Service Learning Commons^™

Easy Peasy Low Carb Meals, Sophia Maria Sanders

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal disorder. Complications of this disease can cause metabolic syndrome (high blood sugar, unhealthy cholesterol, and high blood pressure) and Type 2 diabetes. Doctors suggest a healthy diet full of fruits, vegetables, and healthy carbohydrates to help control symptoms. PCOS is one of many health issues that can be managed with a low-carb diet. My capstone project is a recipe book filled with quick or easy low-carb dinners created with a busy parent in mind.

Building Bridges, Kaitlin Jane Cox

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

In an effort to mend divisions and cultivate a more cohesive work environment, I organized a team bonding event tailored to the preferences and input of my fellow coworkers. Through open communication and collaboration, I facilitated polls to gather insights and preferences, ultimately crafting an event aimed at bringing colleagues together to strengthen relationships and enhance collaboration.

The chosen venue, the Meridian Dog Park, was intended to provide a relaxed and inclusive setting where coworkers could connect on a personal level while enjoying the company of our furry friends. Despite meticulous planning and enthusiastic anticipation, the event unfortunately did not …

Family Cookbook Recipe, Cecilia Julia Bonoweme

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

The idea of the Family Cookbook Project stemmed from a profound love for cooking and a desire to preserve cherished culinary traditions. Inspired by the memories created in the kitchen with loved ones, I started a project to gather all our family recipes together into something we can hold onto and keep. As family members moved away or passed on, I realized the importance of preserving these culinary treasures for future generations. Thus, the Family Cookbook Project was born. It's all about celebrating different traditions, bringing families closer, and helping people cook healthier meals. The project wants to help families …

My Day At The Races, Emily Marie Duran

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

The project was to research the difference between illiteracy and functional literacy. The hope was to spark the love of reading in elementary school students

Flight Attendant Mental Health Awareness, Breanna Lyle

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

My capstone project was to create a Facebook group for flight attendants that allow them to be able to find a location with resources for mental, and physical health struggles that come along with the job. It was private so that others can feel safe within the group, and know that the resources that are being posted have correct, and valid information.

Non-Profit Grant Writing: Supporting A Local Breed Specific Dog Rescue, Kamy Godoy

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

For this action project, I chose to pursue a project that would help support the needs, specifically medical, of a local non-profit, no kill dog rescue called Boise Bully Breed Rescue (BBBR). I chose this rescue because it is breed specific and because it is bully specific, this rescue must work a little harder to acquire sources of funding to aid them. After receiving guidance from the rescue’s founder, I decided that the most optimal way to help this rescue was through finding and applying for grants that could offer funding to support their growing medical costs. Funding through grants …

Helping The Homeless Communities, Rylee R. Raz

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

In my community, I have talked to stakeholders about doing a donation drive. For my project, I decided to collect donations for The Valley House Homeless Shelter in Twin Falls, Idaho. As part of my project, I aimed to collect donations that would be beneficial and helpful for families in need. The main focus of my project was collecting donations such as household items. There are a number of items I would like to get for the children, including bedding, bathroom supplies, boxed foods, baby supplies, and educational materials. In addition to creating flyers to post around the community, I …

Walkability And Pedestrian Safety In Nampa, Idaho, Laura J. Q. Shoemaker

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

This service-learning capstone project explores the pressing concern of walkability in Nampa, Idaho, driven by a rise in pedestrian fatalities. The project is designed to foster citizen advocacy for a more walkable town by creating a booklet. After research and collaboration, I created a concise booklet that shares the benefits of walkability, pedestrian safety tips, local laws, and organizations citizens can contact or be involved in.

Results include city support for distribution, media coverage, and engagement through social media and community events. While successful, the project could benefit from increased opportunities for community engagement and broader dissemination to promote pedestrian …

Supporting Young Children Through Big Feelings, P. Diane Stoecker

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

This is a service-learning project centered around solving the problem of how I can provide support to young children and their adults as they work through big emotions. Specifically, I wrote a children’s book titled My Big Feelings, which tells a narrative from a child's perspective about what they need from their adult as they experience big feelings. The second part of this project is a companion section in the back of the book focusing on emotional intelligence concepts. Included in this section are quick tips, ideas, and other resources designed to help adults provide support for children as they …

Community Family Game Night, Adrianna Green

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

In the community of Tetonia, where social opportunities outside of church events or bars are limited, organizing a community game night emerged as a solution to enhance engagement, particularly for young children. Through a service-learning project, the project began with discussions with the Tetonia First Ward young women's group and the Mayor of Tetonia, gathering valuable feedback, including insights from about the need for increased involvement for senior citizens. Recognizing the potential for intergenerational connection, the event aimed to bring youth and older community members together.

