Seven Mercer University strategic communications students capped off their degrees by creating a social media plan to help Goodwill of North Georgia deepen its impact.
During their final semester, seniors in the College of Professional Advancement’s integrated communication capstone course apply their cumulative skills and knowledge during a service-learning project centered around a community agency. This is the fourth time that Dr. Arla Bernstein, program coordinator and associate professor of strategic communication, has partnered with Goodwill of North Georgia, which is currently celebrating its centennial year. Previous class projects have focused on employee satisfaction, volunteer motivation and the online career center.
“(Goodwill of North Georgia) has been really good to work with, and it’s been a good relationship,” Dr. Bernstein said. “The opportunity to work with a nonprofit organization is one thing that students seem to feel they benefit from, an actual client. All of them are on social media, but being able to approach it from a scholarly and practical perspective really rounded out their knowledge and understanding of what social media does as a community tool and how important it is.”
In the fall, students Santana Grant, Kennedy Harris, Triby Jackson, Brianna Ricker, Preselah Seymore, JoAnne Simmons and Giovanna Zammit conducted research, literature reviews and analysis of Goodwill of North Georgia’s social media presence. Then, they created an in-depth plan and presented it to Kendria Lewis, director of advertising for Goodwill of North Georgia, on Dec. 9.
The team focused on engagement, sustainability and empowerment and how social media can be used to better communicate the organization’s impact, mission and goals. Seymore said they presented several ideas that Goodwill could implement in the coming weeks and months, all supported by research.
“We helped Goodwill make some changes to their social media when it comes to posting to help push their posts on their algorithms,” Harris said. “Our main focus was giving them something they could do in the next 30 days with the resources they already have.”
The students highlighted the link between donations, waste reduction and career development in Goodwill’s work. They also touched on why emotional connection and active participation are vital to engagement; how sustainability can serve as the bridge between intention and action; and the benefits of relational, mission-centered digital storytelling.
After the presentation, Lewis told the students she especially liked the tangible ideas they offered and looked forward to sharing them with the rest of the Goodwill team.
“I really appreciate your professionalism,” she told the students. “I can tell you guys put a lot of time and thought into your presentation and your work. Overall, I think you did an amazing job. I’ve just been so impressed with your passion and the effort that you all put forward.”
Dr. Bernstein said it was one of the best presentations she’s seen in her capstone course.
“I think their analysis was very solid,” she said. “I think that their enthusiasm and articulation were super. I’m very pleased with the way it turned out.”
The project was an opportunity for the students to apply the research methods they learned about in past courses, Dr. Bernstein said.
“They see it’s not just theoretical. They can see that there’s very relevant applications for their research, and (they develop) an appreciation of the mission of Goodwill,” she said.
Harris said the capstone project was a positive experience for her. She learned a lot about Goodwill during her research, and the project showed her there is often more to an organization than what people realize. She hopes the social media plan will help Goodwill of North Georgia amplify its message about the important work it is doing.
“I developed a lot of skills that I can use in my everyday life as well as in my professional life,” Seymore said. “My favorite part was working with a team. I knew that no matter what stage of the project we were on, that we had each other’s back. Knowing that I wasn’t alone really helped.”
