Scholar #6 Marianna Beaute Update

Dear S.M.B.S. Board, 

            This past year I served as Vice President of B.O.S.S. We held various events and meetings throughout campus, attended conferences, and as VP, my leadership skills evolve. I enjoy delegating tasks, providing support to club members, having the chance to meet other leaders, faculty, and peers on campus and having my voice heard.  It was one of my greatest accomplishments this semester. I also delved into my education minor courses, which required me to complete fieldwork. I spent over 60 hours at West Side Collaborative in the Upper West Side helping middle schoolers in math as well as being a resource to my cooperating teachers.  This experience has made my purpose even more clear; I love teaching and being able to help students see and meet their potential.

            This past summer, I interned as a marketing assistant and volunteered teaching children English in Paris. It was my first time leaving the country to visit somewhere else other than my native country, Haiti. I studied French for about 4 years, but always really wanted to master the language, a swell as experience the Parisian culture. Moreso, I wanted to get away from home for time to reflect on my successes, failures, and hopes. Thus, I convinced my parents to buy me a ticket and luckily they did. I spent two months in the city of love, even though I beg to differ, walking the streets of Paris and other neighboring cities, eating as many crepes and pastries as possible, people-watching, visiting monumental sites, and speaking the language. I made comparisons between the healthcare system, poverty, shopping, education system, and the architecture. For two months, I was Parisian and I loved it! I can’t wait to go back. Overall, I really saw what it meant when people say “the world is your oyster.” Upon my arrival in the U.S., I couldn’t believe that these same two feet that stood under the Eiffel Tower, and knelt in the Notre Dame, would now be walking the streets of Brooklyn.

            Currently, I am taking courses at Brooklyn College with the hopes of returning to Barnard in the spring as a senior, as well as developing my own not-for- profit organization.

All the best,

Marianna