Scholarship Awareness Of Idaho, Gabbriella G. Lifferth

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

Many young adults who are about to start on their educational journey lack awareness of scholarships, hindering their ability to access financial support for their education. My blog is designed to be used as a helpful guide for individuals facing this similar issue that I once faced myself. Using a blog to deliver current and available information on local scholarship opportunities. The project's main goal is to create an easily accessible platform for scholarship awareness and empower young adults to gain a higher education. The website is designed to allow students to actively search for and apply for scholarship opportunities …

Story Time To Encourage Early Literacy, Emily Denae Penaluna

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

In light of falling literacy rates among children, I hosted a story time at the local public library in hopes of encouraging reading and literacy in early childhood aged children. I believe these rates are falling because of the lack of exposure to books and digital distractions. The children and their parents were able to benefit from the story time by providing them with an entertaining event while revealing to them what the library has to offer. Although the event itself was small, the lasting impact it can have is great. Keywords to represent this project are encouraging, educational, and …

Implementing An Office Training, Ashley Michelle Connolley

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

For my capstone project, I chose to develop a training course with corresponding materials regarding the Return to Title IV Funds (R2T4) process in the Financial Aid Office. I have been working in this office for over a year, and I have been the manager and main processor of R2T4 for over six months. When I took a step back, I realized that our office has very little in terms of proper training materials, instead relying on new employees to learn through written out procedures. While this is okay for some of the easier processes, it does not foster an …

Onboarding And Training Plan Development: Adapting To Remote Work, Nick Jerome Sobczak

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

This professional action capstone project was done to address my work department’s lack of preparedness to onboard and train new employees since our office moved to remote work. The focuses of this project were ensuring we had the technical ability to train a remote employee with options to interact with them via screen sharing and video conference, a new comprehensive training plan, and the storage of that plan and all related files or documentation in a shared and easily accessible location.

Professional Development Handbook, K. D. Moreland

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

This action research project was designed to help lower enlisted Soldiers receive additional knowledge that will help with their career progression and knowledge within the military. This handbook is quick and easy to access with some additional resources if they want to dive into the material a little deeper. This handbook would be great for someone who is getting ready to go to a promotion board and wants to study up on basic Army knowledge and some additional regulations that are important to know.

Oit Financial And Policy Training, Katy M. Lightfield

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

My capstone project at Boise State University aimed to address and rectify the pervasive challenges of staff not adhering to financial policies regarding purchasing cards, travel expenses, and engagements with independent contractors. Through the creation and implementation of an online, interactive training, it provided hands-on guidance and real-world scenarios to ensure a comprehensive understanding and application of policies. This initiative had stakeholder collaboration, involving feedback and contributions from employees, my supervisor, and managers to ensure the training’s relevance and accessibility. The project significantly contributed to financial policy compliance, enhancing operational efficiency and reducing non-compliance risks across the university.

Food Brings Us All Together, Lisa N. Hernandez

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

When you move to a new neighborhood, it’s hard to get comfortable at first. You may have concerns or questions about how some things are accomplished and even more so if you are a part of an HOA. For this capstone project, I wanted to create a space for the people of my housing community to come together and network. This was going to be a place where they could talk and get to know each other as well as have a discussion session on items they may have questions about. In a society that’s new, you have to adapt …

Anxiety And Stress Relief For Youth, Tricia J. W. Varner

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

The project that I chose to do for my capstone project was to create an interactive workbook for youth to help them understand anxiety and stress. I found that there was a need for youth to have a tool to learn to cope with anxiety and stress. The words anxiety and stress have both become buzzwords amongst middle school and high school students, but do they really understand what it is and how to deal with it? This workbook will give them an arsenal of tools and resources to assist them with learning more about these buzzwords and most importantly, …

Nonprofit Website Design For Mission And Stakeholder Impact, Amy Elizabeth Mcintyre

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

Idaho Giving Garden was founded in 2020, and official recognition as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is set to be granted in January 2024. Idaho Giving Garden’s mission is to combat food insecurity in its community by growing and distributing fresh and nutritious produce to the Meridian Food Bank, fostering a healthier and more equitable food system for all. For my service-learning capstone project, I developed a website for Idaho Giving Garden to raise awareness of its mission and goals and engage volunteers, funders, and donors to support its cause. With greater community engagement through the website, Idaho Giving Garden hopes …

Autoimmune Allies Blog Project, Rebecca A. Kelley

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

My project was based around starting a blog summarizing and sharing my own experiences with autoimmune diseases. I was diagnosed with my first autoimmune disease when I was eight and it drastically impacted the way I grew up and have subsequently lived my life. I wanted to create a platform that both shared these experiences as well as shared information and resources to other people who might be struggling through something similar. I also paired it with another capstone project that involved organizing a local meetup support group for individuals.

