My project is a 3-part podcast examining the relationships between athletes and fans on social media. The first episode is an overview of the sports world and social media as well as diving into what causes harassment from fans online. The second episode focusses on the influence of narratives on social media and how they can harm an athlete's reputation. The third episode focusses on an analysis of a survey that I sent out to a bunch of professional athletes.

Queer individuals are frequently perceived as ‘the Other’ and thus, ‘the Other’ that exists in the imagination of writers as creatures and monsters to terrify audiences frequently take on queer characteristics. However, to examine these monsters, their transformations, and the communities that connect to them further, we must step away from the cis, straight view of ‘normality’ and attempt to discuss the creature from within. This paper aims to examine the experiences of individual queer identities as they transition out of assumed heteronormativity and into ‘the Other’ themselves through the monsters that each identity aligns itself with narratively.

Charlie’s Bitter Sweet Symphony: A Guide Toward Healthy Healing For Young Adults Grieving is a written resource for bereaved young adults. Cassandra, having faced the challenging loss of her father, Charlie, just before starting college, noticed a distinct lack of resources tailored for grieving young adults. She felt discouraged by the scarcity of materials specifically catering to the needs of this demographic. In response to this gap, Cassandra decided to write a narrative to fill the void and offer guidance to others navigating similar challenges in their grief journey. This narrative represents Cassandra’s exploration of resilience in the face of bereavement during her own young adulthood. Initially, Cassandra set out to create a "guide to grieving" for young adults, but discovered there's no universal roadmap for an easy journey through loss. To gain insights, she interviewed five individuals who suffered the loss of their parent between the ages of 15 and 22. Despite diverse experiences between the interviewees and Cassandra, common themes emerged. She delved deeper into these themes through research, hoping to create a comprehensive resource that young adults could look to. Still however, through the process, she realized grief is highly personal, shaped by individual circumstances and reactions. While various paths for coping exist, the focus of this thesis is to inspire and offer guidance to those navigating the challenges of grieving. Charlie’s Bitter Sweet Symphony, originally the famous 37-hour playlist created by her dad, was also the soundtrack of his life. Now, it is a guide for young adults grieving the loss of a loved one. Each chapter in the narrative, named after a song on her dad’s playlist, provides insight from an interviewee, an anecdote from Cassandra’s experience, and research from other online sources to support themes presented in the text. Cassandra hopes that her words can serve as a guiding light, leading an individual with grace and strength through the dark passages of grief.

Meloscape, an innovative music therapy iPad app, addresses the challenge of providing an authentic therapeutic experience virtually to older adults. Meloscape offers a user-friendly platform that goes beyond existing apps by providing standalone simulations of music therapy sessions that can also be used as a tool between in-person sessions. Developed with a focus on research, accessibility, lifelong learning, and the unique needs of older adults, Meloscape features follow-along video sessions, guided meditations, personalized music selections, and journaling capabilities, creating a holistic and immersive music therapy experience. Meloscape strives to empower older adults to independently engage in music therapy, fostering cognitive and physical well-being and enriching their lives in profound ways.

The 2016 election brought a pivotal shift in the external communications of businesses with their consumers. The shift was from the established practice of businesses selectively and voluntarily choosing to comment on social issues, to now businesses’ consumers and employees expecting a comment. While political and social subjects were once considered off-limit conversations, some businesses found themselves in the middle of election rhetoric and taking sides on candidates. As a result of this shift, issues such as abortion, discrimination, gun control, and current political policies, which were once closed-door, private conversations, are now being discussed openly by CEOs. I have gathered research from scholarly outlets, business publications, statements from executives and companies, as well as resulting news coverage and commentary. Throughout this thesis, I will explore how the 2016 election brought about a pivotal change in how and when corporations release statements publicly as a response to current events. To understand this change in corporate communications I will provide the history of how corporate communications were viewed and shared with their consumers since the 1930s, and what it has evolved to today.