Service Learning Project Gives Fall Fest to Students
Communication students used their capstone project to give back to the university community by organizing Fall Fest, while giving them firsthand experience at event planning and community relations.
- published: 2025/11/25
- contact: Jared Craig
- email: unonews@unomaha.edu
Students play yard games during Fall Fest. Photo by Ryan Soderlin, UNO Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications.
One of the student organizers distributes pizza to attendees. Photo by Ryan Soderlin, UNO Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications.
Communication Studies Majors who will be graduating in December 2025 - Back row from left: Sam Easley, Manny Barragan, Chloe Lanphier, Tino Musekiwa, Front row from left: Nolan Preuss, Mio Horiuchi, Hailee Hablitzel, Tori Besta, Christina Cardoza. Photo by Ryan Soderlin, UNO Office of Strategic Marketing and Communications.
On Halloween afternoon, students found their way to Sonny’s, a staple hangout in Aksarben Village, for Fall Fest — an event organized by students at the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s (UNO) Communication Studies Capstone.
Fall vibes and spooky decorations adorned the outdoor patio venue. A DJ performed, students huddled around pizza and lawn games, and organizers raffled away prizes donated by area businesses. But while Fall Fest added to the levity of Homecoming Week, the event capped months of work, which aimed to give Communication Studies majors first-hand experience at event planning and community relations.
“This gives students a real-world opportunity to apply what they’ve learned, collaborating with partners, communicating professionally, and managing an event from start to finish,” said Sharon Storch, an associate professor at the School of Communication.
Fall Fest was the project for Communications Studies Capstone, a culminating course that bridges academic learning with practical application. Students reflect on their coursework while completing a hands-on project that mirrors the communication challenges they’ll face in the workplace.
“This event lets them experience teamwork, leadership, and conflict management firsthand,” Storch said. “It’s a well-rounded communicative learning experience that prepares them for what comes next.”
The project is an example of service learning at UNO, where teaching combines classroom instruction with meaningful, community-identified service. For these students, all graduating in December 2025, they wanted to provide their peers with a chance to gather together especially during a period when students are typically taking midterm exams. To pull it off, they had to move quickly.
“We really started the project in mid-September, so we had to organize Fall Fest quickly,” said Tino Musekiwa, a senior communication studies major.
Along with another senior, Manny Barragan, they visited local businesses to find sponsors for the event and to donate goods and services.
“We wanted to give students the chance to explore Aksarben Village. Even though it officially isn’t, we really see Aksarben as part of campus in a lot of ways, and there’s much to explore.”
Everything that went into organizing meant putting students into a situation to solve problems. Among them was scheduling, since the event would fall during Homecoming as well as various fall-related events held by student organizations and campus offices. Senior Hailee Hablitzel, who was on the marketing team, knew she had to be more proactive to advertise.
To get the word out, the team organized a social media presence, marketed online, and began passing out flyers on campus. Additionally, students managing logistics faced the challenge of changing venues only weeks before the scheduled day, moving from Stinson Park to Sonny’s.
Storch saw these challenges as exactly what they’ll face as working professionals no matter the career they pursue.
“A communication graduate can be in many career areas, like social media, marketing, and management roles,” she said. “This project gives them an opportunity to work on a team in their interest area and apply their learning in a real project that requires communicating with stakeholders.”
Students also had to work closely with the company that managed the venue, Noddle Companies.
Emma Allison, marketing director for the company as well as a UNO alumna, found the capstone project was a chance to help UNO students become more involved in Aksarben Village. She wanted to give the students planning event as much freedom as they could get.
“It was important to us to give the students a blank canvas to accomplish what they wanted and to make the most of this learning opportunity,” she said.
With Fall Fest underway with the music playing and people mingling, the students are asked if this motivates them to be event planners.
They laughed after giving each other quick glances.
“Maybe under the right circumstances,” Hablitzel said. “But this was great experience to put on my résumé, and now I know I can do it.”
As Fall Fest wraps up, the Capstone has shown that hands-on, transferable skills make a lasting impact on students’ education at UNO.”
About the University of Nebraska at Omaha
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