Capstone presentations are both the senior thesis and “final hoorah” for Lutes before they face the real, “adult” world. It goes without saying that this is a stressful and exciting time for students ready to graduate and use their newly attained knowledge and skills. Here are a few seniors that talked about their unique capstones in a variety of scholarly disciplines.
Majoring in English
Camille Adams’s capstone presentation focuses on the implications of mainstream television’s representation of social justice issues. Adams has written a sample pilot alongside website content.
“I chose to do this project because I hope to go into screenwriting and producing, and I believe that entertainment media can provide a great opportunity for encouraging social change. But if not approached carefully, it can also enforce harmful ideas and stereotypes,” Adams said.
Fun Fact about Camille: Camille has been nominated for two NW National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awards.
Capstone Presentation Time: Thursday, May 19 at 5:45 p.m.
Majoring in Business
Kyle Parsons’s capstone presentation brings to light the issue of prison recidivism. Parsons is working with Living Stone Prison Congregation, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Garlic Jim’s to provide recently released felons a chance to gain work experience and stay out of prison for good.
“The current recidivism rate is almost 68 percent, so this is trying to help keep people that get released from returning to illegal activities,” Parsons said.
Fun Fact about Kyle: Kyle does fine arts modeling in Seattle.
Capstone Presentation Time: Wednesday, May 11 at 2:45 p.m.
Majoring in Music
Piper Foulon’s capstone presentation delves into the complexity of Soviet composer Dmitri Shostakovich’s musical suite, “The Bedbug.” Foulon wanted to particularly focus on the aspects of the piece that showcase it as a satire of Soviet life in the late 1920s.
“I chose this topic because I felt like ‘The Bedbug’ was a delightful little suite that had bigger implications than it at first seemed,” Foulon said. “I love a good musical mystery.”
Fun Fact about Piper: Piper’s favorite book is Jane Eyre, and she’s in a band called Poppy Box.
Capstone Presentation Time: Saturday, May 21 at 5 p.m.
Rachel Reaves’s capstone presentation utilizes the theory of Diffusion and Innovations to help spread her sister’s new Portland-based startup fashion line, The General Public. Reaves has found the social media website Instagram to be a great tool to promote the startup in a precise way via specific hashtags that aid in strategic marketing.
“For me, I knew I wanted to do some type of project that would give me real world experience. Projects also have the benefit of looking great on a resume because it’s something tangible,” Reaves said.
Fun Fact about Rachel: Rachel studied abroad in London, England, where she learned how to “pull out a pretty good British accent.”
Capstone Presentation Time: Thursday, May 26 at 5 p.m.
Majoring in Communications
Majoring in Anthropology
Garrett Green’s capstone presentation distinguishes the differences of how women are viewed in traditional sports and e-Sports. Green believes that internet gaming is blurring the lines between what is traditionally considered a sport and is intrigued by the implications of gender roles in this new type of sport.
“When I found out e-Sports was being added to some universities athletic scholarships, it really intrigued me, and I wanted to understand what changes it brings about for athletics both at the collegiate and professional level,” Green said.
Fun Fact about Garrett: Garrett played professional paintball in high school.
Capstone Presentation Time: Tuesday, May 17 at 9:55 a.m.
