Mountain lion’s death, the struggles of Latina womanhood and the influences that change modern style were among the topics communications students presented at the fourth annual Communications Student Showcase at the PCC campus in the Dyer Hall on May 13.
Student presentations were divided into informal, persuasive, oral and student debates but seemed to have no restriction on what topics students could speak on.
Miguel Alba is a LBCC zoology major who used the showcase to share his passion for small wildlife.
Alba shared a story of his pet snake that died after seven years of companionship. This loss pushed Alba to share how the loss of the snake continues to affect him 5 years later.
“I encourage everyone to bond with animals,” Alba said after his snake presentation.
In contrast, student Pattee Olsen zoomed out of the relationship between an owner and their pet and instead spoke of P-22 the mountain lion.
P22 was a famous mountain lion known to have roamed the Santa Monica Mountains and died after he was struck on the 101 highway to Griffith park. His death shocked many people, including Olsen.
He was tagged just like his father P-1 was and had his movements tracked for over 20 years until his unfortunate end in December of 2022.
Stephen Love opened the ceremony with his story about a figurative human being that was as open and colorful as him. He titled it “Rainbow Revolutions: A Russian Drag Queen’s Story.”
Love said he was drawn to writing about his experiences after growing up with a father who is not open to the lgbtq community.
Clair Munch, another student showcased, presented her discussion on the exterior forces that influence individual style.
“Our bodies are our own canvas, add your colors, accessories, shapes and all that you desire,” Munch said.
She explained when the jackets somehow don’t keep us warm enough we seek for other forms of comfort. The passions people seek are the words and clothes they use to identify their cultures.
Just like shirts and jeans that are passed down after someone grows too big, some languages or cultures are passed down too.
In the case of Will McReynolds he shared some stats with a chart that showed where our screen times went to. Either with school, social media or work influence our actions and thought process.
The fear of outside voices from our own or negative reactions often lead us to lock ourselves in our own personal cell. We can unlock ourselves and create the pieces we have envisioned in our minds.
Personal cells that are made up by our friends, family, schools or work. What we chose to do in our spare times as well.
Of course fashion, social media, school and work are not always isolated issues. Many health problems exist that are not addressed or taken care of properly. It is not uncommon to have a fear of medical problems either we or people we know have.
Yedine Rodriguez, put together a slideshow with information regarding universal health care, touching on the cost issue with healthcare in America. The luxury of clinical or hospital visits are not always easy for everyone to access.
In cases with mental well being, forming healthy groups as well as habits are essential. Accepting the differences we have with people is vital for maintaining a healthy mind set.
As women in higher education continue to have struggles and battles of their own, Aaliyah Carter was able to create a bond with the women in the room in her series of poems titled “A Woman’s Worth”, “I am a Strong Woman” and “Phenomenal Woman.”
Similarly, Margarita Rios shared her story about what it is like to feel conquered. In her piece she wrote about what it is like to feel like a colored woman. The similarities within cultures and the everyday struggles of a brown woman.
Margarita used her voice to share what women in colored cultures do and have done for centuries in her poem she titled “Mano a Mano,” which translates to hand in hand in English.
The showcase ended with the presenters thanking the audience for attending while coaches and volunteers gathered for pictures and after thoughts.