Initial Thoughts on My Capstone Project

After three and a half years at Shepherd University in the Mass Communications department, the time has finally come for me to start my Capstone project.  The Capstone project is something that all communication students must take in order to graduate from the university.  This project allows students to showcase the specific skills, interests, and expertise that the department has taught or developed over the course of their education.  Although there are some restrictions and qualifications, students choose an advisor/mentor to assist them in developing a project.  Over the course of my college career at Shepherd, I have considered doing several different projects.  I have many different interests, including public relations and video production, so picking one specific project was somewhat of a challenge for me.  However, since the time has finally come for me to pick a specialized project, I have a pretty clear idea of what I want to do.

Social Media

     To begin, I recently was hired at a local recruiting and consulting firm for government agencies.  I am very interested in this type of work and am continuing to learn about the ins and outs of recruiting.  In addition, though, I am also in charge of their marketing, including social media, branding, and public relations.  I will be in charge of developing and maintain the company's Facebook and Twitter pages, branding the company by making logos and a website, and just helping to get the company on the map so others in the community are aware of this small business.  Even though I have learned a lot about those things throughout school, I do lack the kind of experience I wish I had.  Fortunately, I did intern at a public relations and marketing firm last semester so I have some ideas about the direction to go in.  However, I would like more help with developing the marketing for this small business.  Thus, I have decided that I would like to incorporate this into my Capstone project.  Not only will I be able to do a better job at my current position, I will gain crucial knowledge and experience from my mentor that I can use in the future.  Also, this will give me a portfolio that may give me a competitive advantage over others in the future.  Overall, I am very excited about working with a mentor that will help me develop and showcase my skills and teach me new things.