Presenting Research At The Central Illinois Human Trafficking Task Force

As we arrived in Springfield for the task force meeting I realized I left my driver's license in my car by campus and was unsure if I would be able to get into the federal building. A few minutes after pressuring the security to accept a photo of my ID on my phone they unenthusiastically let me in. As we sat down we meet representatives from many different anti-human trafficking organizations and began introducing themselves and the work they do for victims. I enjoyed learning more about other organizations within our state that are proactive in ensuring victims have the resources to regain control of their lives. Although the presentation was only for a few minutes and informal I did succumb to the angst because of all the older and more experienced professionals in the room. I, however, enjoyed the practice for future presentations to audiences of experienced researchers that will be able to question the research in ways that the task force could not. After the presentation took place I realized that all my stressing had gone in vain because of the task forces enjoyment of the research material. The information our research had found seemed to have helped them get a better understanding that there are different types of task forces and exposed them to processes of senior task forces. This task force meeting is the second I've attended and had the most attendees so far and the most information packed into one meeting. I enjoy attending the task force meetings because they give me more insight on how task forces collaborate amongst themselves and I get to enjoy the sights in Springfield for a few minutes.

Julisa