Author Archives: gwynneenglish

My area of interest was, in broad terms, learning more about how emergency management works within a community or a region. Specifically, I went into the summer interested in how high risk communities were impacted. I knew very little about the subject as it was something that is not emphasized in school or readily availableContinue reading “Capping Off My Summer”

This summer has been interesting to say the least. One of the best and worst parts about it is that I am able to be at home all the time. There is no need to learn a new language or find housing, but I also have to deal with my parents and their schedule allContinue reading “Cool Summer Experience (not clickbait)”

Something that I have found interesting in my summer experience is the relationship between emergency planning and the student demographic. When emergency planners consider a population, they look at the populations by demographics. This causes categories of people to be treated as one group for simplicity’s sake. Elderly are a high focus demographic, along withContinue reading “Is it “Everyone” or “Everyone you like”?”

There has not been a lot about this experience that has changed where I go regularly. I am still in the community I grew up in and close to home, which means I visit the same places for the most part. As a part of my experience, I have started going to some new placesContinue reading “All Praise the Waze”

For me this experience has reshaped how I look at my community. There are so many aspects to the community that I was not aware of. I have found that the area I live in is way more diverse in cultures and languages. Vietnamese is one of the top languages spoken in the area thatContinue reading “Part of the Ship, Part of the Crew”

In emergency management, it is clear when solidarity arises. One of the many great joys of an emergency is the “rally around the flag” effect. It is an unspoken call to action after a major occurrence that often carries with it themes of patriotism and community. Moments like 9/11 recovery or after hurricane Katrina comeContinue reading “In Case of Emergency, Don’t Come to Florida”

I have taken more field trips in the last four weeks than I did in all of high school. The daily routine is different every day, depending on what is going on in the department and whatever event comes along to derail everyone mid-day so that little to no work can get done. The inconsistencyContinue reading “(In)consistency is Key”

Emergency management is acutely attuned to the nature of inequality and the COVID pandemic. Those working in the field have been engrossed in it from day one. Many emergency teams, especially in Florida, saw a shift in focus when the pandemic hit from preparing for summer weather (hurricanes, tornados, heat waves, etc.) to the pandemic.Continue reading “Pandemic Pick-up”

The first few weeks of working at Pinellas County emergency management have been an interesting few. There is nothing quite like investing into an emergency management department in the few days leading up to the beginning of hurricane season in a year that is predicted to be very active for hurricanes. That being said, itContinue reading “Finding my footing”