The Public Scholarship Capstone is the exciting culmination of the Civic and Community Engagement (CIVCM) Minor. It gives you the chance to bring together everything you’ve learned, from classes to community work to research, and create a project that reflects your unique interests, goals, and experiences. You’ll be encouraged to think deeply, make meaningful connections, and show how your work contributes to public scholarship and addresses real-world issues that matter to you.
One of the best parts of the capstone is its flexibility. You’re not boxed in by a single option, instead, you can shape your project in a way that plays to your strengths and passions. Past CIVCM students have written powerful research papers, created citizens’ manuals, hosted interactive public art experiences, published ‘zines, and even designed a STEM-themed card game for middle schoolers. CIVCM minors have also turned their work into posters and presented at undergraduate research exhibitions and showcases.
If you’re looking for a minor that lets you take what you care about and turn it into something impactful, creative, and uniquely yours, the CIVCM Minor and its capstone offers exactly that opportunity.
Student work
Ena Foreman – Citizens Police Academy Manual
Nora Van Horn – Let’s Redefine Sexual Assault
Austin Hepburn – My Journey with Ameelio
Teagan Mayr – Influential Factors for Youth Development in Ireland and the United States: a comparative analysis (pdf)
Purva Gupta – Picture It! (pdf)
Jade Hofman – Self-Discovery in Portugal (pdf)
Schylar Satchell – The Drum (pdf)
Citizens’ Police Academy Manual
Ena Foreman graduated with a BA in Criminology and minors in Civic and Community Engagement, Communication Arts and Sciences, Dispute Management Resolution, and Sociology. For her capstone project, Ena tapped into her varied expertise and experience to create an organization and operations manual for the Centre County Citizens’ Police Academy.
Ena is currently working with Centre Safe, a human services organization supporting those who have experienced dating and domestic violence, sexual, or stalking, as their Communications and Community Outreach Specialist. Ena is also working toward her Master’s degree in Communication at Purdue University.
Communication for Incarcerated People
Austin Hepburn completed his BS in Criminology and minors in Civic and Community Engagement, Communication Arts and Sciences, and Rhetoric in 2021, and his Master’s in Public Policy in 2022.
His capstone paper, My Journey with Ameelio, recounts and reflects on his internship with a company that works to provide free communication between incarcerated individuals and their loved ones.
Austin is currently a policy and legal professional working as a Producer Licensing Specialist in New York.