COM 499 · Summer 2026

Capstone

Overview

The question I’m trying to answer

Every interview I have ever had comes back to the same question: what can a Communication Studies major actually do? A transcript is a poor answer. It lists classes, not skills. It gives an employer no way to tell the difference between a student who sat through Persuasion and one who can really study an audience.

So this project is an argument, not a scrapbook. Every page ties a real piece of work to a skill I can prove I have. The media tracking I did at BRAVE shows I can shape a message. The prevention lessons I teach show I can change my style to fit an audience. The COM 495 documentary shows I can lead a small team. If I cannot back up a skill with real work, I left it off.

The map

How my classes build crisis PR skills

Five skills, the class that taught each one, and how I use it when something goes wrong.

A chart with five columns. Each column starts with a skill, points down to the University of Alabama class that taught it, then points down to how that skill is used in a crisis. — I built this chart to show the path from a skill, to the class where I learned it, to the job it does in a real crisis.

Public speakingCOM 123: Public Speaking → speaking clearly during a crisis
Interpersonal communicationCOM 220: Interpersonal Communication → listening to people and understanding them
LeadershipCOM 395: Communication and Civic Leadership → leading a team during a crisis
Critical thinkingCOM 122: Critical Decision Making → making quick decisions
Organizational communicationCOM 350: Organizational Communication → keeping everyone informed