My name is Judith Konamah, and I graduated in December 2019 from Baruch College,

with a major in Psychology and a minor in communications. As a SEEK student, I began my

college journey in the summer of 2016. During the SEEK summer program, I was introduced to

the life of a college student. I was scared to embark on this journey because I was unsure of

many things in my life at the time. As the summer program progressed, I learned all about the

different opportunities that I could take advantage of at Baruch, and I became anxious because I

did not think that I could take advantage of all the opportunities.

As a first-year student, I went to class and made sure that I got good grades. However, I

did not participate in any school activities or join any clubs even though I was advised countless

times to do so. I did not understand the importance of these things because I believed it was all

about my grades. In my sophomore year, however, my counselor, Monika Kosior talked to me

about becoming a SEEK Peer Mentor and even though I did not see myself in such a position, I

applied to the job and got accepted. This was my first time being in a mentorship position and it

was also the first job I ever had. As a mentor, I saw myself grow in a way that made me surer of

myself. This encouraged me to take more chances and participate in school activities. As a result,

I joined the Intervarsity Christian Fellowship where I met people who were going above and

beyond to do more than just go to class. These people helped me get involved on campus. They

gave me the opportunity to work on something that I was still struggling with even as a Peer

Mentor, which was public speaking. I also got the chance to attend an eight hours’ Mental Health

training class to become certified in First Aid Mental Health.

By the time I was a junior, there were a lot of things that I had achieved. However, there

were also a lot of goals that I had set for myself that I hoped to achieve before I graduate. I had

realized that I could graduate a semester early because of my College Now credits if I took two
summer classes, which I did before my junior year began. The first thing that I began working on

in that semester was getting some experience in the field of psychology. This was because I

wanted to apply for graduate programs right out of college. I joined Dynamic Learning Lab, a

psychology research Lab that is run by Dr. Jennifer Mangels here at Baruch. I presented the

research I worked on with a Graduate student on Creative Inquiry Day. I also interned at

Elmhurst Hospital psychiatric unit which excited me about my major. The best thing about that

year was the fact that I was also working at the Office of Health and Wellness as a Peer

Advocating Wellness Services (PAWS).

With all this going on, I was overwhelmed that year. However, I was also proud of

myself because I had been able to take advantage of many of the opportunities at Baruch already.

Not only that, I had begun to feel that I have enough experience in the field of psychology to

apply for graduate school so, by the end of my junior year, I was very excited. One thing that I

had not done as a college student was a study abroad program which is something that I wanted

to do. This was in a way fixed for me because I got into a program called Passages that take

students to Israel for two weeks in the summer. For that same summer 2019, I also had a

psychology conference in Washington DC at the end of the semester before my Israel trip. Even

more surprising for me was the fact that I had gotten into a summer program at NYU called

QUEST. This program gave a $5000 stipend to selected psychology students to work in a lab

with a Professor and a Ph.D. student for two months while also doing their own research project.

All these things packed in one summer were surreal for me, and of course nerve-racking because

I couldn’t see myself doing all of it. With the help of Monika my counselor, I was once again

able to get over another huddle.

 In my last semester of college, I realized that although I would love to apply for Ph.D.

programs, I was not ready to do that yet because of many reasons, one being that I had not found

a professor that I wanted to work with in a program. As a result, I decided to apply for a master’s

program in mental health counseling, something that I had come to love during my work as a

Peer Advocating Wellness Services. I have received an acceptance to the program at Baruch

College, where I will be continuing my education in fall 2020.

Looking back at who I was as a first-year student, I can say that I never thought I could

do all that I have done, and I am more than grateful to all the people that supported me in

everything. One advice that I will give anyone embarking on their college journey is to not doubt

their abilities. Seeing where I am today and where some of my friends are, I know that anything

truly is possible. One of my friends will be working full time at Facebook in Marketing after

graduation this spring. Another one who also graduated early as I did is currently working at an

insurance company with her degree in Actuarial Science. We all started our journey together and

had different goals. I for sure did not know what our journey was going to look like but, I can say

that if we have all gotten to where we are today, it is possible for everyone as well. I will end

with my favorite quote, “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.

And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow

already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary”. – Steve Jobs