"The Impact of COVID-19 on the US Presidential Election" -- participation in Global Zoom Summit 11 May 2020

At the invitation of Professor Gjyla Celiku (with whom she worked at University of Tetovo), Dr. McLauchlan was honored to speak about the "Impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. Presidential Election" at a Global Zoom Summit, organized by Northern Illinois University and the International Women's Club.

Presenters included a diverse array of experts -- including speakers from the US and from throughout the Balkans.

In addition to speaking about the ways in which COVID-19 will impact the election and voting, the way the candidates campaign, and the impact on the political landscape in the US, Dr. McLauchlan (in response to audience questions) shared information about the Road to the White House 2020 curriculum and the New Hampshire presidential campaign internships.

Ambassador James Pardew

Professor Gjylia Celiku, conference organizer and moderator

Kevin Lampe, Chicago-based political consultant

Here is an article about the summit:

https://ina-online.net/zoom-summit-covid19-ne-organizim-te-profesoreshes-se-njohur-gjyla-celiku/

Zoom Summit “Covid19”, në organizim të profesoreshës së njohur Gjyla Çeliku

Personalitete të rëndësishme të diplomacisë, shkencës dhe politikës janë pjesë e një samiti ndërkombëtar që do të mbahet online ditën e hënë.

Ky eveniment organizohet nga profesoresha e njohur Gjyla Çeliku, e cila do ta udhëheq të njejtin. Në fokusin e këtij debati do të jenë tema mbi shëndetësinë, politikën, ekonominë dhe arsimin. Pjesë e debatit do të jetë edhe diplomati dhe ish-ambasadori amerikan Xhejms Perdju, diplomatë dhe ekspertë të njohur ndërkombëtar, personalitete politike të vendit si dhe nga diaspora. (INA)

Running down Main Street in Concord

Here we are literally running down Main Street in Concord.  ;-)

We were packing in as much as we could -- of the Youth Climate Summit (where we saw Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer, Andrew Yang and others) with our events and meetings at the State House with the Governor, Executive Council, Secretary of State, State House tour, and more.

Anyone who has traveled with me on a trip like this knows that we will Carpe Diem and squeeze the most of every second of every day that we have (maximizing adventures; minimizing # hours for sleep).

Although I do try to plan for more time between meetings.  In this case, it was hard to pass up new opportunities that came our way once we were in NH, and balance with the important meetings I had previously scheduled.  Hence, on this day there were 32 of us running/briskly walking down the street in Concord

Video: Running down Main Street in Concord

USFSP RTWH2020 Yang intern Mitchell Etheridge -- and Bret Baier of Fox News

One of our students, Mitchell Etheridge, interning on the Yang campaign, spoke with Bret Baier of Fox News at a campaign event --

and they recorded this message for me, the instructor ("Professor JSM")

USFSP RTWH2020 Bernie Sanders students interviewed by Pavement Pieces

https://pavementpieces.com/new-hampshires-gen-z-voters-focus-on-issues/

Jonathan Sarabia, of Pavement Pieces, interviews a few of our Bernie students: Andrea Rodriguez Campos, Trevor Martindale and Caitlin Crowley.  (February 11, 2020)

You can see several of the other USFSP Bernie students at the debate vis outside St. Anselm College as well as at the NHDP McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner.

Final RTWH 2020 Course Meeting -- April 28 -- virtual

Our meeting on April 28 was meant to be a CELEBRATION EVENT, in person, on campus -- and an opportunity for us to thank all of the staff on campus who helped make our trip to NH possible.

We also planned to have a "screening" of our course video as well as a presentation of the RTWH 2020 books.

Instead, we were meeting virtually, through Blackboard Collaborate Ultra in our LMS (Canvas)

We do appreciate USFSP Chancellor Martin Tadlock for joining our session. Thank you for your support of the Road to the White House 2020!

And we did use the time to reflect on our session with Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers, students' Paper #6: Suggestions for Reform, as well as cover the unit on campaign finance reform.

(NOTE: We still plan to have our celebration event on campus -- once we are able to have events on campus again. So, please stay tuned!)

Join Us for an Event with Australian Electoral Commissioner TOM ROGERS

We are delighted to announce that the Australian Electoral Commissioner, Tom Rogers, will be speaking to our class via a Blackboard Collaborate session.  Please RSVP to the Center for Civic Engagement for the log in information.

RTWH2020 -- the Online Classroom -- Guest Speakers thru BBCU! -- Office of National Scholarships-- Public Service Opportunities

Our online synchronous course meetings have been going well, using the Blackboard Collaborate Ultra platform.  We can see and hear each other during our seminars with no technical difficulties.

During Thursday's class, for the first time we welcomed guest speakers using the link for the BBCU session.  That, too, worked well.  Our guests, after I made them "presenters," were also able to share their PPT presentation with the class. 

These guest speakers were from USF's Office of National Scholarships. See

https://www.usf.edu/ons/

They assist students who want to apply for national awards like Fulbright and the Truman  Scholarship.

I was so pleased that Lauren Chambers and Lauren Bartsche could speak to the stellar students in my RTWH2020 course specifically about prestigious public service opportunities.

You may be looking at future Fulbrighters and/or Florida Gubernatorial Fellows as you peruse pics posted on this blog.  I will certainly do my best to support and mentor the students -- along with the brilliant assistance of the ONS.

And -- thanks to the BBCU platform that enabled us to continue with our guest speakers as planned.

Associate Director of ONS Lauren Chambers

Assistant Director of ONS Lauren Bartsche