Miahh Robillard - Blog 2

The election matter project was meaningful because it showed how closely elections connect to everyday life in the way we often overlook. Before this project, I had already understood that voting was important, but after listening to all five presentations, I started to see elections from a much wider perspective. Elections are not only about choosing a president or voting every few Years. The people we pick help make decisions and can affect education, financial aid, jobs, wages, housing, healthcare, immigration, policies, families, and entire communities. Every group had a different topic, but all five presentations came back to the same idea: public policy reaches everyday people.

 Group 1 focused on the electoral and election process. Their presentation gave us the foundation for the entire project because before we can understand why elections matter, we first must understand how election works, and why participation matters. They discussed voting history, registration, turnout, barriers to voting, college students, and comparison between the United States and the other countries. I thought they are interviews were one of the strongest parts because they added professional perspectives instead of relying on research from websites. Their presentation reminded me that being eligible to vote is not enough; people also need to understand the process the research and take part. Their information was strong, but some slides could have been shorter so that the audience could focus more on the speakers.

 

Group 2 focused on the election policies, which was especially relevant because we are all college students. Their presentation showed how government decisions can influence college access school funding, financial aid, student resources, artificial intelligence in education and opportunities for student students. I paid close attention to the financial aid information because decisions involving FASFA, Pell Grants, tuition and other forms of educational support can directly affect whether students are able to continue school. their teacher and financial aid perspective made the topic Fillmore realistic. Their research was current and relevant, but more charts in shorter sections would have made the information easier to remember.

 

Group 3 presented on the economy. This topic was one of the easiest to connect to everyday life because everyone experiences the economy in someway. They discussed wages, employment, housing, food, insecurities, healthcare cost, College student, finances, retail jobs, inflation, and cost-of-living. One point that stood out to me was the comparison between Wage growth and rising prices. Even when wages increase people can still struggle if prices increase faster. Housing also stood out because rent and home prices affect students, families, and young adults. I also like that they connected the economy to Miami in our local community through their interviews. Their presentation had useful facts, but turning more statistics into grabs and charts would have helped the audience process the information more easily.

 

Group 4 focused on immigration policies. Their presentation showed that Immigration Policy reaches far beyond border enforcement. Immigration policies can affect families, College students, workers, businesses, schools, healthcare, legal processes, and entire communities. I especially like that they connected the topic to South Florida because Immigration affects many people in our area personally or through their families and communities. They discussed the DACA, F – one student, financial aid, legal barriers, MDC resources, such as single stop and Immigration backlogs. Their interviews with an immigration attorney and college professor were excellent because they added professional knowledge and reliable resources. Their next step would be Condensing some of the information – heavy slides, so the strongest points stand out more clearly.

 

The fifth presentation was the project manager synopsis and evaluation that Hannah and I presented. Our job was to bring all four topics together and reflect on what the class learned, improved and what could still be improved. Preparing it made me think about both the information and how each group communicated. Hannah and I highlighted the interviews, the current research, school – student connections, organization, and civic participation as major strengths. We also discussed the areas for improvements, especially shorter slides, less word – four – word, reading, stronger eye contact, more meaningful visuals, and more conversational delivery. One of our main messages was that informative does Not have to be or mean text heavy presentations.

 

Being a project manager also changed my experience with this assignment. Hannah and I help coordinate groups, keep the timelines, track, attendance, send reminders, support, interviews, answer, questions, introduce, and conclude presentations, and Keep Professor Sherri Updated. I learned that being a project manager does not mean doing everyone’s work. Our role was to help make sure different pieces came together. Professor Cheri’s feedback meant a lot because she said our after-class updates were most helpful and that she had not had project managers provide consistent recaps like this before. That made me feel like the work we were doing behind the scenes, contributed to the class.

 

One of my favorite parts of election matters was the interviews. Across the project we heard from professors, educators, financial aid, professional professionals, legal presentation, and community voices. Those interviews move the project beyond slides and made the presentation feel practical and credible.

 

The biggest less than I took from election matter is the government and public policy are more connected to our daily lives than we sometimes realize. Education, immigration, housing, wages, employment, healthcare, financial aid, and community resources can be influenced by decision decisions made by elected officials. That does not mean everyone has to agree politically. It means we should be willing to learn, question, research, take part, advocate, and vote.

 

This project made me think about the idea that we are the future we want to see. If we want better opportunities, strong communities, affordable, housing, better, education, better, healthcare, or policies that support our families, we cannot only hope that someone will create those changes. We must become informed and take part in the process ourselves. My final Takeaway from election matter is simple: being informed is being apart of being heard. Election matter because the decision made through them eventually reach our everyday lives and the future we want Begins with what we choose to do now.