Day 9: Preparing for Meetings by Chloe Haner

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July 8th, 2019

Preparing for Meetings
by Chloe Haner

Today we all woke up to an Amber Alert about a flash flood. No one was excited about this except Robert and me. For the rest of the day we worked on presentation skills, which was very beneficial to me. I’ve noticed that my presentation skills have gotten substantially better since I’ve been on this trip. I’ve also noticed that I’ve been more open to discussions with other people and I actually engage with them, instead of shutting myself out. 

The rest of the day went great, as we were slowly reaching the day we all talk to our representatives. Whitney and I have prepared as a team to talk to our representative, Ami Bera, about co-sponsoring a bill to put a tax on carbon emissions. Her and I have poured out heart and souls into our issue papers for about 15 hours. We also practiced presenting to our RA for about 8 hours. I think we can all say that we are extremely prepared and will do a great job. 

Today was also when I realized that I have been making more friends by opening myself up to others. I have gotten really close with Whitney, Robert, Peter, and Ashwin. As the end of the second week nears, I am thankful that I was able to join this program and learn more about climate change. I am also really excited about the possibility of staying in contact with everyone even after the trip. This trip has been an overall great experience.

The GELS group in front of the White House.

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