Cultural Event 5: A Good Day to Die Hard

     Several weeks ago, I attended a viewing of the popular movie, "A Good Day to Die Hard".  Although it was not my first choice of movies to attend, nothing else interested me much and I was in the mood for a good action movie.  I have not seen all of the "Die Hard" movies, but I have seen bits and pieces of some and I was sure I was in for a exciting, action-packed movie with great special effects and a cheesy story line.  Plus, I am a Bruce Willis fan and he is the star of the movies.

A Good Day to Die Hard

     Overall, the movie was filled with mostly action and a small amount of dialogue.  The movie is mainly set in Russia and at the empty Chernobyl plant.  The main character, John McClane has to team up with his son, who he has never really known, to save the world from the disastrous plot unfolding at Chernobyl.  As suspected, the movie was action-packed, but it was also heartwarming.  It was nice to see McClane work with and develop a relationship with the son he never knew.  By the end of the movie, the pair reconciled their differences and worked well together.  And, of course, in the end, the protagonists and heros won and saved the day.  Before I saw the movie, I did not give the story line enough credit.  Even though the movie mainly focused on the action, it was able to reveal a lot about the father-son relationship through action and other clues, instead of just dialogue.  It was easy to feel for the protagonists and cheer them on to their victory.

Capstone Cultural Event 2: Guys and Dolls

The "Guys and Dolls" set

     Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend the musical "Guys and Dolls" at Penn Trafford High School in Pennsylvania.  While I was visiting with my family, two of my younger cousins asked me to attend a play that they had worked incredibly hard to put together.  They were members of the "tech team" and contributed to the behind the scenes aspect of the play, from set design, lighting, customer design, and all of the other miscellaneous things it takes to create a play.  I always enjoy watching musicals and I could not resist seeing the handiwork of my younger cousins, so it was with an eager and proud heart that I attended the play.  Because it was a high school play, I assumed it would be conservative and safe.  I had never heard of "Guys and Dolls" before, but I was basing my assumption off of all of the plays I watched at my own high school.  (However college is an entirely different story and the plays tend to be racy and provocative!)  Once students reach a college age, they are considered adults and can understand the more provocative type of play, whereas high schoolers are still teenagers.  Although this musical was not extremely provocative or over the top, it did not exactly follow my expectations of a high school play.

     The play was set in New York, filled with gamblers.  One of the main characters, Nathan, tries to win money to save his floating crap game by betting Sky that he cannot get Sarah, a church goer who works at the local mission, to travel to Havanna, Cuba with him.  After several tricks and a hint of luck, Sky convinces Sarah to go to Cuba with him.  While there, Sarah becomes very friendly with Sky and even acts jealous when he dances with another woman.  Feeling guilty, he reveals the bet to Sarah and takes her back to New York.  Once back in New York, Sarah's mission is about to shut down from lack of support.  So, Sky follows the gamblers and individually bets them all that if he wins, they have to go to the mission to repent their sins.  In the end, the mission is saved and two of the other main characters marry at the mission, now run by Sarah and Sky.

     Although the musical is somewhat cliche, I enjoyed watching it.  I felt myself routing for Sarah and her mission and the ending was happy and satisfying, yet predictable.  Ending any other way may have left me feeling unsatisfied.  The play was very enjoyable and I enjoyed being exposed to it.  The crew did a great job of bringing everything together.  Had I never went to visit my family this past weekend, I would have never heard about this musical.   

Capstone Cultural Event 4: Shepherd University Career Fair

     A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the Shepherd University's Career Fair.  Since I am currently working part-time as a recruiter, an opportunity that should turn into a full-time position after I graduate this May, I was not too excited to attend the fair.  In fact, I was required to attend per my Business Communications class.  I have never attended a career fair before and did not know what to expect.  However, after reading over the list of employer attendees, several agencies intrigued me, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.  When I look into my future, I always see myself working for one of these government agencies.  At the very least, I felt that I could do some networking at the career fair and obtain important information about the agencies and their job opportunities.

