Elections matter reflections Catherine Guillen


Catherine Guillen 11/4/2026

Watching each group present really opened my eyes to how deeply politics, government decisions, and elections influence our everyday lives. While each team tackled a distinct subject—ranging from immigration policies to economic trends—it became clear that these topics don't exist in isolation. They constantly overlap and directly affect college students, local families, and broader communities. Listening to my peers share their research and real-world examples made these big concepts much more accessible than simply reading about them in a textbook.

For our presentation, Group 1 tackled United States immigration policy. Amelia Perez kicked off our talk by establishing how immigration laws govern entry, residency, and workforce participation within our borders. My section focused on breaking down the specific structural components of immigration policy, such as temporary visas, permanent residency, naturalization pathways, and humanitarian protections. I wanted to emphasize that immigration policy isn't just one static rule, but a complex framework of regulations. Diego Reyes and Brock Gandarillas then brought the focus home to Miami-Dade County, explaining how these policies affect local residents, family structures, college tuition, and employment eligibility. Alejandro Lander highlighted essential resources like USCIS and shared key takeaways from our interview with the Florida Immigration Director. Finally, Remas wrapped up by summarizing how national immigration decisions ripple through local communities like ours.

Next, Group 2 delivered an insightful breakdown of voting rights and electoral mechanics. Holly Yu tracked the historical expansion of the franchise through landmark constitutional amendments, including the 15th, 19th, and 26th Amendments. Danielle Gonzalez traced the evolution of political campaigning from early speeches to television and modern social media. I found Evan Oliveras’s section particularly interesting as he compared democratic processes in the U.S. with those in Canada, Australia, and the UK. Daniela Perez and Manfred Wiltz then explained the mechanics of voter registration, campaign finance, and the Electoral College. Remas closed out their talk by reinforcing that voting is about holding leaders accountable and participating in a process far more intricate than just casting a ballot.

Group 3 focused on education policies, presenting a topic that felt especially relevant to all of us in the classroom. Jimmy Valdivia opened with a thought-provoking scenario: what would happen if our financial aid vanished overnight? That question underscored the real-world stakes for students who might have to work extra shifts, take on debt, or pause their studies. Janelle Aboujaoude then examined education within Miami-Dade County, demonstrating how school board decisions, state regulations, and funding formulas determine classroom resources, testing standards, and teacher support. Her section made it obvious that political decisions shape the quality and accessibility of our education every single day.

Lastly, Group 4 addressed the economy and how macroeconomic trends impact daily living expenses. Amelia Perez set the stage by detailing how systemic issues like inflation and shifting job markets dictate the cost of living. Shannon Bernard Libby made the topic personal by bringing in a family interview to illustrate the financial strain rising prices place on household essentials like groceries, healthcare, and gas. Lajahnique Olive contrasted different political philosophies on taxes and government spending, while Rosangela Ruiz and Riley Potter covered trade networks and energy costs. Melani Hernandez and Thu Le focused on Florida's housing market, evaluating the pros and cons of renting versus buying. Oriana Gonzalez addressed small business challenges, and Remas concluded by bringing all these economic threads together.

Ultimately, these presentations reinforced how interconnected our society really is. Whether the discussion centered on housing costs, voting access, school funding, or immigration policy, every single topic connects back to the decisions made by elected officials. Hearing personal stories and primary interviews throughout the presentations reminded me that staying informed isn't just an academic exercise—it's essential for understanding the world around us and advocating for our communities.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Speech Presentations Blog - Abigail Nunez

Speech Presentations Blog September 24,2026      After watching all three groups present, I realized that group presentations can be a lot more interesting than I originally thought. Each group covered different chapters and topics, but there were also a lot of ideas that connected with each other. We learned about things like how to start and end a speech, how to use language, how to persuade an audience, how to use presentation media, how to speak online, and how to work together in a group. Watching everyone present also made me think about what makes a presentation enjoyable to watch and what can make it difficult to stay focused.      One thing I really liked about the presentations was that everyone had their own way of presenting. Some people were more confident and comfortable speaking, while others seemed more nervous, but I actually liked seeing the different personalities come through. It made the presentations feel more real instead of everyon...
Read more

reflection on the Education presentation by Brock Gandarillas

  Reflection on the Class Presentation About Education The class presentation on education was informative, engaging, and thoughtfully designed. Overall, the group's presentation was very good. The PowerPoint looked great and included a lot of strong information. Although the speakers could have communicated more clearly and coordinated their individual roles more carefully, these concerns were relatively minor. One of the presentation's greatest strengths was its focus on an important subject. Education affects nearly every part of society because it helps individuals gain knowledge, develop skills, and prepare for future responsibilities. A presentation on education can encourage students to think about their own experiences while also considering the experiences of people in other communities. The group seemed to understand the topic's significance and included a lot of strong information. Rather than making the presentation feel like a collection of unrelated facts, the...
Read more

Elections Matter Reflection - Abigail Nunez

  Elections Matter Blog  October 29,2026 After watching all three presentations, I realized that even though each group talked about something different, all the topics connect to our everyday lives. The presentations were about the economy, education policies, and elections. These are things we hear about pretty often, but we do not always stop and think about how much they actually affect us. I liked that the groups gave examples because it helped me understand the topics better instead of just listening to a bunch of facts. Each presentation taught me something new, and some of the things they talked about made me think about situations I could experience in my own life. The first presentation was about the economy and how it affects people every day. I think this is something most of us can relate to because see prices going up all the time. Whether it is groceries, gas, or other things we need, everything can get expensive really quickly. The group also explained how De...
Read more