Capstone Projects
Projects Related to the M.S. in Professional Communication and Digital Media Arts
The graduate capstone project represents the culmination of students’ work in the M.S.in Professional Communication and Digital Media Arts program, bringing together the knowledge, skills and insights developed throughout their coursework. Each student designs and executes a professionally focused project that reflects both academic rigor and real-world application.
Capstone projects emphasize the creation of original media or communication artifacts grounded in research and strategic thinking. Students also complete a comprehensive assessment report, evaluating the impact, effectiveness and outcomes of their work—demonstrating both creative and analytical mastery as they prepare to advance in their field.
2026 Projects
Paraprofessional Behavior Management Training
Hannah Conklin
Hannah Conklin created a seminar for paraprofessionals, with the purpose of this project to design, implement, and evaluate a structured professional development seminar for special education paraprofessionals. This seminar is intended to address documented gaps in paraprofessional training related to social-emotional instruction and effective behavior management.
Paraprofessionals serve as a frontline support provider for students with disabilities. They frequently assist with behavior regulation, academic scaffolding, life skills instruction, and IEP goal implementation. However, many paraprofessionals receive limited formal training in these areas and are often expected to respond to complex student needs without structured preparation.
The Internet Made This
Amanda Arostegui
The Internet Made This is a digital media project and social content series that explores how internet culture evolves from online communities into mainstream marketing, branding, and popular culture. Through short-form video essays on Instagram, the project examines viral trends, memes, sounds, aesthetics, and digital behaviors to reveal how audiences actively shape the media they consume. By combining research, trend analysis, and digital storytelling, the series highlights the relationship between participatory culture and modern communication, demonstrating how internet phenomena influence brands, institutions, and everyday online interactions. Ultimately, The Internet Made This serves as both an educational platform and a professional portfolio showcasing expertise in social media strategy, content creation, and digital culture analysis.
Second Hand Press
Aisling Jones-Wollerton
This project focused on the creation and development of Second Hand Press, a brand
identity studio designed to support emerging and established creatives, including
artists, small businesses, and cultural creators. The project established a comprehensive
brand identity centered on authentic engagement, strategic public relations, and professional
communication. Key deliverables included a social media best practices guide, a trifold
resource outlining effective collaboration strategies, and a training workshop titled
"Built to Last: Sustainable Growth for Creatives." The workshop was presented to undergraduate
students from Seton Hall University's CHDCM in partnership with WSOU 89.5 FM. Additional
resources, including editorial content and media critiques, were housed on the SHP
website to provide creatives with practical tools for building and sustaining their
brands.
The Truth Protocol
Kebba Jeffang
The Truth Protocol is an operational guidebook and technical manual designed to bridge the gap between sophisticated digital forensics tools and bottom-up institutional defenses during democratic processes. Created in response to the "Reality Gap" – a human tendency to confuse real and AI-generated media – Truth Protocol is an actionable resource that transcends the traditional approach to media literacy by offering standard defensive measures to journalists, election boards, and other stakeholders involved in such processes. Based on communication theories, official policy guidelines, and consultations with industry elites, the protocol offers clear verification procedures for addressing highly sophisticated cyber threats such as voice synthesis, employs "pre-bunking" strategies based on Inoculation Theory, and sets rigorous criteria for verifying media sources. Perhaps most importantly, the protocol recognizes the critical importance of community equity by providing culturally appropriate methods to protect linguistically isolated communities from targeted cyber manipulations. This project will transition into The Truth Protocol Initiative (TTPI ) because it is not a campaign or a course. It is infrastructure. The communication equivalent of clean water testing or building codes—it exists because the information environment, left unprotected, will be shaped by whoever is willing to manipulate it most aggressively.
The guidebook is available upon request.
2025 Projects
"Starcatching with Amanda"
Amanda Chodnicki
This project represented a mock public relations campaign for Seton Hall University's Spring 2025 production of Peter and the Starcatcher. "Starcatching with Amanda" consisted of three documentary-style videos, focusing on the before, during and after of the show's production. These videos were posted on a vimeo account. Additionally, an X account was created to outsource engagement, as well as posting/reposting updates within the theater industry and Broadway community. A weekly blog series, titled "Amanda's Starcatching Chronicles' was made to update readers and audience members on the project process, as well as Amanda's progress as a master's student.
OpenPath
Brandon Apicella
This project aimed to create a working proof-of-concept of a learning app about accessible design and disability rights. Accompanying this POC is a marketing pitch presentation aimed at clients or developers that would potentially bring this app to market.
2024 Projects
Podcast Series: Pirate Passage: Life Beyond the Game
Justin Oosterwyk
Pirate Passage: Life Beyond the Game at Seton Hall is a podcast discussing the transition from being a student-athlete and moving on to the real world.Each episode includes lively conversations and advice or student-athletes who are moving from college into their professional careers. Conversation partners include Jack Leavitt, Melissa Bellomy, Jodi Brooks, John Yablonski, Pete Economou, Danielle Zanzalari, Abby Wingo, Walker Parra, Jonathan Luders, and Mike Dadona.
The Memory Project
Jacquelyn Deppe
Using visual items from the Archives and Special Collections Center at Seton Hall University, alumni were invited to engage with the University in a new and unique way. During Reunion Weekend in June 2024, alumni had an opportunity to browse through old photographs and yearbooks. They were then given an opportunity to record their reactions and college memories as an audio clip. Visual items and the audio recording were assembled into a digital display.
