Almost-real Real Estate
Capstone Project teaches real-world skills

CAPTION: John Mahon Jr. and Edwin del Rosario put the final touches on Mahon's capstone project.

Columbus State’s programs are intended to help you get ahead in your career—and that includes the homework.

John Mahon Jr. used his capstone project to test out new marketing ideas to help his family’s real estate business. A capstone is a large paper or project required at the end of some Columbus State associate degree programs.

As part of a capstone in communication skills, Mahon prepared a marketing plan for a house his family was selling, including a video of the house and its surrounding neighborhood. It was a house Mahon had lived in when he was a child, so he was able to include old family pictures. The idea was to show the house in its lived-in state, to better attract families moving to a new stage in their lives.

The video opens with shots of the house, then a panoramic view of its street in Bexley. It cycles through a number of old photos, including two different dogs, before listing the house’s stats.

Mahon recruited a classmate, Edwin del Rosario, to develop the video. Del Rosario, a digital photo major, met Mahon when they were in COMM 105 (Speech). He worked hard to do the panoramic shot, and incorporating the photos with the video pushed him to develop new skills, del Rosario says.

Mahon’s capstone advisor, Dr. Rita Bova, encouraged Mahon to narrow the idea and find more specifics. The project brought together “theory and practice,” Bova says.

Mahon, a 22-year-old Bishop Hartley grad, says he plans to go to Ohio State this year. Mahon’s degree, the Associate of Arts, essentially fulfills the first two years of a bachelor’s degree.

Columbus State also offers a number of two-year Career and Technical degrees in business topics, such as business management, marketing and finance. These are designed as stand-alone degrees, although they can transfer to many colleges.