last three semesters at home have taught me anything, it is that the way to get the most out of your college experience is to build strong relationships within the community.

Throughout a global pandemic and physical isolation, one thing that I am grateful for the most is the support system I have because of Baruch. This includes the friends I knew before the pandemic and those I met virtually because of it.

If there’s one thing I can leave to the Baruch community as I reach my final days of Baruch, it would be this very piece of advice.

Sure, Baruch is filled with incredible academic and professional opportunities. However, take advantage of the clubs and organizations on campus.

The best thing Baruch can offer you is its community.

Thank you for allowing me to do what I love and for giving me a community to do it in. I owe a lot of my personal growth to Baruch, and I hope you all have the opportunity to learn and grow at Baruch as well.