Welcome to America!

Ignorant to the culture, language and way of life my parents knew it would be difficult to assimilate to American society when they moved our family to New York in 1992. Though I was too young to notice, I can remember my parents voicing their hardships in trying to grasp the American dream. One of more notable differences between life in the USSR and USA is the struggle for economic prosperity. During the communist regime, there was no such thing as free enterprise as all the businesses were government owned and all the salaries were governmentally controlled. The innate human trait of self-betterment is not exploited as one cannot earn more money through hard work and dedication. Conversely, the principle of striving to better yourself is the driving force behind the American dream. In addition to work ethic, the difference in food among the two cultures is very evident. In the USSR most of the dishes were rich in mayonnaise and almost always served with a side of potatoes. To my surprise and delight, most of the food I ate when I came to New York was greasy and from a fast food chain, which ironically is analogous to New York's fast paced life style. To sum up, since I immigrated to America at such a young age I had no problems assimilating to its expansive culture.

Getting to Know Eddie Shpits !

Greetings from Eddie Shpits, 21 year old Junior studying Accounting at New York's prestigious Baruch College. I was born in Kiev, Ukraine in 1989. My parents decided to move our family to America when I was three years old to escape religious persecution and in hopes of creating a better life for me and my sister. I currently live in Staten Island, and like many of you, endure a long commute to Baruch everday. I am a Sales Coordinator for a Logistics company called ARI Shipping located in Inwood, NY (a couple blocks away from JFK). Some of my hobbies include Basketball, Poker, and listening to music. I transferred to Baruch from CSI last semester in hopes of obtaining the best possible education in my field. I aspire to receive my Masters of Business Administration from Baruch and go on to be a successful CPA.