Capstone Cultural Attendance: Holocaust Memorial Museum

I love visiting Washington DC and going to the Smithsonian; I have always enjoyed museums and view them as a great way to learn about the past. While visiting the Smithsonian on Saturday, November 19th, I decided to visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. I haven't been to this museum in years, even though it is one of the more depressing of the museums, I was excited to go and see the changes that have been made to the museum.

While visiting, I was given an identification card which told the story of someone who lived during the holocaust and goes in depth to what their experience was and what happened to them. I got a card with the story of Tania Marcus on it and was able to read about her and her life while visiting each floor of the museum. I thought that this was a very nice touch to the museum. Visitors are able to use the card to guide them through the museum and learn about the different stages of the Holocaust. I would definitely consider this a cultural attendance because the experience of this museum is one of a kind. It is a true educational experience and ensures that you remember what you learned and saw during your visit by tapping into visitor's emotions.

Week 10: Let the Finalizing Begin!

I just finished, yes finished, my capstone project! I've always been the type of person to wait until the last minute to finish something, but I've been like that in a good way! I've always liked to work on things for as long as I can, therefore, I kept working on my project until I absolutely had to call it finished. I had everything compiled together in my videos for a while but enjoyed putting final touches on it until I had to force myself to stop. Of course, I can still see things in my videos that I would like to work on and change but it is ready for my presentation tomorrow!

Overall, I am very, very proud of my project. It may not be great to others and yes, there is still more I would have liked to work on, but I must remember that this was my first time ever doing this process. I never took a class on filming, recording audio and editing it all together so everything that I did in this project was one hundred percent new to me. So even though the camera is a bit shaky at times and the audio is a little fuzzy, I am proud of my final project. There are always going to be things I need to work on but as a first attempt at something, I think I did a pretty good job at my miniature travel show!

Week 9: Stop the Presses!

Stop the Presses! Update! Update! It was announced to the Capstone class about two weeks ago that our project would be pushed to a later date. It was originally set for the middle of November but was re-scheduled to the end of November- what a relief! We are definitely a lucky bunch to have a teacher that is kind enough to push back the presentation date for us! When she announced this in class a few Monday’s ago, all in sync and like a choir, our class gasped with relief and surprise. With this said, I have been able to edit my videos more extensively and prepare other little things to go with it. Once the presentation date arrives, I will have three well- edited videos, a nice presentation board, a press kit and a production notebook. Once I am able to go deeper into what exactly I am going to put into my press kit and production notebook, I will be sure to fill everyone in!! Until I get more of my project done…

Capstone Cultural Attendance: WVU Football Game

On Saturday, November 5th, I attended my first ever West Virginia University football game. What an experience!! I am from a smaller town and attend a smaller university that support their football team but are definitely not as crazy and supportive as WVU football fans are. People celebrated before, during and after the game. Even though WVU lost, it was only by a few points; I think the fact that WVU lost gave people even more of a reason to celebrate and tail- gate.

I consider this a cultural attendance event because of the vast difference between Shepherd and WVU. I am used to Shepherd and the football games that we have here but they did not even compare to the games they have at WVU. I literally felt like a foreigner when I went because most of those fans go to almost every game and have how they act and what they do at the game down to a science. At Shepherd, we have half of the stadium for Shepherd fans and the other half for the fans of the opposing team. When I went to the WVU stadium, the only two colors I could see were blue and gold. The opposing team of Louisville only had a small corner on one half of the stands and there were not many there supporting their team which was very interesting to see. It is well known that WVU fans are crazy about football, and after this trip, I too may find myself shouting from the stands just like every other fan there.

Photo used with a Creative Commons license.