Career Fair

     When I arrived at the career fair, I was somewhat overwhelmed.  The area was filled with students and employers.  To be honest, I did not even know where to start.  I picked the closest aisle to walk down and begin glancing at all of the boards the employers displayed to understand more about each company.  As I walked through the first aisle, I tried to keep a smile on my face as I passed every single employer.  Because I was unsure of the proper way to approach an employer from which I wanted more information, I just kept walking.  Finally, I saw a display for a counseling center.  No other students were around and I was able to walk up to the poster board and begin a discussion with the woman representing the company.  She pleasantly gave me some more information about the company, but she seemed more nervous and confused than I did.  This experience gave me the confidence I needed to start talking to other employers; after all, they came to look for potential employees!  After walking around the entire fair, I was able to talk to the FBI and gain some excellent information about the kinds of positions for which I should be applying.  I was also able to connect with a HR manager from American Public University Systems.

Shepherd University

     Overall, I am glad that I was able to attend the Career Fair this year.  The Shepherd University Career Development Center spends a lot of time, money, and effort to put those types of beneficial events together for the students.  Hopefully more students will take advantage of these types of opportunities in the future.  Although I did not walk out of the Career Fair with my dream job, I was able to network with influential and important business people.  Furthermore, I gained experience communicating and interacting with HR professionals, hiring managers, and other company representatives.  I gained more confidence speaking with business people and obtained a look into the real, professional world.

Capstone Cultural Event 3: Eugene B. Smith Art Gallery

Bodie Lighthouse

     As one of my cultural events for my Communications Capstone class, I decided to visit an art gallery in Winchester, called the Eugene B. Smith Gallery.  When I walked into the gallery, many paintings were displayed on the wall.  The paintings consisted of mostly scenic pictures and flowers in all different seasons.  They were truly beautiful, watercolored pieces.  The artist, Eugene Smith, came out to greet me when I arrived.  He showed me around the gallery and confessed that he had hand painted all of the pieces.  Along with pictures all of sizes, he also had postcards for sale.  As I was speaking with the artist, I discovered that he actually graduated from Shepherd University with a degree in Business Administration.  His artistic talent helps to keep his business thrive, but the skills and tools he learned in school assist the success of his business, too.  After finding something in common with the artist, I was able to better connect with him.  The rest of our conversation was effortless.  Once I was finally able to finish looking around the gallery, one particular painting stood out to me.  This painting was of a lighthouse that I have actually seen before!  When I was younger, I lived in North Carolina.  Each summer my family would explore new lighthouses at the Outer Banks.  He had painted one of the lighthouses I used to visit with my family.  Bodie Lighthouse is located on Pea Island in Rodanthe, North Carolina.  Eugene revealed that he visits the lighthouse often.

The Eugene B. Smith Gallery

     My experience at the art gallery was unique.  I am not very artistically inclined, so I am always fascinated by artists.  However,  I am normally attracted to bright and flashy colors.  Being inspired and seeing such beauty in the watercolors was a new experience for me.  The watercolors were refreshing and subtle, yet able to keep my attention.  I even hope to return one day to the gallery to buy some pieces!  It was also pleasant to know that he also attended Shepherd and was doing so well for himself.

Capstone Cultural Event 1: Historic Winchester/Civil War Museum

Old Town Winchester

     Since the weather was so beautiful this past weekend, I took advantage of it by taking a trip to historic Winchester to visit the Civil War Museum.  When I first arrived in Winchester, I was somewhat concerned because the city was under much construction.  Fortunately, though, all of the shops, restaurants, and attractions were accessible and open.  Although there are many different attractions in historic Winchester, I really enjoy visiting all types of museums and the Civil War has always been an interesting topic to me.  When I discovered the Civil War Museum, I decided to explore it.  When I first arrived, several high school aged boys were working there.  They asked if I would like to hear some background information about the museum and I was eager to listen.  The boy revealed that during the Civil War, the museum was used as a hospital and a jail for the soldiers.  Because the area was constantly changing sides, the prisoners never stayed for long.  Each time the city changed sides, the current prisoners would be released.  Although the building is quite old, it is the same building used during the Civil War, with some renovations.  The doctors and nurses were always cleaning up blood from the wounded so there were no stains.

