Thissummer,oneofmypoliticalconsultingprojectsinvolvedworkingwithaclientto

designaonepagertoleavewithstaffersaftermeetings.Thegoalswastocommunicatethe
firmsgoalsandchallengestolegislators.Wewereabletodevelopacoherentcontentstrategy,
butwitheverydraftIreceived,theclientseemedreluctanttotonedownoverlytechnical
language.Afteraweekofprodding,andwithonlyacoupleofdaysuntiltheclientflewoutto
DC,thelanguagewasmostlyunusable.
Insteadofcontinuingon,Ishifteddirections,puttingtogetheragraphicintensiveflyer
withminimalandsimplifiedlanguage,offeringthefinalproductdirectlytotheclientasan
alternativetotheoriginalplan.Afterhechosetheseconddesign,weleftcongressmenwiththe
impressionofaninnovativefirmwithaclearstrategyforprogress,ratherthanaconfusing
nichescientificgroup.

Childrenshouldbeallowedtovote.
Rightsbasedargument:Citizenchildrenfollowthelawandsometimespaytaxes.Thisisthe
metricweuseforadults,notintelligenceormaturity.Additionally,childrenlackreliable
alternativepoliticalmechanismstoaddressgrievances,sincetheycannotholdofficeandare
unlikelytoadvancelawsuits.
Mathbasedargument:Whenchildrencannotvote,voterdemographicsaredistorted.For
example,theproportionoflatinosinAmericaisgreaterthantheproportionoflatinosofvoting
age.Thus,thelatinovotingblocissmallerthantheproportionofinterestsitrepresents.Forthis
reasonIwouldalsosupportachildtoparentvoteproxy.
Policybasedargument:Childrenwouldnthavetodeveloppolicythemselves.However,they
wouldvoteforpoliticianswhoaremoreintunewithculturalshifts,makinggovernmentmore
responsive,andwhoareconcernedwithlongtermpolicyimpactssuchasdebtandglobal
warming,makinggovernmentmorefarsighted.

Geico(Ifthisgetsaskedaboutinaninterview,theanswerisbecause:
1. Theyregrowingprettyquickly
2. Selfdrivingcarsaregoingtounderminetheautoinsuranceindustry
3. Insurancecompaniesbiggestassetiscapital,sotheycaneasilyredirectaslong
astheydosostrategicallyandbeforeotherautoinsurersdo)

GrowingupintheWashingtonmetroareainmyspecificfamilyhasleftmewithaspecial
predispositiontowardtheopportunitytoconsultwithHilltop.Growingup,Iusedtoquestionmy
fatheronhisproblemoftheweekornewestclientsontheweekendswhenhereturnedhome.
Asaresult,Iwasinstilledwithadesiretoexperiencethatsamediversityofproblemsolving
opportunities.Ontopofthat,myfamily,despitebeingluckyenoughtoliveinthesuburbs
aroundDC,regularlynoticedthestruggleofthecyclicallyimpoverished,whetheritwasonthe
waytoaNatsgameoraroundmyhighschoolintheheartofDC.Myparentswereinspiredto
startanonprofitspecificallytoalleviate,toasmalldegree,thesufferingofthechronically
homeless,whichmyentirefamilynowruns.Becauseofthis,Iamintimatelyawareofthe
challengesnonprofitsfaceinaidingtheespeciallydisadvantagedsubgroupsofthiscity.These

experiencesmotivatemygoalofengagingwiththeintersectionoftheseintereststhrough
Hilltop,andtheyalsorevealwhatIcanbringtothetable.Themajorityofmyinterests,from
mathematics,tophilosophy,tochess,todebate,belyaloveofstructuredanalysisandstrategic
thinking.IncombinationwithpersonalexperiencesIhaveofdoingthesamething,inthesame
city,asHilltopsclients,IbelieveIcanprovideuniqueinsightsintoclientgoalsandthebest
waystoachievethem.

ThescaleandcostofvariousFEEDprojectsisanimportantconsiderationinthiscase,
however,assumingthateachstrategywillcostapproximatelyalloftheexcessfunding,FEED
shouldalmostcertainlyadoptstrategytwo.Thebenefitsofthisplanincludeacloselyoverseen
transitionintoDC,promotionaldata,andachancetoimprovetheefficiencyofcurrent
operationsinBaltimore.Byimplementingonlyonenewprogramatthistime,theprobabilityof
avoidinglogisticalproblemsismaximized.Bycollectingdata,wecanalsoincreaserevenues
welltargeteddatacollectioncanpresentapositivenarrativetopotentialdonorsandgrant
programs.Additionally,datacancutcosts.Ifweslightlyadjustournewstrategyfromtheold
one,wecantestoutpotentiallymorecosteffectivestrategiesforprovidingservices.
Risksofthisplanmainlyrevolvearoundpotentialfortheprogramtofail.Thatbeingsaid,
closelytrackeddatacanmakeevenafailedexperimentinformativeforfutureaction.The
comparativeriskswithotherstrategies,thatrapidexpansionwillgopoorlyorthatnoonewill
usetheapp,respectively,presentfarmoreunhelpfuldownsideswithupsidesthatofferlessin
termsofsolicitingdonations.
Inordertoimplementthisstrategy,IrecommendthatFEEDclonethegrocerystore
financingprogram.Thisisasimpletomanageprogram,comparedtotheothers,soitismore
likelytoapproximatethesuccessoftheBaltimoreprogram.Additionally,theopportunityto
employaflexiblefinancingstrategywhichinvolvesvariablelevelsoffundingforvarioustypesof
foodsprovidesabroadrangeofpossibilitiesforbothdatamanagementandcostcutting
techniques.Specifically,FEEDshouldfinancestoresatdifferentlevelstomeasurehowvarious
pricepointsaffecttheaffordabilityoffoods,shouldtiefundingtosalesofcertainfoodsto
measurewhatfreshfoodsarethemostappealingtourbanconsumers,andshouldpartnerwith
localproducers,whoalsobenefitfromthissubsidy,totracktheirsalesovertime.