Cascadia Community College students in Danielle Powell’s public-speaking class recently presented their ideas about emergency management issues to local officials from government and emergency response agencies.

Powell collaborated with Don Price from the King County Office of Emergency Management on the project. Earlier in the quarter, Price spoke to the class about the work his office does and provided background information for the issues the students would be exploring. The students then researched and prepared persuasive presentations in teams.

In addition to Price, emergency management officials from the Seattle Red Cross, Seattle and King County Public Health Office, Washington State Department of Social and Health Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) attended the presentations.

“It’s incredibly valuable for those of us who work in emergency management to get perspective. This group of students brought a diversity of ideas to the issues we deal with every day. It’s a wonderful collaboration between Cascadia and emergency management officials to explore these important issues together,” says Price.

In the presentations, students proposed solutions to issues involving disaster preparedness, earthquake safety, taxpayer responsibilities after disasters, land-use rights in hazard zones and language barriers to disaster preparedness.

“These are invaluable learning experiences for our students because they get an opportunity to see how the communication skills they are learning can be applied to real-life situations,” says Powell. “Interacting with experts from the community provides them with great primary resources for their projects. They are also able to network and make connections for future educational and career opportunities.”