TTR
Tuesday Times Roundtable
TTR: Technological Innovation: An Inclusive Path Forward - April 22, 2021
Presentation by Soraya Bagheri, Founder, Electo, on April 6, 2021
I can relate to speaker Soraya Bagheri as a recent college graduate, although her accomplishments are way beyond my level at this point! Her presentation gave us a brief overview of how the Electo platform deals with politics by providing its users with unbiased, nonpartisan information about elected officials’ social media, as well as locating their individual records through various government websites.
​
I’m convinced Electo is the right step for the future. Why? Technology advances and is always finding new ways to improve our lives, and Electo does that through unfiltered, unbiased, and easy-to-find political information.
​
Bagheri also addressed how technological advances can create an inclusive path and “open opportunities for us.” I think that when the COO of Electo says us, she’s aware, however, that each individual is different. With each opportunity that’s available to all of us comes an accommodation for different voices. These voices are also varied among those behind the scenes at Electo, who value diversity in their work in order to better serve their users. All decisions by the team are made through the lens of diversity. With all that’s occurred in the past year —living through a global pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement— it’s indeed important to make decisions viewed through the lens of diversity, as it’s important to include everyone. By acknowledging this, the company founded by Bagheri and co-founder Naeim Khanjani does a great job in that sense by making their platform unbiased and providing users with no misleading information. They deal with cold hard facts which, at the end of the day, is extremely important. But they also exhibit a high level of respect for all individuals of different backgrounds.
​
Acknowledging different backgrounds is something I will always carry with me and hope to apply in the near future when I find myself in medical school with individuals from all over the world and when I eventually take the Hippocratic Oath, as I will treat every patient with the respect they deserve.
TTR: Celebrating International Month of Happiness: An Introduction to Mindfulness - April 13, 2021
Presentation by Dorlisa Banbanaste, Program Director at Mindful Kids Miami, on March 30, 2021
A discussion about mindfulness and happiness was very comforting to hear, as I believe this concept ties into a very prevalent topic in our society: mental health. Banbanaste began by addressing the definition of mindfulness: the awareness that arises by paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally. I used to believe that mindfulness was simply just being aware of your surroundings. However, she went deeper into its definition by explaining that not only are we able to be present when we’re doing something that we enjoy, that we’re passionate about, that’s important, but we can also be engaged during times with negative connotations.
​
Although Banbanaste did go over the definition of mindfulness in detail, she also spoke about the myths surrounding it and what is not actually mindfulness. For example, myths include how in order to be truly mindful, our minds need to be blank, or that we have to be religious. This simply isn’t true. Mindfulness is for all kinds of people. Others’ opinions and states of mindfulness are endless and open, as we each carry our own perception. Even though she only mentioned five benefits, I believe the benefits are endless. It was also interesting when she spoke about the “pleasant events calendar,” as this is something that I do (mentally) all the time when I’m feeling down. Recalling times where I’ve felt like I was on top of the world has helped me reflect on the good times and forget about the bad. These pleasant moments triumph over anything else.
​
All in all, I was very intrigued by Banbanaste’s talk and her overall presentation skills, and it impacted me as a person who needs to be more aware of her state of mindfulness. I’m someone who doesn’t live in the moment, always scrolling through my phone or worrying about other matters. When reflecting on it, I realize that I’ve “missed” moments with friends and family, even though I was physically present.
​
Banbanaste truly opened my eyes and allowed me to appreciate the value of being mindful and living in the moment. Out of her presentation, I took with me a simple quote, “Without the heart, mindfulness isn’t mindfulness.”
TTR: I Can’t Pick One! Exploring Your Multiple Potential(s) - February 4, 2021
Presentation by Sophie Loureiro and Giovanna Tello on February 2, 2021
When I saw the title of this presentation, I felt compelled to click on it since I’m someone who can make decisions easily, and when I do, I sell myself short, which doesn’t allow me to explore or achieve things at my fullest potential. Tello opened by asking, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Once the question had been answered, she transitioned to address how it changes once we accomplish different milestones in our lives. For example, once we’ve graduated high school: What college are you going to? Once we’ve decided on a college: What are you majoring in? College graduation is near, and the question becomes: What are your plans after graduation? Are you going to grad school? The magnitude of the question grows, as we’re constantly expected to think about our next plan, and not about what we’re currently doing.
​
Like many children, I spent a lot of time watching TV as a kid, as it was one of the best ways to keep my siblings and myself entertained. We were, however, only allowed to watch educational programs, The Weather Channel, and Food Network. Our favorite one (and our mom’s) was Food Network, and we spent countless hours watching it. This led not only to my love of cooking and baking but a desire to become a gastronomist or perhaps a food critic. But as I grew older, circumstances changed, and I instead developed a passion for helping others, especially after my mother’s cancer diagnosis when I became very involved with medicine and the study of oncology.
​
I’ve used my passion for medicine to pursue a career as a physician and to become a pediatric oncologist, hoping to one day help save kids and give them a second chance at life. But I’ve never lost my love of food, cooking, or watching Food Network. I live in the moment, right now, and decided to start a food-blogging account, @soforkinghungry! I’m keeping in mind Tello’s talk, and just because I’m focused on becoming a physician, that doesn’t mean I should drop everything else.
TTR: Photographic Storytelling & Our Stories: 2020 - January 26, 2021
Presentation by Enrique Rosell, Program Coordinator at The Honors College, and Andrea Fanta, Faculty Fellow at The Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab, on January 26, 2021
“A picture says a thousand words” is a quote that we’ve heard at least once. The idea behind the Our Stories project was simply brilliant, in my opinion, especially during the pandemic. The Our Stories project allows us to see what others were doing or went through during the summer of 2020. One of the things that really stood out to me was its use of disposable cameras which allowed selected participants to live the moment without relying on their phones.
​
As humans, we have the ability to view things from different perspectives, and even though many people have similar views, at the end of the day the perspectives are different. Two pictures stood out to me the most: a photograph of a black boy surrounded by white people, and a photo titled Happy Birthday Dad.
​
The picture of the young boy surrounded by people who don’t have the same skin color as him can be perceived in different ways. Is the photographer also black and trying to show viewers racial disparity? Or is the photographer a white individual with an entirely different agenda?
​
Happy Birthday Dad is an entirely different subject. What’s interesting about this photo is what’s missing: dad. This photo features a scene at a fast-food restaurant where only a table top and the food on it are fully visible along with an empty chair. Resting on the chair is a cardboard sign with the words “HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD (MR. DALE) WE MISS YOU!” scribbled in marker. Why is dad not there? It could be that dad has passed and his family is celebrating him, or maybe dad hasn’t passed, and could perhaps be deployed, on a business trip, or just ill. In reality, as Enrique Rosell told us, the subject was actually one of the photographer’s friends, and dad is alive and well. A picture does say a thousand words, indeed. But maybe we all hear a different story.