Josh Walker e-Portfolio

This was probably my most favorite class I have taken at Longwood. The class didn’t last a full semester because on our fall break we took a trip to Atlanta, Georgia. Our goal for the class was to explore the city of Atlanta without electronics and look for social issues both in Atlanta and Farmville. I’m not too big on looking at social issues, but my topic to look for was poverty and I find it a little personable. Before our trip to Atlanta we had to do some research and give little presentations about issues in Farmville and an assigned neighborhood in Atlanta. Being in Atlanta was fun because we had the freedom to explore certain areas on our own and really observe a city. I’ve never done that to a city because I wouldn’t think to analyze it and explore it without relying on my cell phone. I didn’t like that we didn’t get to pick who our groups were because I would’ve had a better time exploring with people that I was comfortable with.

This was the poster project at the end of the class where my partner and I compared the poverty in Farmville and Atlanta. It surprised me that percentage wise, Farmville has more people in poverty than Atlanta. I guess this is because Atlanta is bigger and can offer more jobs than Farmville can. There is also more supply for food and more support groups in Atlanta. I can’t really see the poverty in Farmville because it is much more rural and spread out, but in Atlanta I could see it every where. Food becomes a big problem with poverty because families need to find ways to eat. The food in corner stores is so much worse for individuals, but its the quickest thing to get and the easiest to get to. I think there needs to be healthier options in grocery stores that are affordable and more programs that can help out with poverty.