Reflection on new presenations

Kevin Cabrera

This new round of presentations from all the groups was not only informative, but also very engaging in how they delivered their information. I found that the addition of interviews from professionals really added to the credibility of the presentation while also keeping the audience interested. I was always intrigued by the expert interviews. Seeing them speaking from experience was really interesting since they were just pouring all their knowledge out for the interviewer and everyone who watched the presentation. As well as this, I feel all the interviewers used their interviews effectively so they could elevate their points and highlight important topics. The experts truly added to all the presentations, and I feel all the presenters effectively used the interviews to add impact to their points and words.

One of the presentations that stuck out to me the most was one that tied together themes of immigration and the economy. I found this one to be quite interesting as these are two discussions that are very topical right now, especially with the current Trump administration. Because of this, discussions of immigration and the economy have become very contentious topics, so seeing how they would be discussed in the presentation intrigued me. Both were handled very professionally. No presenter allowed their personal biases to infiltrate the presentation. Everything was presented through objective facts. The presentation managed to blend many different aspects of the two topics, creating a multifaceted presentation. The different presenters were able to touch on many distinct topics while also looping them back into one another to create a larger interconnected project.

The topic of immigration especially resonated with me quite deeply because of my family history. I am the son of two immigrants; both having come from Cuba. Growing up, I have always been hearing the tales of their struggle to find success in the United States. Because of this, both of my parents are quite opinionated in terms of immigration, which inevitably bled into me growing up. Hearing these topics that have made up such a large part of my life in these presentations was impactful for me and built a more personal connection.

Another group presented on civic issues and healthcare issues. Both of these topics were handled very well. Both had a professional tone and were clearly very well researched. I found both of these topics to be very personally relatable to me and my peers. Civic issues, for example, are very important to me and most of my peers because these are issues that directly affect us in our day to day life. The economy is important to us of course, but most of my peers aren’t even adults yet. These civic issues on the other hand, are much more directly related to us as they impact us directly. These are issues that affect social rights, our education, poverty, pollution, climate change (which I will speak on later), and more issues. Within the past few years, we have seen Generation Z take a lot of care in speaking out on these issues, which is what makes this topic connect to us more and what made me understand it on a deeper level. The other topic covered was mental health, which I found to be especially relatable. Growing up in a very Hispanic community, mental health has always been a taboo topic. Families tend to shy away from topics of depression or anxiety. My mother works as a psychologist and I have spoken to many psychologists for school, one even being a professor here at MDC Kendall. This prior context really made the topics hit harder for me as I have seen the issues directly affect the people around me.

One aspect of the assignment that I found to be very important was the interviews. Across all the PowerPoints, there were many incredible interviews with a wide variety of people across a diverse range of topics. One that stuck out to me was the interview with an actual ex-FBI agent. Not only was this shocking since it seems like an ex-FBI agent would be very difficult to convince to do a school project, but also because he gave so much crucial information. I found this interview in particular to be an interesting one not just because of the subject, but also because he was able to deliver the information so effectively. Furthermore, the interviewer asked great questions. They were concise and important, asking questions that produced great answers.

While the FBI agent interview was great, the other interviews were great as well. I feel they added so much more depth to each presentation and they really expanded on the ideas presented in each group.      Some presenters were unable to secure an interview, but most were able to find a suitable video clip, like of a TED Talk. These alternatives were also great sources of information since they are already edited videos to deliver the information as efficiently as possible.

Finally, I want to speak on my experience working on the project. Our group covered how education and the environment interacted in a multitude of different ways. My specific theme was the role of environmental education in shaping future generations. As well as this, I compared environmental education in the United States to environmental education and standards of environmental education across the world. I learned a lot about not only how the United States teaches environmental topics and how it differs across states, but also about how the rest of the world does it. It was truly eye opening to see the differences and similarities in educational standards, especially since environmental issues are seen as a very pressing matter by the very people in school right now. As well as this, the interview requirement was a great bit of the project for me. I got to speak with Melissa Lau of the MDC Earth Ethics Institute. She was very friendly and absolutely wonderful to talk to. I had sent her my interview questions and she had answers prepared, but she spoke for quite some time on each question. Each response she gave just oozed with passion for the environment and how we can reach out to the youth. Each answer she gave built up more and more as it went on, and it was really a great thing to see. I love seeing people spill out all their passions for a topic, especially one they are working in. Even within my research, I learned a lot from Melissa that I otherwise likely would have never learned.

Essentially, the entire project was great. From my experience working on my side of the presentation and the wonderful interview with melissa, to the spectacular presentations the other students gave, I feel the project was a success. Every group gave so much information that it was evident they studied and cared for their topics. The interviews and videos on top of this served as a cherry on top. Because of all this, I am very happy with the presentations as a whole, and am leaving the experience with heaps of new knowledge from my classmates.