For this blog post, I will reflect on the interview that I conducted, and begin to consider the significance and importance of what the person I interviewed said. This person was related to the problem by being directly affected by it. Since the person I interviewed was a student that lived on campus, they directly lived the life that was affected by the issue. Since the issue I chose to analyze was food insecurity, the person I interviewed had a direct connection to that issue because they relied heavily on on-campus dining. Depending on how well the university tackles the issue directly affects everyday aspects of the student’s lives, such as physical and mental health. I believe that this lead to a more accurate portrayal of the struggle that we see in students in terms of on-campus dining. 

Image via University of Miami

What resonated with me the most out of this interview was when the person being interviewed talked about feeling “drained” and “out of it” after consuming on-campus food. This resonated with me the most because I have had similar experiences when I consume some of the food here as well. I can directly relate to the experience they are talking about because I have experienced it before as well. One thing that they stated that I didn’t expect was how the food situation didn’t necessarily affect their overall grades. Personally, I felt that I can see a direct correlation between what I have eaten that day, and how well I am doing in my classes and on my homework. So because of that, it wasn’t something that I was expecting. The food being consumed didn’t necessarily affect grades as much as I previously thought it would.

Image from MasterGradSchools

The person’s response helped me better understand the problem because it gave me another perspective to work with. It allowed me to find common experiences between what I have to go through when I consume on-campus food, and what someone else goes through when they do the same thing. It can allow me to eliminate potential outliers that may not be related to the issue at hand, and also hone in and focus on the common struggles that students go through because of it. I believe that one thing that is still missing in my understanding of the issue is how the price of the food affects student lifestyles. Focusing on this a bit more could help me find more correlation between the issue and the meal plan, and that data would be helpful for that sort of situation.