Describe your most significant endeavor since attending community college in which you applied your academic or intellectual skills learned through your community college education to benefit your school, community or society.
In the summer of 2015, I had to make a persuasive presentation for my Public Speaking class. This was just after the first Republican Debate on Fox News and the presidential campaign cycle was in full swing, so I initially chose to speak on the coming elections and convince my classmates on the importance of voting. Though I am not an American citizen, I've always been fascinated by differences between Nigerian and American politics. Furthermore, my interest in the American electoral process grew even stronger during my American Government class the previous semester. However, after doing some preliminary research, I found out that Fairburn, the city in which my college campus is situated, had an upcoming city council election two weeks from the date of the proposed speech. I decided to switch gears and focus instead on the council elections.
I began my speech process by handing out questionnaires to my classmates to gauge how much they know or participate in their local politics. I found out that less than half of my classmates who were eligible to vote had actually voted in the presidential elections, even fewer had voted in the gubernatorial elections, and almost none had ever voted in local councils. Most of them thought that local government was irrelevant because it had no power to affect their daily lives. I tailored my speech to inform my classmates of the many roles and responsibilities of the local city council and ways to become more active in their community.
I gave my speech to about 25 students in my speech class, where it was well received by both the instructor and my classmates, but I still wanted to get my message out to a wider audience. As a member of the Student Government Association, I saw an opportunity to piggyback on an upcoming open-mic to make my address. I realized that a speech urging college students to go out and vote might seem out of place among poetry readings, freestyle raps and musical duets, but I knew that if I gave an engaging speech, people would listen.
On the day of the open-mic, about 80 students showed up to listen to the various presentations from students and staff. My speech went off without a hitch, and after I was done I fielded questions from students who wanted some more information. I do not know how many of those students actually attended their council meeting or voted in the November elections, but I would like to think that I encouraged maybe a few to take control of their future by participating in local politics.
Public Speaking Class
In the summer of 2015, I had to make a persuasive presentation for my Public Speaking class. This was just after the first Republican Debate on Fox News and the presidential campaign cycle was in full swing, so I initially chose to speak on the coming elections and convince my classmates on the importance of voting. Though I am not an American citizen, I've always been fascinated by differences between Nigerian and American politics. Furthermore, my interest in the American electoral process grew even stronger during my American Government class the previous semester. However, after doing some preliminary research, I found out that Fairburn, the city in which my college campus is situated, had an upcoming city council election two weeks from the date of the proposed speech. I decided to switch gears and focus instead on the council elections.
I began my speech process by handing out questionnaires to my classmates to gauge how much they know or participate in their local politics. I found out that less than half of my classmates who were eligible to vote had actually voted in the presidential elections, even fewer had voted in the gubernatorial elections, and almost none had ever voted in local councils. Most of them thought that local government was irrelevant because it had no power to affect their daily lives. I tailored my speech to inform my classmates of the many roles and responsibilities of the local city council and ways to become more active in their community.
I gave my speech to about 25 students in my speech class, where it was well received by both the instructor and my classmates, but I still wanted to get my message out to a wider audience. As a member of the Student Government Association, I saw an opportunity to piggyback on an upcoming open-mic to make my address. I realized that a speech urging college students to go out and vote might seem out of place among poetry readings, freestyle raps and musical duets, but I knew that if I gave an engaging speech, people would listen.
On the day of the open-mic, about 80 students showed up to listen to the various presentations from students and staff. My speech went off without a hitch, and after I was done I fielded questions from students who wanted some more information. I do not know how many of those students actually attended their council meeting or voted in the November elections, but I would like to think that I encouraged maybe a few to take control of their future by participating in local politics.
