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Writer's picturejeanettecolby

Forty-Something Graduate with Superpowers

Reflections on completing a communications capstone.
Female superhero standing by a tree, with a cape, looking out into the city

Over the last few years, I’ve been the writer who has interviewed college seniors about their capstones and asked what they learned. Why did they choose this senior project? What are their plans for the future?


The shoe is on the other foot this year. The difference is that I’m not 22 years old and heading out into the world with a fresh set of eyes. Instead, I come with years of experience learning about my field of study while challenging established perspectives.


A part-time adult student for some time, my pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in communications and media arts has been a constant reminder that the world is constantly changing, and mass media, including television, books, music, the internet, and social media, grows as we do and as we need.


How I see it.

My reflections are twofold – as a communications student completing her final course and as a professional communicator closing a chapter.


As I created a page on my portfolio site to display my early career newspaper stories, I realized how fortunate I was to start in a newspaper newsroom. Sure the technology has changed over the years. Still, writers always do the research, dig into public records, prep for interviews, explore the use of visuals and graphics, write or think of headlines, check for accuracy, and ultimately tell a captivating story.


And there is another constant. In the Shannon & Weaver Model of Communication, there is a sender of a message, a transmitter, and the recipient. It’s not how we interpret the noise; it’s how we manage the interference with the message – that makes us stronger communicators.

I see that we have grown into an age of influencers; where not only do entertainment and athletic celebrities have the power to influence our choices, but now it is almost anyone’s game. Some of us spend a lot of time deciding on the content we want or do not want to share. We are the drivers of our stories. We are makers of our brand and identity.


Lessons Learned.

I worked with my communications professor to design my “Capstone in Communications” course with my own identity and brand in mind. It became everything I needed because we might rework something as a project transformed over the semester. It became a culmination of what I envisioned in the age of digital, social, and interactive media. A story I drew from my strengths – where I wrote and created content. Still, I also planned and implemented a brand new podcast, digital videos, and designed content using various modern platforms while exploring accessibility tools.


I share lessons through the blog on my portfolio, which I used to explain how I built my portfolio, and other adventures as an adult undergraduate student, which leads me to the point in this post where I’d like to share a few bullets points or essential lessons for any professional where communication skills are valuable:

Transformation is necessary. I walked into my course with ambition, but it became a new purpose where the outcome was not wholly as I planned. It transformed into something better. For instance, I recently started the Latinx Chronicles, a video project that needed to shed its original skin for a video-centric platform. I found expanded opportunities and that I could still be inspired to tell a story rich in identity and cultural narrative.

Choices are our superpowers. There comes a moment after you’ve researched and interviewed for your story, and you have to pick out the details and words that are the most compelling. Either it comes naturally to you, you use your gut, or you learn over time. It might come with a few fails, but failures can lead to new ideas, and the point is you took the lead and made a decision.


Open ears are valuable. Don’t just listen, hear, and understand what people are saying. I wrote in an earlier blog how sometimes we feel the need to fill the silence during an interview for a story and that sometimes I have to remind myself to let someone speak without interruption. Those moments can lead to great quotes. Then there is the other side, not listening when you do not agree with people or decide that they’re already wrong heading into a conversation. We close our minds off. You can disagree but still listen. Also, don't forget that tone is essential. We’re so busy being snarky on social that we forget that people talk with their bodies and facial expressions.


Reliability does matter. A simple communicator rule ‘Don’t say it unless you mean it.’ I said things that I want to do but realized I took a bigger bite than I should have. Make sure that you deliver on the date you said you would. If it doesn’t have a deadline, then make a hard date for completing items or gradual deadlines until a project is complete.


Encourage and praise your peers. It goes without saying that ‘kudos’ for a job well done feels excellent, so make sure to spread it around when someone does good work or is working toward something. I’ve had a fantastic mentor at SUNY Empire State College, who shared a wealth of encouragement and support. The same with all my professors who challenged me and celebrated each accomplishment every step of the way. Kind messages matter!


What next for me? I will continue to be a communicator and digital content producer. I love hearing, telling, and sharing people’s stories. I might write some, and I’ll continue to share new projects to my portfolio at jeanettepc.com.

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