It was a great start to the day when Melanie picked us up at 9:30 am. As soon as we arrived, we had the opportunity to have an interesting conversation with Nina, a former computer programmer at UCLA.
During our presentation, we had a lively discussion with the audience that lasted over an hour. It was so valuable to us because we learned a lot from everyone. One of the key takeaways from our talk was the importance of being critical of certain "truths" and taking them with a grain of salt, like the snake oil of the past which caused harm to many Americans with its opium content. Additionally, we discussed the importance of government protection, like the creation of the FDA in 1906 to protect consumers from unscrupulous sellers and big corporations. Our audience was engaged and had a lot to say about the topic, and Rena, the community facilitator was thrilled to have us there and even recommended us to another elderly community in Pasadena and suggested that we talk in middle schools and high schools.
Overall, we learned the importance of staying vigilant and being of service to others. Our presentation was not only educational but entertaining and useful as well. In the future, we hope to have similar conversations with marginalized communities.
Leou Ying, John Ha, Melanie Rizkalla on April 10, 2022
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