Joshua D. Boatright

The capstone project was a multifaceted assignment that served as a culminating academic and intellectual experience for students compelling us to utilize many key components of our education within a team setting. My capstone developed, researched, and presented a national viral hepatitis strategy for the country of Romania in less than four months. My role was to lead the logistical, budgetary, and research process of the project. The big takeaway from the experience were the challenges of managing a team and learning the nuances of teamwork.

 

In lieu of writing a thesis, a team of six colleagues and I were given a real-world client to help research a real-world problem. Our research looked at the epidemic of Hepatitis C (HCV)  in Romania. Recently, due to international pressures and advocacy initiatives, the response to HCV is starting to take shape in Romania. The purpose of this study is to create a National Viral Hepatitis Strategy for the government of Romania by quantitatively assessing the impact of services provided by the Baylor Black Sea Foundation’s HCV program with already collected data and qualitatively understanding the context of the data with a visit to Romania.

 

In addition to the knowledge gained about the research topic, the major take-a-ways from the capstone project was putting to practice the learning outcomes of program management, communication, critical thinking, teamwork, leadership, and lifelong learning.  While knowledge of subjects and theories helps bring the whole picture into focus, it is actually the hard skills of time management, effective writing and communication, along with interpersonal skills that make doing the job successfully. Understanding and applying these hard skills (that were not always emphasized as an essential element of education more than topical knowledge) is what brings success in the capstone projects. When a team member lacks these skills, it hinders the progression of the entire team.

 

The first step to creating a strong team was understanding each member and the different strengths they brought to the team. We met with Holly Kasperbauer, Assistant Director of Public Service Leadership Program. Through the Myers-Briggs personality assessment and the StrengthsQuest test, she was able to show us the strengths and weaknesses we could expect from our team. I understood that I was vastly different from my teammates and would have to work hard to make those differences work for the greater good. I knew that I had to build an atmosphere of trust in my team. I got to work- planning a trip to Romania, beginning our International Review Board application, and building a team.

 

My action plan to better build trust among my colleagues and myself was three-fold. My first step was to get to know and let my co-workers get to know me. This goes beyond basic everyday conversations about the weather or weekend plans. Conversations included discussions about aspirations, disappointments, and interests. This was the beginning of building trust because they saw that I was genuinely interested in them and their success.  The second step stemmed from the first step; I let my weaknesses be known by team members. This. of course, was not in an obnoxious way, but rather I was open about my struggles and sought criticism and applied recommendations. I believe that one way to build trust is to trust the advice you are given by showing application through actions and follow-ups. The third step to building trust was to be consistent. This means that I was not only being open for a week nor applied feedback for an hour. I needed to show consistency in order to earn the trust of reliability. Trust often involve small things, but they are important. Even more important is the consistent nature need to grow trust.

 In the end, our team had our expected troubles, but we learned to work together and to trust each other. Reflecting on past group work, I was able to identify the areas where we struggled and help lead the group to avoid problematic situations. The capstone project prepared me to work on future teams. It allowed me to apply the core skills that I was taught at The Bush School.