Blog 24 - Last Presentation Reflection

1. Positive Statement
• What are you most proud of in your block presentation and/or your senior project? Why?
• I'm glad I was able to present in general. I sometimes loose my train of thought, but I feel like I did better than usual. I was proud that I kept it together. I think the hardest part of a presentation is starting it because once you start talking it becomes a little more comfortable. However, the fact that it's a graded assignment can be intimidating. I also thought my activity worked well today because it seemed that most of the people enjoyed it.
2. Questions to Consider
• What assessment would you give yourself on your block presentation? Use the component contract to defend that assessment.
• P. I personally think I hit all the points on the final component contract except for the EQ being displayed at all times. I completely forgot about my poster at home, but hopefully it doesn't make too much of a damage on my overall grade. Looking at the contract made me realize that I could've gone upon some of these points a lot better.
• What assessment would you give yourself on your overall senior project? Use the component contract to defend that assessment.
• P. I mean I loved having this experience and I enjoyed ever minute of it. I was consistent with my mentor-ship and the work that was needed towards it. Sometimes they would call me in to help in a certain event that they were hosting. I'm planning to continue to volunteer during the summer and their Hawaiian festival on June 12th and June 13th. I made the effort to be involved as much as possible; as have others. 
3. What worked for you in your senior project?
• The mentor-ship itself. When I would volunteer, it didn't feel like an obligation but a privilege.
4. If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your senior project?
• I would've gotten my essential question poster from behind the door of my room and placed it inside the car, so I wouldn't forget it like I did today. I could've taken some of the information off of a couple of slides because the slides could've been overwhelming, but I was afraid that I was going to forget to mention a fact. I should've practiced more. When I practiced at home, I went up to 35 minutes on the three answers and today I felt like I went faster than what was originally planned.
5. Finding Value
• How has the senior project been helpful to you in your future endeavors? Be specific and use examples.
• It has opened a lot of new doors. Julia, the assistant at the nature center has emailed me job offers that I can apply to and I'm sincerely grateful because she seemed to be interested in supporting me. 
• However, just having the experience is great for resumes and for myself because I've learned how to approach the public. This is a skill that a lot of jobs look for since most businesses involve some kind of interaction with people.
• I've also met a lot of new people that are in the same position as I am and others who are able to give me advice on certain opportunities later in the future.

Exit Interview

1. What is your essential question, and what are your answers? What is your best answer and why?
• How can a wildlife educator most effectively spread awareness? 
• Answers: Interaction, Current Issues, Reach-Outs
• My best answer is interaction because it's having the experience that makes it so significant. Interacting with an animal can develop a relationship. Having a relationship makes the person care more about the animal and more about the topic. This encourages them to influence others by raising awareness.
2. What process did you take to arrive at this answer?
• Volunteering at my mentor-ship and being involved in the programs has helped me develop my first answer. I think I first based it on myself because I was only interested in the topic, I wasn't concerned for it. Spending time with the animals and the staff members and developing a relationship with the facility has made me care for them. I then started researching interaction and has given me a lot f information about it's importance. 
3. What problems did you face? How did you resolve them?
• It was hard for me to research my topic because it is pretty self explanatory. However, once I had help in creating my essential question, I was able to focus my research in finding answers. I started to analyze the things I was doing at my mentor-ship with my mentor and observe the certain techniques he used when teaching the kids about the animals and the environment.
4. What are the two most significant sources you used to answer your essential question and why?
• Mentor-ship
• Strife, Susan and Downey, Liam. "Childhood Development ans Access to Nature." ncbi.gov. A New Direction for Environmental Inequality Research. 22 Mar. 2009. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
• It explain the importance of the next generation and at the nature center I work with children more than I work with adults. Children linked to interaction and reach-outs because they are in need of education.
• "Wildlife Awareness and Value." targetstudy.com. Education, knowledge, and career, N.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2016. https://targetstudy.com/articles/wildlife-awareness-and-value.html
• The purpose of raising awareness is for the environment itself. We must first know why it is is so important and so valuable to us. This influenced current issues.