Defendant and Judge

     After the war was over, the hospital/jail changed into a courthouse.  It was used as a courthouse for many years.  Recently, a new courthouse was built and the building was turned into a civil war museum.  The bottom floor of the courthouse included a small gift shop and a room set up as the court would have been in the late 1800 and early 1900.  The judge and jury would directly face the defendant.  However, since the judge was higher, he could not see the jury.  The upstairs of the museum included many artifacts from the civil war, actual graffiti written on the walls from the jail times, and an old, working bell that I even rang!  Overall, the museum served as a major learning experience for me.  Living in West Virginia, when I think of the civil war, I generally think of Harper's Ferry, Gettysburg, or Antietam.  Honestly, I never realized the significance Winchester played in the war.  It is interesting to know that the city was constantly changing sides and played such a major part in the war.  Overall, I really enjoyed visiting the museum.  I feel lucky to live in an area rich with history.  It is up to me, though, to explore that history to learn more.  I would recommend anyone, young or old, to discover this museum.  It would even be a great place for area middle school or high school history classes to visit.

Ringing the Bell

Final Capstone Preparations

Force Recruiting and Consulting Logo

     After working on my Capstone project for several weeks, I have finished my deliverables for the project and need to spend time revising this social media plan.  In addition, I will spend the rest of the semester actually following the plan.  Developing a board design and the information displayed on the board is another task I need to complete within the next several weeks.  My initial idea for the board is a simple white background with the logo I created on the background.  The last piece of my Capstone deliverables that I completed this past week was an executive summary.  Basically, the executive summary is the paper that will be at the beginning of my social media plan.  It is a brief summary of my plan, addressing all of the different parts.  This step is necessary so someone can easily understand the point of the social media plan and decide to read through the entire plan if needed.  Since this summary does not include any new information, it was rather simple to write.  I basically pulled a few key sentences from each individual piece.  However, I need my director to read over it so I can ensure it is understandable and well-written.  After the plan is revised, I will develop a table of contents and construct one document with page numbers and each piece of the plan.  I am excited to see my plan come together in one document!
     So, after working hard and spending much time on my Capstone project, tomorrow I will be presenting my project to the Communication Department professors for evaluation.  I am looking forward to receiving feedback and useful advice to make my project the best that it can possibly be.  I am confident in my project, but understand that I can always make it better.  Not only will a better project reflect best on the Communications Department, but a better project will be more likely to impress my boss at Force Recruiting and Consulting.  In addition, this project is something that I can keep for personal records and show potential future employers actual work I have completed.  Overall, I am very satisfied with my Capstone project choice and am excited to share all of my hard work with the department professors!  

Capstone Capstone and More Capstone!

     As I am completing my social media plan for Force Recruiting and Consulting, I am at the point where I am developing a calendar to follow for posting.  Although I have spent much time researching other organizations' social media uses and have developed different strategies, and tactics to achieve specific objectives, my Capstone director suggested that I develop a content calendar.  This calendar will give me a general idea of the type of content I will share each day.  This consistency will allow viewers to consciously or unconsciously realize the pattern I am following and it will give them expectations.  For instance, I want Monday to be a day for inspiration and Thursday to be a day for interviews.  Although inspiration may not always directly give my audience job finding advice, it can give someone encouragement and interesting information.  A story about fifty incredibly successful people who failed at first is a great example of the type of inspirational messages I want to share on Monday.  I will share stories on Thursday that involve different interview techniques, tips, advice, or anything else involving interviews.  Also, I decided to blog every first and third Wednesday of each month.  Although my content sharing calendar is mostly complete, I will spend the next couple of days creating a two month blog schedule.  My blog schedule is more difficult to complete because it is much more specific.  While I create this schedule, I need to focus on being creative and brainstorming potentially interesting and useful blog topics.  However, once I create this schedule, blogging for the next two months will be much easier!

     In addition to creating my schedules, I have been following my social media plan and implementing it.  Fortunately, I am gaining more and more followers on Twitter!  However, my Facebook likes have been at a standstill for several days now.  I have some great opportunities in the future to share the Facebook and Twitter pages with clients, though.  I am excited about these opportunities and am confident that they will yield results.  Overall, I am satisfied with the progress I have made this far.  Although it has been a lot of work and I have spent much time and energy into this project, it is a great experience to see my hard work pay off.  It is also exciting for me because even after I complete my Capstone project, I will be able to use my completed project to continue with Force Recruiting and Consulting's social media.  With the help of my director, I am even able to actually impress my boss!