![]() ![]() ![]() "There's going to be years and years and years of stories," Cribbs said. Just because the hurricane is over doesn't mean the stories are. More: Students, staff unhappy with FGCU's Hurricane Ian make-up days schedule What's next? More: Aysegul Timur selected as FGCU's next president. "It was really cool to see something that our class built and hopefully it gets shared across the community and other people see it." "We didn't realize how much we put into it until the very end," she said. While Hazel said the project as a whole was a huge undertaking, it was worth it to see the finished project when she turned it in on May 1. "I was really excited when the website was finally done because you could like see everything we did." "I think it gave them some confidence to know that they can do really high level work," Cribbs said. The works not published were those that would have had to be constantly updated, according to Cribbs. Around 90% of the work completed by all the students in the class was published. Hazel and a fellow classmate were charged with building the website in lieu of two story assignments. More: Theft, burglary crimes skyrocket in Sanibel since Hurricane Ian, data shows Bringing everything together "But I think we've all gained a lot of experience from this project." "At first it was daunting to go out, you know 30 minutes away at times, to a community or the beach that some of us had never been to and talk to people on the street," Hazel said. Stories varied from features on the community painting street signs to replace those swept away and the missing Times Square clock to more informational pieces about what happens to the debris that is hauled away and the future of businesses on Fort Myers Beach. ![]() They started the spring semester by pitching story ideas, assigning them and checking with sources to see if those stories were possible. He typically teaches it virtually over the summer so his students will do a collection of stories based in whatever community they are living in.īut this year Cribbs ran his in-person class more like a traditional newsroom. This is the first time Cribbs has taught the senior capstone class in person. "You use the knowledge from class and apply it close to the standards of professional journalism." The purpose of the senior capstone class is to take all of the skills learned throughout all of their classes and compile it together, according to Cribbs. "I hope that gives them a taste of what the professional world of journalism is gonna be like if they get into it." How the class worked They did a lot of good work," Cribbs said. All 10 of his students were tasked with writing roughly six stories each, putting together audio projects, videos and capturing photos for the website,, which was built by Hazel and one other student. ![]() This is by far the most ambitious and cohesive senior capstone project Journalism Professor Judd Cribbs has organized. More: Hurricane outlook for 2023: NOAA announces prediction for how many hurricanes will form More: Here's how Fort Myers Beach, Southwest Florida are recovering 6 months after Hurricane Ian Fort Myers Beach, along with Lee County's other barrier islands, took the brunt of Ian's assault on Florida's coastline.Īnd now, eight months after, the region is still recovering and rebuilding. Hurricane Ian made landfall in Cayo Costa, a small barrier island west of Fort Myers, on Sas a Category 4 hurricane. "It was a lot to take in just as a student, but then also to be covering that part was really hard and challenging." "It's rewarding as a student journalist to be a part of that history," Hazel said. That's how Riley Hazel, now a graduate from Florida Gulf Coast University's journalism program, described her experience working on her senior capstone project: covering the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Southwest Florida. ![]()
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