Lucia Urdaneta Blog 2

Blog 2

Group 1’s presentation on the electorate and election process helped me understand that elections aren’t just about the candidates. The laws also shape how voters express opinions and, later, how these votes turn into results. An example that stood out to me was ranked-choice voting. Voters are able to rank candidates in order of preference, rather than just picking one candidate. The group also talked about and compared the way other countries, alongside the United States, run their election and voting systems, making us see that there is more than one way to run it.

Something I also liked about their presentation was how they explained what we do on the ballot instead of just what it is. Something that stood out was how the government professor they interviewed made the point that it is important to know how our government works to properly participate. One thing that could be done to make this section even more visual and clear would be a picture of a sample ballot with hypothetical candidates. I think seeing how the ballot votes get counted would make this an easier process to understand rather than just hearing all the steps.

Group 2’s presentation on education policies was definitely a relevant topic because we are college students. They explained how education policy can affect us as students before we are even in college, and it can continue to do so once we’re enrolled. The discussion on Pell Grants helped me think beyond whether someone will qualify for aid. Students have more expenses than just tuition. We need to figure out how to cover books, transportation, and housing. While getting financial aid could make the price of college more affordable that is only a part of the expenses when attending.

Their interviews were the strongest part of their presentation because they showed education policy from two perspectives, which I liked. Something the teacher said that stood out to me was how she spends her own money on classroom supplies, while the financial aid officer explained how the Pell Grant has limits. This example helps me directly see how funding can affect a teacher and what they have available in their class or what a student can afford the following semester. Those are ways that we can explain these things to others to make it easier to understand why policy matters once you can picture how it affects those who are directly affected. 

Group 3 was about the economy, and that was my group. My part specifically focused on wages and employment. When I was working on the information for my slides, I was learning that there are two differences between how much you earn and how much the money you earn actually buys or how much you can actually afford. For example, if someone gets a raise, but the prices of general things in the economy, like groceries and rent, increase at a quicker or higher rate than our pay does, that paycheck might not buy as much more as we thought it would. This is what purchasing power is, and using this example makes it easier to explain to others rather than just the economic term. 

My group also connected the national economy to the expenses that a student who lives in Miami has to consider. The interviews brought a local perspective, especially when mentioning housing costs. My section also made the connection between elections and wages through the example that Florida voters approved increasing the state minimum wage. Looking back at my slides, I would replace some of the text with perhaps more pictures and then use pictures that apply to the examples or things I was using to explain to make my topic more understandable. I think all of these would help the audience see the difference between the higher pay and the purchasing power while I was explaining.

About immigration policies, it helps me see how big the topic of immigration really is; their presentation covered many different topics, including border enforcement, asylum, and legal pathways, such as family-based and employment visas. My overall takeaway was that knowing the legal pathways that exist is different from knowing what it takes for a person to go through with that.

Their interview with the immigration attorney made this distinction even clearer. The attorney explained the delays in bylaws and the cost and complexity of having to go through this process. The criminal justice professor also talked about how the Corvette clause and changing policies make the system difficult to navigate. I thought it was very informative to hear from two different people with different professional backgrounds. Talk about these topics/issues from different perspectives.. I think a tip for the group was that the presentation might have had a lot of information and it could’ve been shown through a simple timeline where an application could get delayed would help the audience follow the process without having to read a long slide.

Lastly, for the project managers, I like how they didn’t just repeat what each group went over. They pointed out the strong parts of each presentation, especially in the interviews and Gabe’s suggestions as to what we could do better next time. Their feedback was about shorter slides, less reading word for word off the PowerPoint slide, and more visual pictures. Help me apply this to my own future presentations. A slide can help an audience understand the point, and that could be done visually. Using these pictures instead of just reading full sentences could help the audience understand and stay entertained more.

The managers also went over what's happening behind the scenes, for example, keeping track of deadlines, checking in with groups, and helping coordinate interviews. This reminds me that group projects are also about what’s done between these meetings, not just what I said on presentation day. Their recap helped me see how topics overlapped. For example, if a student is deciding to stay in college, it could be about financial aid and how much they’re earning. Well, these were two different presentations for the student. These two factors are part of the decision they will make. 

One of the biggest takeaways was to look and read past the headline when I hear about a campaign promise or read about a policy. It is important to ask who can make that change, who would be affected, and what it would look like if approved and implemented. As someone who both presented and was part of the audience, some moments that stuck out to me were an interview, a familiar expense or situation, or an example I could picture. For my next speech, that’s something I could do and spend more time explaining why these examples matter.