# data[].attributes.headline
Weekly Reflection (from 4/19) Final project draft

# data[].attributes.subject
Weekly Reflection (from 4/19) Final project draft

# data[].attributes.body
During last week's activities, we highlighted the key moments of the project that we designed. In order to come up with some talking points for our project we considered who our user is. Lawrence was the receptionist at the medical marijuana dispensary and he cares a lot about the patients he cares for. He supports the use of medicinal marijuana because it prevents opioid abuse and addiction. However we noticed that he was unaware of some of the disparities in the community. This is why we focused our project on allowing people to understand community diversity. We believe that our documentary prototype will provide the town with an identity and bridge the gap between different communities. Overall, this will have the effect of bringing people together. We decided to call our project Prince George's Temple because we are giving a unique perspective of the Temple Hills community giving it personality and distinguishing qualities like a temple.

# data[].attributes.headline
Weekly Reflections (from 4/11) Return to Temple Hills

# data[].attributes.subject
Weekly Reflections (from 4/11) Return to Temple Hills

# data[].attributes.body
I enjoyed returning to Temple Hills and pitching our prototypes. First we spoke to someone who was homeless who enjoyed our pitching idea and said that it's good that we are helping people. He knew about the Mona Center and said that he was turned away because he said they didn't accept free dentist appointments. Although the Mona Center may have to charge for procedures I definitely think that they should add more resources that can be helpful for homeless and low income populations. I hope that our Temple Hills prototype idea helps encourage other people to help out in the community to help see some of the problems that people are facing. We then spoke to older people at the senior center. They had some important feedback that we should've considered. They said that elderly people aren't that technologically savvy, and may not be able to access the YouTube channel. This encouraged us to add some resources to educate and inform people how to access our channel. Finally we spoke to Lawrence and he said that we should focus on adding more social media options to promote out document series. This will allow us to reach more people and engage with more people in the Temple Hills area. In order to promote the series, we'll add the docuseries to other platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.

# data[].attributes.body
We were able to make a lot of ideas building off of our document series for bringing the community together. Our prototype involves a lot of interaction with the community, and really focusing on the residents and resources in the community. For the first step we really needed a platform for people to recognize as Temple Hills so we decided to create a YouTube channel, which will be an area for residents can learn valuable information about different people, places, and things in temple hills. Focusing on different members of the community will allow people to come together and build relationships with each other. In order to do this we need a good representation, so we decided to focus on people with different demographics and backgrounds in the area to ensure that everyone gets to share their voices. A Q&A panel is also important because it allows people to get answers to questions they have, and will also be available for an outlet where people can address problems that they may be experiencing so that the community could focus on resolving it. Pictures of the area will allow people to explore different aspects of Temple Hills and feel more connected to their communities. A highlight of the month option will encourage residents to do good and help out in the community because it allows them to be recognized for their honorable works. We will also focus on the resources available in Temple Hills that can help address people's health concerns or other important resources that they can find in the area.

# data[].attributes.body
I feel like we made a lot of progress this last week with our assignments. We finalized our HMW statements and we agreed and voted on multiple ideas for what our user would want, what would be the most feasible, and what would be the most innovative. We agreed on a community event, an "interactive" service i the community that would allow people to speak to one another, and a documentary. It did take us a little bit of time because we had a bit of a disagreement about introducing more soup kitchens and homeless shelters in our community, but we realized that these additions won't necessarily resonate with our user. I learned more about some events that may bring the community together and why they're so important. In the past I never really understood the reason for community interaction, but just recently I learned that it's necessary for a community to function properly and has the power to prevent mistrust and even crime in the community. These ideas we are coming up with will not only benefit our user but the community at a whole. It was nice to come up with some ideas for our prototyping assignment, it allows us to build more imaginative additions by thinking out the box and helps build our persuasive skills to help us explain why we think our ideas are good.

