Capstone Ideas

During our first class session, Beth explained to those of us that have not yet decided on a Capstone topic to be sure we are passionate about the content of the project. She advised us that our next (and final) two semesters will likely be miserable if we pick topics that we don't have much interest in. This was incredibly helpful to me because it made me realize how important it is to not think of the Capstone as simply a project I need to complete to graduate, but a great way to prove how much I learned throughout my career as a New Media student.

One of my biggest passions is my family. I am incredibly close to my parents, my sister and my brother. They have taught me how to love, how to share and most of all how to be compassionate. My brother Daniel has a spectrum Autism disorder called Aspergers Syndrome. For those of you who may not know very much about Aspergers, it is a form of Autism that makes it incredibly difficult for him to learn and interact socially along with having restrictive and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. For as long as I can remember,  I have have had a very strong connection with him. When my parents explained to me of his disorder, I began reading as much information as I could to understand what Autism is and how it might feel to live as he does every day. 

Autism awareness is something that I am incredibly passionate about and I would love to be able to incorporate this topic in my Capstone.

I do not know exactly how or what I can do with this kind of content but I would like to create a website or interface that would:

  1. Allow the user to have the chance to interact with the site/interface and feel for a moment what it may be like for people with Autism spectrum disorders. 

  2. Give siblings of people with Autism a place to interact and form a sense of community to talk and share stories for support. 

  3. Bring awareness to Autism so that people will become more informed and hopefully as a result become less judgmental and discriminatory.

I realize these are all just starting places, but I am hoping with this class along with more research I will be able to create a successful Capstone.

What is a Capstone?

On the first day of class, Beth asked the class go around and talk about Capstone ideas and plans we have made. Embarrassed, I told my classmates I do not yet know exactly what I would like to do.

The Capstone feels like this huge unattainable semester-long project that I need to complete in order to receive my diploma. It's feels terrifying to me to have to create a project that is supposed to symbolize everything that I have learned in my college career.

Please don't misunderstand, I want to create something I'm proud of and worth taking to a potential employer, but the task feels daunting. Because of this, I feel this Capstone preparation course will help me explore the possibilities and narrow in on a great Capstone idea for me.