Closing on my last volume of The Ticker as the business editor, I can’t believe how much of a rollercoaster ride it has been — from welcoming new writers, pursuing more community-based coverage, and making sure I’m leaving the section in good position for Judah Duke.
I was overwhelmed with happiness since my final issue had 18 stories — a record for any section. This was also my 18th issue in the role, and I could never imagine the amount of interest and love for the section when I started out in training November 2021.
My first issue that following December had zero business articles, so I was very disappointed in myself. But I also had a lapse of contact with my outgoing predecessor. I had to get the editor-in-chief involved.
I loved the people I’ve gotten to work with over the past two or so years — so much so that I wanted to keep writing on business journalism.
With that said, thank you to everyone who contributed to this labor of love.
ISSUE 1
With a new semester comes a continuation of a tradition — or at least one I started in the fall 2022 semester. Inspired by a question from a freshman, I rounded up some of the offerings of Baruch College’s business-centric resource centers and programs.
ISSUE 2
QuiickBriick is a student-run business in its early stages of planning, but the long-term goal for its members is to produce sustainable bricks and other construction materials. I met the founder the prior semester at the Lawrence N. Field Center for Entrepreneurship’s inaugural holiday marketplace.
ISSUE 3
Introduced to me by a former Ticker staffer, The Past Present is a new venture by a Baruch alumna who wants to bring students together to swap clothing — a sustainable alternative to buying new clothes. The founder is still in the early stages of developing the business, but she’s testing the waters on campus.
This piece was co-reported by May Khin, who attended the event. I interviewed the founder separately from my office.
On the side, I wrote a brief on the opening the famed Economy Candy’s new outpost in Chelsea Market.
ISSUE 4
This might have been one of my favorite issues to produce — in part because there was extra time to report due to President’s Day giving us a production week off.
In a webinar led by alumnus and business school namesake Larry Zicklin, the discussion centered on explaining how proxy voting works, what role Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis play, and what the concerns are in terms of influence.
At the Austin Marxe School of Public Affairs, the latest discussion in the DEI Fridays series went into the challenges faced by Asian Americans in particular rising up in the corporate ladder — and their careers in general. The event welcomed Hunter College’s Margaret Chin, who wrote “Why Asian Americans Don’t Reach the Top of the Corporate Ladder.” This piece was co-written by May Khin, who also is keen on covering diverse perspectives.
As for the Weissman Center for International Business, both of us covered a forum spotlighting alumnus Seth Besmertnik, whose successes and failures led him to where he is today with the organic marketing platform, Conductor.
Besmertnik said Conductor’s kind of marketing is “making things that are actually useful, helping to figure out something that your customers are looking for.” As an example, he explained that instead of creating advertisements, hosting pop-up events or making banners for the laundry detergent brand Tide, the business would film a tutorial on how to do laundry for the first time.
On a personal note, I was very much inspired by this forum.
Lastly, I covered the Hult Prize competition at CUNY, where several students across the college system presented pitches for ventures tied to sustainable fashion. Element ultimately won, and I took what believe are my favorite candid photos.
ISSUE 6
In a piece co-written by Venus Manansala, the Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute hosted a conference on the industry — but in particular, on challenges and opportunities in the retail sector.
Candidly, I wish web editors had the ability to add captions online. I was able to provide more clarity with captions when creating the print edition.
ISSUE 7
In addition to helping Kelly Contraras cover the latest Weissman Center forum on HP, I wrote The Ticker’s annual story on the Master in Financial Engineering program’s big win at the Rotman International Trading Competition hosted by the University of Toronto.
ISSUE 8
This was another fun issue to produce — mainly because I was doing triple duty writing the Baruch theatre preview for the arts section and a last-minute opinion piece. This was also the last issue before a two-week production break due to spring break.
I covered a session that was part of an inaugural “Marketing Week” immersion event series hosted by the American Marketing Association’s Baruch chapter, in addition to covering tips relayed by the Small Business Development Center.
I also covered the Field Center’s inaugural Women’s History Month-honoring marketplace for student businesses — building on the success of the holiday marketplace the previous semester.
Lastly, given I had a two days or so to throw together something brief before sending the issue to print, I threw myself into the campus community to write about the closure of ViVi Bubble Tea’s location. This felt like breaking news to me — and it was to people who were surprised to hear.
ISSUE 9
I also enjoyed this piece because I got a story tip from a professor — who turned out to be the former editor-in-chief of The Campus, the student-run newspaper of City College of New York, from which Baruch spun out of. He even complimented me on the sidebar I co-wrote with senior staff writer Vincent Perretti, who wanted to challenge himself by writing most of the issue during spring break.
We wrote a profile on Ethan Frisch, who co-founded Burlap & Barrel, as well as a sidebar on him appearing on ABC’s “Shark Tank.”
ISSUE 11
I ended up co-writing two pieces given people were either tied with finals or under the weather. Baruch College welcomed Chilean representatives to discuss economic developments in the country — particularly with venture capital. Meanwhile, the Robert Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity facilitated a discussion on the ethics and economics of the cannabis industry.
Now, for something I certainly wasn’t expecting to have a Baruch connection: I covered an in-person edition of the Field Center’s Lunch & Learn series featuring the namesake and founder of siggi’s yogurt. His first corporate landlord is also the president of the Baruch College Fund, also known as the endowment.
ISSUE 12
To my surprise, I didn’t write as much as I thought I would the final issue — but I did write or talk through many pitches with writers, if not photograph events and edit many stories.
In my last round covering Larry Zicklin’s webinars, I covered a discussion he led on the resilience of labor unions.
With partner-in-crime May Khin for the last time, I also covered my last Field Center mural competition. I would usually interview the winner during spring break and have a photographer attend the unveiling for the reveal — but I had enough time this year to attend the unveiling.
Also, I wrote my last Editor’s Discernment column.
