Ashley Godin '11 and her Capstone Experience

Ashley Godin '11.

Ashley Godin '11, an Exercise Science major from Canton, Mass., discusses her group Capstone, which involved conducting research to compare the amount of motivation student-athletes have for their athletic activities versus their academic studies. The Capstone project, which involves extensive research and presentation, is the culmination of each student's academic experience. While at Colby-Sawyer, Godin was a member of the Community Service Club, Exercise and Sport Sciences Majors Club and the Colby-Sawyer Dance Club.

Describe the subject of your Capstone project and why you chose to focus on this subject.

The subject of our Capstone project was to analyze data to see if there was a difference between student athletes' motivation in their academics compared to their athletics. My group chose to focus on this subject because a past Capstone had looked at how student-athletes were perceived by teachers. We thought it would be interesting to look deeper at Colby-Sawyer student-athletes and see where their primary motivation lies.

What did you learn through your Capstone project, and in what ways was it a culmination of your learning experience at Colby-Sawyer?

I learned that you have to enjoy and be interested in your Capstone topic, because you see a lot of it. I also learned what it is like to work in a group for a long period of time. There will be barriers during the project, but you learn about the people that you work with and how to get past these barriers. It related to my learning experience at Colby-Sawyer College, because in many of my classes, we spoke about the motivation and confidence an individual has.

What was most fun and rewarding for you in the process of creating your Capstone?

The most rewarding task was being accepted by the Institutional Review Board (IRB), which meant that we were able to perform our study. The most fun task was deciding what our topic would be and beginning the research.

What did you find most challenging and difficult about the project? The task that I found most challenging was working within the group and sometimes having to deal with disagreements between group members. These issues were always solved and we did not have many of them, which was good.

What do you hope will be the lasting value of your Capstone project, both for you and others?

The lasting value of our Capstone project is our results, which show that the student-athletes who took our survey are actually more motivated in their academics than athletics. Others could build off our study and maybe look at both intramural sports and varsity sports, and compare these two areas to analyze whether there is a difference.

How would you summarize your Colby-Sawyer experience?

I enjoyed my Colby-Sawyer experience and feel that I took every opportunity that was given to me. My experiences through my internships and my classroom learning have prepared me for the “real world,” and have made me into the confident person that I am today.