Wow, what a roller coaster!
I started this semester having not taken a college course since 2010. Initially, I was nervous about the work load and if I was too far removed from my undergrad to keep up. But, my fears were quickly put aside. Any time I felt any confusion about what I was doing in the class or how I could be better, I stopped by Dr. Wharton’s office. 19 year old Andrew would have just tried to go it alone and “figure it out”, but 29 year old Andrew knows when he needs to ask questions.
I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew this was going to be a class that was centered around a service learning project from my first meeting with Dr. Wharton before the start of the semester. Honestly, that was one of the biggest reasons that I took the class. I figured I could read about technical writing, but I wanted a chance to apply what I had learned in a tangible way and this class has provided that. Week after after week I have found myself becoming more interested in the subject matter and excited to understand more of what makes a tech writer, content manager, information architect or business analyst. Being an older and more seasoned student may have something to do with this. Again, 19 year old Andrew didn’t exactly leap out of his chair for tech writing.
The reading for me so far has been great as far as preparing me for the work of a technical writer. Learning about genre, the future of the profession, audiences and modes of all kinds have helped in my training. As we have begun working on our service learning project I have noticed moments where we have applied bits of the reading and lecture to our thought process and planning, especially in terms of audience.
While I was nervous at first to meet with the client, I am now excited to move forward, define a scope of work and get started. I think between the design and content, we have a great shot at creating work that will actually be used by the Center of Civic Innovation. The best part is that after the class is done, we will have a real piece of work that we can show to future employers as a part of our portfolio and website. Today I met with a recruiter and just talking about the project as to how it relates to my class got them excited about my skill level. I can’t wait see how they react when the project is completed!
Moving forward, I’m excited to get started on the service learning project in full and see what kind of work we come up with. I really hope that CCI will be want to use the work we create since that would validate our work a little bit as well. I know we have much more work ahead of us, but I’m excited to see where all of this leads.
