An Alpha Mentor and Dean Scholar, Anita Baksh is so much more. She could even perhaps be considered an epitome of what it means to get involved.

A junior, Baksh says she has learned a lot from being involved in campus activities. “Orientation opened me up because I used to be shy.” She said, “It encouraged me to apply for other things.”

Baksh attended high school at Midwood High in Richmond Hill, Queens, where she was a part of the honor society and participated in a lot of community service. Though she calls Richmond Hill home, she actually has lived in a few countries, another state and a couple of boroughs before settling in Queens.

“I was born in Suriname, South America,” Baksh said. “I’ve lived in Guyana, Trinidad, New Jersey, the Bronx and Brooklyn and moved to Queens when I was 19, right before I started St. John’s.”

She chose St. John’s because it was close to home and offered the best financial package. However, the journey here was not that easy. Baksh had to deal with a lot crazy things growing up – family tragedy, house fires and the death of her father.

“That’s why I moved around a lot.” She said, “I’m most proud of just being able to get through all that and not getting crazy.”

Yet, Baksh definitely has been enjoying her time here at St. John’s. “I like the opportunities I have here.” Those opportunities include getting to interact with different people and helping freshmen and transfer students with the transition. Being a Resident Assistant and Orientation Leader makes Baksh feel like she has a purpose being at St. John’s and that she may influence other people’s lives.

During last school year, Baksh worked extremely hard to get one of the organizations she was involved with, the Guyanese Student Association, a larger membership as well as improving its reputation.

Even though she claims she has no spare time for hobbies, if she could travel to any place in the world she would choose India because her ancestors are from there and she would like to learn more about them.

Some things that one might not know about Baksh is that her favorite color is blue, she loves Guyanese food and summer is her favorite time of the year because her birthday falls then.

Baksh’s message to the student body at St. John’s is to “get involved.” “It’s a really important part of the college experience.”