BuzzStorm BrainSession - Signature Presentation Video

Presentation script: The community.

The zip code of 89123 in Las Vegas, Nevada is in what is known as the Paradise borough in Clark County.  According to TownCharts.com the census of data collected between 2010 and 2019 found that 60,679 people lived in my zip code, which has increased by 4,300 over the 10 year span (Zip code, n.d.).  64.9% of the population is Caucasian,14.9% is of Asian descent, 5.9% is Black or African America, and 12.9% is made up of other races (Zip code, n.d.).   Upon reviewing the data found on zipcode 89123, the parcel of data that stood out most to me was that 11% of the children under 12 years of age were living in poverty.  The educational attainment statistics were just as disheartening.

According to that same website, 92% of the community that were old enough had graduated high school and 8% had not finish their high school diploma or an equivalency program (n.d.).  Furthermore,   in the state of Nevada 11.7% of people did not finish high school and 28.1% of people stopped after high school or an equivalency program.  Upon doing scan of lower income areas in Las Vegas, NV the numbers were even worse.

Define the problem.

With the above mention statistics, educational attainment is a very large, and very real problem in my community..  My interview of Melinda Peterson, a librarian at the Windmill Library in the Clark County Library District in Las Vegas, Nevada, expressed to me that the District’s mission is to provide welcoming and inspiring spaces for reading, learning, achieving, and to provide the tools and resources that families, children, teens and adults need to succeed.  This struck me as the perfect place to find a solution to the educational attainment problem that is widespread in Las Vegas.  All of the policies that she spoke of were in direct support of this innovation.  The community perceives the library as being a safe, welcoming place to find information and resources to achieve formal and informal learning.

The possibilities.

A possible solution is to have classes that cover a wide range of topics, for different age groups that cover subjects from grades K-12, GED readiness testing or test taking tips and tricks, and various other topics.  This innovation would not only offer in-person classes at the Windmill Library in Las Vegas, NV but also provide on-demand videos of the classes on YouTube.  There are other solutions out there to rectify this problem, like Kahn Academy and other resources online, but this solution also offers the in-person aspect, as to not rule out any preferred learning styles.  Feedback from my peers, possible end users and colleagues helped shape the final product by helping me focus on what was most important in reaching more people.

D. Professional Identity
In this problem, I am finishing my degree in education so that I can help solve this problem from the inside, as a dedicated educational professional serving in Clark County School District.  My purpose in life is to ensure educational opportunity is available to everyone, no matter age, race, gender, or socioeconomic class. I will use my advocacy and organizational skills to ensure that if individuals invest the time and energy to learn, they will reach their maximum potential. You should invest in my innovation because it solves every problem that I have mentioned in this video, and creates resources that anyone can access anywhere they are.

The proposal.

I am asking you, the viewer, to spread the word about BuzzStorm BrainSessions, and get your community involved in the sensation that will make education, and ultimately degree attainment, possible for anyone who will invest the time and effort.  In return, you will be an integral part in solving a city wide problem and getting in at the ground floor of the next big thing to hit the educational community.  The people that reap the benefit of BuzzStorm BrainSessions will get the help they need to learn that lesson, take that test, or finish that degree, and to feel the sense of fulfillment that they feel after working hard to achieve a personal goal; and the world will be a better place because of it.  At the end of the day, when all is said and done, I will be a changed man because I helped so many people get to where they’ve always wanted to go; they just needed a little help to get there.