Social Issue Speaker Series: Andrew McGuire

Listening to Andrew McGuire as part of the Speaker Series at USC was a very interesting experience. He has truly been through quite the experience as he has fought to change the world and make an impact. From making pajamas safer for kids to self-extinguishing cigarettes, he really took the initiative in any issue that he felt was important. To be able to hear from a man who has been so influential throughout his lifetime is incredible and helpful for any future endeavors to make change in the United States.

There were many important lessons to be learned from this speaker, but at the time time, none of them seemed to apply to Writing 140 or the AMST 274 class. For example, he talked about how the main points of advocacy were to walk honestly and ethically. While it is important to follow such guidelines, that really has no relation to film, race, or ethnicity. Another main point was that we would have to outwork and out-think the opposition, which could possibly apply to the effort to reach a state where the United States can have an ethnically diverse community and still be unified as a country, but it's a bit of a stretch.

Overall, this speaker was nice to listen to, as his explanation of advocacy and his story were informative. His advice through the presentation was useful as well.