Clothing My Community, Megan Anderson-Way

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

My Capstone project is doing a clothing drive and swap for my community. I was inspired when I was back to school shopping for clothes for my daughter and realizing how expensive it is. I asked myself how do families afford it with multiple children afford clothing in this economy.

Aircraft Forms 101, Ryan Donivan-Laydon Meili

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

The premise of this project is to inform pilots how to correctly fill out aircraft forms. The data and slides show the noticeable errors and how to correct those. By doing this we are eliminating extra work that is required to fix these entries.

Community Assisted Fundraiser For Camp Rainbow Gold, Ethan Johnson

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

My service learning project was a garage sale using items donated by my local community. I gave 100% of the funds generated to Camp Rainbow Gold, a local charity that focuses their efforts on supporting children who have been directly impacted by childhood cancer, and their families. Camp Rainbow Gold is currently fundraising for their Hidden Paradise Project, which will be Idaho’s first medical camp aimed at providing a space for children and their families affected by childhood cancer to heal. I held the event on November 12^th and solicited donations from my local community through online sources such …

A Social Media Marketing Plan For Premiere Property Group, Emma Claire Pittman

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

This project took the current stats of Premiere Property Group, LLC’s (PPG) current social media presence and curated a plan to increase both engagement and brand awareness for the company. The social media marketing plan was created to set specific goals for the marketing department and to utilize the techniques and tools of current social media platforms to market the company without a large budget. The current social media platforms, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn, were assessed for followers, likes and views, as well as overall engagement. A social media marketing plan was then created specific to PPG’s target audiences and …

Frontline Leadership: Strategies And Tactics For First Responders, Dan P. Ziem

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

For the workshop, I plan to provide a comprehensive three to four-hour session focusing on the principles of extreme ownership—a leadership approach that has proven successful, particularly in high-pressure environments. Drawing inspiration from the renowned philosophy advocated by former Navy SEALs Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, the workshop will dive into realistic strategies for effective leadership. To ensure relatability to the First Responder field, I will tailor the content to the unique challenges and environments faced by those in law enforcement at all levels. Real-world examples and personal experiences will be included, making the training not only educational but also …

Helping Hoodies Clothing Drive, Nicole Hawkinson

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

This service learning project recognized the needs for warmer clothing for disadvantaged children that they genuinely wanted and would wear. Oftentimes, children who are in the care of the state for any purpose are children that have suffered trauma and loss. Not only loss of their possessions, but their families, friends and stability. I partnered with a non-profit organization, The Closet, that gives these children back their ability to choose clothing items that fit their style and helps them to gain back a piece of their identity. I created the Helping Hoodies clothing drive that ran for a week in …

More With Less: How Visual Media Can Improve Training, Matthew R. Adams

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

The human mind is only able to process a finite amount of information. Learning new processes can invoke significant stress levels. By applying modern research into brain processing and tailoring visual media to capitalize on those processes we can reduce overall stress while optimizing the learning process expediting information uptake and application.

Para Educator And Classified Staff Study: Hacker Middle School, Cierra Hunter Donlee Webb

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

The following research and data collection was conducted over the course of 7 weeks during the capstone period of the authors final course for their Interdisciplinary Professional Studies degree. The following content is the interviews, data collection, and experiences of the author on their journey of this project. It establishes the wants and needs of the staff at a local middle school in Mountain Home Idaho. The author’s goal was to establish a foundational path for improvement and communication when it pertains to the classified and para educator staff at the local middle school and how this establishment could be …

Employee Recognition Program, Michael E. Brady

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

This semester, I focused on developing an employee recognition program for my organization as a capstone project. This initiative aims to bring substantial value by acknowledging and appreciating the hard work, dedication, and outstanding performance of our employees. The program is designed to enhance morale, satisfaction, and motivation, fostering a culture of appreciation and loyalty. Its implementation is expected to result in increased productivity, improved job performance, and higher employee retention rates, thereby maintaining a stable workforce.

To ensure the effectiveness of the program, I considered key elements such as defining clear criteria for recognition aligned with organizational goals, timely …

Supporting A Community Of Pets, Noah C. Madden

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

This capstone project highlights a community's efforts to support in-need pets, particularly dogs and cats, as well as their owners. For this project, I organized and executed a multiple-week food drive focused specifically on collecting pet food. The objective of this project was to help diminish the rate of food insecurity found in pets within the Boise community, as well as bring a fresh sense of hope to pet owners who may be facing financial hardship or other personal challenges. Over nearly a month’s time, my pet food drive was able to raise over 750 pounds of food for those …