FINAL CAPSTONE REPORT

Angelina Khosa
CMN 396
06, 01, 2023

1
INTRODUCTION

Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have
greatness thrust upon them (Shakespeare, 1602). My name is Angelina Khosa, I am a Mass
Communications and media major with a minor in Public Relations and Event Planning. Some of
my future aspirations include working in the social media field specially in fashion. I love
creative expression and working in social media and fashion would allow me to fully express
that side of myself. A social media coordinator at a large agency is something I aspire to do. This
report will highlight my valuable soft and hard skills, knowledge/training, and application of
these to showcase how I will be an asset in the workplace through four distinct categories: my
portfolio, my media creation, informational-gathering interview summary of the
businessperson, and an explanation of the five DePaul classes that impacted me the most.

VISUAL PORTFOLIO

To begin, I will introduce my visual portfolio. Here is the link Link:

Looking at my visual portfolio you can access my past work and understand more about me as a
person. I decided to create a website to showcase my skills and provide an accessible way to
view my work and learn more about me. Encased in this website is my links, resume, cover
letter, pictures, social media, and my past work experiences. Here is a screenshot of my cover
website, I used Weebly to create it. The design of the website speaks very true to me. I included
pictures of myself and family, I kept it minimal and straight to the point. I choose Weebly as it is
easy to navigate and organize.

INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW WITH BUSINESS PERSON

Next, I will tell you about my informational interview. For my interview I choose Lauren Wolff,
she is the social media coordinator at my current internship at Funky Junque. Our interview
took place on May 30th for roughly 35 minutes. I was pleasantly surprised that the interview
went very well, there was great flow and consistency throughout the whole thing. Having had
an already good relationship with Lauren made the interview seaming less and very natural. In
the beginning of the zoom interview, I felt somewhat nervous and unsure but the more we
talked the more confident I felt in the interview. I choose Lauren because I saw her position as a
social media coordinator something I want to do in the future. This was very informative and
hearing her perspective on the job made me feel more confident about his position.

2
Question : What does it take for one to succeed in this position within the first three months?

Summary of Answer: The first three months of working at a new job position is cruitial. It is
important to showcase ones best skills and assets at this time. Be creative and make changes.
There was a reason you were chosen for this position and it is important to showcase that to
your employers and coworkers.

Question : What questions did you find the most useful during this interview?

Summary of Answer:

Question . What is the best advice you have heard relating to being successful in this field?

Summary of Answer: The best advice I've heard for being successful in social media is to
"authentically engage with your audience." Building a strong online presence involves more
than just posting content. It's about actively listening to your audience, responding to their
comments and messages, and fostering genuine connections. Consistently providing valuable
and relevant content, being transparent and authentic, and cultivating a community around
your brand are key strategies for success in the dynamic world of social media.

Question : What are the next steps in the interview process?

Summary of Answer: Be sure to send a follow up or thank you email this is not only a reminder
to your employer but also shows you have a good work ethic. Be sure to send a follow up or
thank you email this is not only a reminder to your employer but also shows you have a good
work ethic. Then go to a second interview, the candidate may be invited for a second round of
interviews.

Question : How do I balance personal and professional areas of life in the middle of constant
crises and pressures?

Summary of Answer: Without balance one can learn to resent and hate their jobs. By having
proper time management, organization, and prioritization you can move creating balance in
your personal and professional life.

Question : What the best part of your job?

Summary of Answer: creating fun and creative content for social media.

Question : What skills do you use the most in your current position

Summary of Answer: Graphic design, social media, and organization.

3
Question : Do you have any regrets in your carrier?

Summary of Answer: I wish I would have taken more creative risks, it’s good to play it safe but
In this field it’s important to take risks and go out of the box.

Covey Chapter Question: How can I be genuinely happy for the successes and
competencies of another?

Summary of Answer: Use them as motivation to keep working harder in your job and see them
as a goal you would like to reach.

Final Advice Question: What is the best advice you have heard in all your years working as a
social media manager.

Summary of Answer: Listen and engage with your audience. A successful social media presence
requires more than just posting content. It involves actively monitoring and responding to
comments, messages and mentions from your audience

FIVE TRANSFORMATIONAL DEPAUL CLASSES

 Now that I told you about my Informational Interview experience, these are the five
DePaul classes which impacted me the most. They are MC 366, PRAD 320, CMN 104,
MCS 366, and CSS 300.

 The first class that played a significant part in my major is PRAD 320 Event Planning with
Professor Neal Heitz. I took this class spring quarter of my senior year. In this course I learned
the ins and outs of planning a large- and small-scale event. This course not only taught me about
organization, but budgeting, demographics. My favorite part of the course was learning about
the graphic design aspect of event planning.
 The second class that impacted me positively is MCS 366 Communication Tech and society with
Stephanie Demetriades. This course was truly eye opening to me, technology is constantly
changing and progressing. Especially in my field of social media, It is important to understand
the socio-political effects of these new changes.
 Now I will tell you about CSS 300 which is the intro to nonprofit management with Melinda
Wright, this fulfilled my Junior Year Experiential Learning requirement. For this course I had to
earn up to community hours 25 hours of working with a nonprofit organization. I volunteered at
a school in Manilla Philippines, this experience taught me more than I ever imagined.

 The next class is CMN 104 Public speaking with Barb Willard. Prior to this course I had a big fear
of speaking in front of people. Now I can confidently say I know how to speak in front of an
audience and what are my cues to effectively get my message across. These are skills I will use
throughout my life if that is for a professional presentation or a wedding speech.
 Finally, I have saved the best for last the class CMN 396 Capstone Communications by Maria
Fotopoulos. This course fulfilled my senior capstone requirement. Finishing this course, I feel

4
 confident in saying I have all the required skills and experience to start my post graduate work
experience. I Have learned everything that is required to easily transition between being an
undergrad student to a working professional.

CREATIVE PROJECT SHOWCASE

Finally, I decided that the best way to showcase my skills and knowledge from my education
and experiences would be through creating a content strategy outline. This outline is a basic yet
crucial part of social media management. I made this outline easy to read and adjustable to any
business. These three sections are the most important parts of social media management when
working with a new company. Using my existing knowledge in social media coordination I came
up with an outline that be used multiple times. According to Alfred Lua (2019) some important
skills for social media manger includes understanding how content works on social web,
creative mindset, writing skills, and community management. These are sills that I proudly
possess as an aspiring social media manager.

CONCLUSION
In this report, I highlighted my valuable skills, knowledge/training, and applied these to
showcase how I will be an asset in the workplace through four distinct categories: my portfolio,
my media creation, informational interview summary of my businessperson, and explained five
DePaul classes which impacted me in my career. This project and class have propelled myself
into the next step of your life, as now I can confidently say I am ready to showcase my skills and
what I have to offer to any future employers

5
 REFERENCES

Covey, Stephen R (1990-1991). Principle-Centered Leadership. New York: Simon & Schuster.

Pelzer, K. (2023, March 28). 125 best William Shakespeare quotes - parade. Timeless, Quick-

Witted, and Tender—Here are the 125 Greatest Shakespeare Quotes!

https://parade.com/1071386/kelseypelzer/william-shakespeare-quotes/

Lua, A. (2022a) Social Media manager: 10 important skills and traits, Buffer Resources.
Available at: https://buffer.com/resources/social-media-manager-job-description/
(Accessed: 11 June 2023).