Knowledge and Experience Gained from Capstone Research

 Michael Reynolds, Verrazzano Class of 2021, completed major in Psychology and minor in Business

Conducting my capstone project has been a positive learning process. It was originally a source of a lot of stress, but now I realize that it was not as bad as I first thought. My major is Psychology and I wanted to do something in that field. My favorite course was Abnormal Psychology, which I had taken during my sophomore year. The thought of emailing a professor who I hadn’t seen in two years was very nerve wracking, and I worried that she wouldn’t remember me or would be too busy. Luckily, she readily offered her guidance and was a terrific mentor.

Although I am a Psychology major, I am very interested in technology. I am very impressed with the recent advances and growth of virtual reality. New developments in VR have even led it to be a component of therapy, which was a perfect topic for me. I gathered up previous research and began undergoing my project. Finding the sources was very stressful. The most annoying part was when I would find a seemingly perfect article and it was not accessible through the CSI Library site. Reading all of the sources was also quite time consuming, and balancing the capstone work with regular course work was a bit overwhelming. The writing part went a lot smoother, because I kept notes on the sources and arranged them all based on the designated section of my paper. I learned this technique from a classmate, which reinforced the idea that open communication with colleagues is beneficial.

I also maintained a good line of communication with my mentor. She was always ready to offer her help and made me feel comfortable asking questions. Sometimes talking to a professor can be intimidating, but a mentorship has such a different feel to it. I’m on the shy side, so being able to both approach and maintain communication with my mentor is something I’m proud of. When she offered revisions to my paper, I was happy because they were all technical (regarding APA format). I was really proud that I wrote a solid paper, content wise. Writing has never been a strong suit of mine, but I handled this capstone really well.

Despite the occasional stress along the way, I was able to combine two interests of mine and write a scholarly paper. I was able to ask for help when I needed it in order to put forth my best effort. Lastly, a skill vital to graduate pursuit in psychology, I now have more experience gathering and synthesizing established literature. This is important because I’m sure I will have to conduct or at the very least possess deep knowledge of research and research processes. I am very proud of the work I have completed during my final year at CSI and the new skills I have acquired.