Larissa Cuevas Email & Phone Number

Have you ever felt like a rookie, day one off the desk? Feeling like everything you’ve learned doesn’t prepare you for reality. Honestly, I do. Growing up, I was considered a bit of a bookworm and I couldn’t disagree. By the third grade I was reading chapter books that ranged from 30-40 chapters. I love me a good book. My bibliophilia led me to volunteer at Queens Library, where I learned about the Dewey Decimal System. The experience gave me a sense of organization, better than I had ever known, and community. However, I didn’t realize then that the organization and the building of community could exist out of those four walls. Walking the streets of New York feels lonely when you're rushing to get from point A to point B and when you're minding your business while you travel. In the library, the activities gave me a moment to stop rushing and live in the moment. Whether I was tutoring a student or ushering movie night, there was always a new lesson I’d take home with me. The problem I had was the lack of reflecting on those lessons. I’d most likely forget the new lesson by the next week and I didn’t know what active recall was. By the time I got to college, I knew I needed assistance studying. I hadn’t effectively been studying and the classes put that to the test. I had been passing my classes but not recalling what I’d learned. At the time, when a new semester would come around I had felt unprepared to move forward. So, I ask again. How is what I have learned in classes going to prepare me for the real world? I hope to find out while I tread a new journey in gaining experience and opportunity.

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  The City College Of New York