# data[].attributes.body
One valuable thing that I learned on Friday was the "I heard, I felt, and I wonder" statements. It allowed us to really put things together and analyze how our users viewed health care services in the Temple Hills area. Thinking about how they felt about health care services allowed us to put ourselves in their shoes and understand their viewpoint. One thing that we struggled with was coming up with a POV statement for our users because it was hard to find similarities between them. Both users were extremely different, however we noticed that they both didn't recognize some of the problems in the community with under served individuals with minimal resources. I learned that no matter how different individuals are, it's still possible to find a common point of interest where they both can learn about. It was valuable working with my teammates to come up with our POV statement.

# data[].attributes.body
During the Mona trip one thing that was valuable for me was what methods people usually use when designing health care clinics. Although profits are necessary for sustaining a business especially care facilities, people should also focus on what the community really needs. The catholic services were especially knowledgeable for what the community needs, especially when it comes to less fortunate individuals who don't have many resources. They constantly give meals to workers and families who are in need, and they plan to make accommodations to people who don't have enough when visiting their health clinic. This makes it easier for people with lower income to still maintain their health by visiting the clinic more often. I did learn valuable information from multiple individuals that were in Temple Hills when it comes to health, however they were fortunate to have that many problems when it comes to health services in the area. A better way for me to know what can be improved is by speaking to less fortunate individuals who may be dissuaded from going to health clinics because they don't have the necessary resources such as transportation, money, or health insurance. One teammate was able to get a lot of valuable information from a receptionist at a medical dispensary. This was actually extremely valuable because someone who works in the health business may be more keen on what health care improvements can be made in the community. This receptionist provided a lot of information of what current health resources the community had and his ideas on what can be better.

# data[].attributes.body
During last weeks activity the most valuable thing I learned was that I should adjust my questions to issues and topic that are related to the specific population that I will be interviewing. One of the best ways to do this is by doing research on the population that I'm interviewing so I can make questions that are most applicable to them. Factors such as ethnicity, income, and education have a significant impact on health related topics. In the past I used to believe that people have full control of their own health, however I learned that the environment definitely controls the quality of our health. For example poorer neighborhoods/cities may have food deserts and a lack of healthy food causing diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and obesity for many. Some areas may also not have the sufficient amount of resources to keep someone healthy such as health clinics, hospitals, or gyms.

# data[].attributes.body
During last weeks activity I think the most valuable skill I learned was being less formal in interviews and being more conversational with the interviewee. This allows me to get more valuable information and more personal information from the interviewee. People are more talk more to someone that they feel comfortable around so I should try to be more friendly and welcoming. What didn't work as well was talking to fast during the introduction. A few people rejected me because they probably didn't fully understand what I said. In the future I will try to slow down and speak so people can understand what I'm saying and might even be willing to answer my questions. I learned that I should slow down when speaking so people can understand me. One team experience I enjoyed was working together with my partner by also engaging the interviewee while taking notes.

# data[].attributes.body
During last week's activity I was able to build my communication skills with strangers that I haven't met before. This was valuable to me because I'm not a very open or extroverted person and I don't really know how to approach people sometimes. This skill is something that's definitely important in the field of Public Health where I need to properly communicate important information with people all the time. What didn't work for me was sticking to the three questions during the interview. The answers were rather short and I wasn't able to build a greater relationship with the person that I was interviewing. In the future I will try to build off of the questions that I have by asking additional questions like "why do you feel that way?" I should've also tried to build a connection with the person that I was interviewing from the start with a better introduction. This may have allowed the person being interviewed feel more relaxed and willing to open up. One thing that I learned was that the best way to start a conversation with someone is to mimic what they are doing. For example, if someone is sitting down, then I should also sit down while interviewing them. This will prevent them from having to change their current positions when answering questions. One experience that I enjoyed was working with a teammate to find individuals who were willing to do the interview. Working together allowed me to notice things that I probably wouldn't have noticed if I was by myself.  It was also fun describing quirky traits of the people we were interviewing, such as our first interviewee who had an interesting combination for breakfast.