2nd Presentation Gabriel Acosta

    After the success of the first presentation made in our Public Speaking class, I thought that the second presentation was going to be predictable, and simple but oh boy I was in for a surprise. At the beginning of the semester professor Sinkoff established that in March, the class would be part of a virtual presentation in front of others college members. For her and us these presentations would be something meaningful and challenging for two main reasons: the virtual setting and creating a whole and cohesive class presentation. The first part of this project was a normal group presentation following the same rules and guidelines from the first group presentation based on teaching the book material however this presentation required doing our research as groups based on mental health, anxiety, disabilities, and their relationship with technology. 

    At first, the project required the class to divide and select each topic to start working on the research part before creating a good material to present. Group 2 is the group that I take part in agreed on selecting the theme of How to get treated and stay connected. The topic that we selected for me was helpful since in the past few months I have conducted, red, and researched on my own about mental health getting treated and staying connected.  Since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak and confinement, one of the most important lessons that I learned was how to keep a good mentality when facing chaos or the unknown while having good mental health. This personal research helped me on delivering good presentations about staying connected with people when dealing with a mental health process such as a panic attack or anxiety. During the preparation of the presentation in front of the class, the class faced many inconveniences such as Blackboard connection issues or sometimes hitting roadblocks when conducting research.  However, the class forgot that we counted with a glimpse of hope, and guidance in professor Sinkoff. 

    Professor Sinkoff helped all the groups with many small details, but she had a couple of tricks under her sleeve. The first of many tricks that she had was planning a meeting with the person in charge of the mental health of the staff, and students from the Hialeah campus. This person was relatively young but with a professional degree and deep knowledge in mental health. He went in private with some groups and answered so many questions on mental health that helped us get guidance on where to take our research for the presentation. For me, seeing a professional talking about mental health was valuable since I have personally been recognized as someone who was mentally ahead of his time but still young and with a world to learn. Instructor Sinkoff also presented us with someone who dealt with disabilities in Miami Dade College Hialeah Campus. She was someone enthusiastic and special that gave us a different perspective.

    With the meetings out of the way and done research for a couple of weeks all groups were ready to present. Professor Sinkoff and her class leaders changed the order of the presentation to shake things up. Groups four and three made impressive presentations with deep knowledge and skilled time management, and it was time for my group to present however we faced one issue. One of our members had an incident that made him unavailable to present on the date we were supposed to present, and our group leader diligently talked with the professor to get us another date to present, and she accepted it. So, the following class we were ready to present, and it went great. I focused on the subtopic of staying connected with a network of people that enabled you to keep your mental health and manage yourself better during those rough patches. During my research for the presentation, I found a great and modern example that showcased this, and it was the producer and rapper Kanye West.  West was a person exposed to the public eye from a young age. Sadly, during his lifetime, he faced many problems that started with the passing away of his mother Donda West. For many he was just another random start however for professionals he was a man calling for help and suffering from mental health without a good network of people around to support him. This example let me show is important is to have a good group and this happened even to the most successful or famous people. After that, I finished my presentation with a small and short video of a professional explaining the importance of groups.

    Once all presentations were finished and completed, professor Sinkoff did her magic and with one amazing classmate, she managed to merge all presentations material into one to present. She helped us with her ability to make a class presentation for the virtual symposium and we as a class worked together to create a cohesive, and good presentation together We as a class rehearsed the presentation one time and were ready to present after fixing some small issues. The class dressed up professionally and in around 45 minutes delivered a great presentation despite being completed and done online. This proved that with good guidance and practice bigger-scale projects can be done and delivered at a professional level.

    To me, these presentations and this project as a whole helped me explore some crucial points that will come in handy for the next years of my life. Starting things off with learning to rely on others and accept that others can do a good job despite not being done in my way. This project taught and reminded me of the importance of mental health and reaching out to professionals at times of need, no one is perfect nor should be. Last but not least this also taught the value of knowing there are no limitations when you want to achieve a goal. Despite being fully online and never having formally met my classmates, we managed to make a class presentation based on trust and relying on others without having to see each other face to face.  The correct use of technology lets us make this possible. It was a wonderful job and I'm glad that I was part of it.