MPS Capstone project thrusts students into the real world

By Michael Rupert
MPS Class of 2009

A major national company is aggressively seeking public relations and marketing support for the massive launch of its new facility in the hypercompetitive Washington, D.C., market. You have 90 days to develop, design, and be ready launch your plan at a minute’s notice. Not only do you need to move fast, but the competition is fierce and will be watching your every move.

No, this is not a script for the television series Mad Men, but the exact scenario that 40 recent graduates of Georgetown’s Master of Professional Studies (MPS) in Pubic Relations and Corporate Communications were thrust into as part of the program’s Capstone project.

“It’s essential to have a real challenge as the final Capstone experience,” said MPS Associate Dean Denise Keyes, who also teaches the Capstone course. “Students can say with confidence that they have real-world experience.”

Students were given 90 days to develop their plans for the launch of the National Children’s Museum’s (NCM) brand-new facility at National Harbor, just a few miles outside of Washington. On day one, they were handed a four-page request for proposal from NCM and a few background materials, and then they were essentially set free to get to work.
In a few months, they would stand before a panel of NCM executives, make their pitch, and try to win the contract.

Melissa McCabe, MPS class of 2009, said she and her teammates felt ready for the challenge. “I was a little intimidated, but my other classes prepared me for the NCM pitch,” she said. “Because the Georgetown program emphasizes applied learning and is aggressive about providing students with real-world work, it seemed like a natural final step.”

Ariel Moyer, NCM director of communications and public affairs, served on the final panel of judges. She said museum executives were excited about the project from the very beginning and were impressed with the way students attacked the project in the early stages. “I was very impressed with the concerns raised by students,” Moyer said. “They zeroed in on the Museum’s core challenges right away.”

Keyes said the Capstone program was designed to put the students’ skills to the test in a competitive environment, not just to prepare them for success in the field but to create new leaders. “I felt as if I was back at a firm rather than in a classroom,” said Keyes, who has worked for the world’s most elite public relations firms. “The students were transformed by the experience. I can say with confidence that they are now ready to be leaders.”

The final plans included everything from aggressive social media campaigns to branding strategies, grassroots community outreach plans to new marketing campaigns, and youth sports sponsorships to photography contests.

True success for her team, McCabe said, was not winning the competition but creating a plan that she and her team could be proud of.

So what did the judges think? Will NCM use these plans to develop their launch strategy?

Absolutely, says Moyer. “Over the next couple of months, we will be refining the Museum’s long-term communications strategy, and I plan to incorporate a variety of ideas presented by the students,” she said. “The students’ ideas were creative and the proposals and presentations were thoughtful and well executed. It was great to get a fresh, ‘outside’ perspective on our communications strategy, and, overall, the specific tactics and recommendations exceeded my expectations.”

McCabe is already seeing the program’s effect on her professional life. “I’ve been able to regularly apply what I’ve learned to my job, which has gained the attention of the communications team,” McCabe said. “In fact, on the card my boss gave to me for graduation, she wrote, ‘I’ve been the grateful recipient of so much of the expertise you’ve gained from this program.’”