“Invest in the Future … Sponsor an STC Student Mentoring Affairs Committee Program: Reference Guide and Turnkey Toolkit.” 59th Annual STC International Conference Leadership Day presented with Dan Voss.
Leveling Up: First Years on the Job. Bethany Aguad, Nick Ducharme. STC Orlando Central Florida Chapter. Picking a Path at the University of Central Florida. April 2017 (Progression Event). Presentation summarized at: http://memotomembers.stc-orlando.org/?p=2771
“Invest in the Future … Sponsor an STC Student Mentoring Affairs Committee Program: Reference Guide and Turnkey Toolkit. Comprehensive (CAC) 110-page reference guide and CD”, published by CAC at 59th STC international conference. (Co-authored with Dan Voss)
“Building a Bridge from Industry to Academe: It’s a Two-Way Perspectives (CPTSC) Street!” (Proceedings article from 2012 CPTSC conference) (Co-authored with Dan Voss)
Invest in the Future … Sponsor an STC Student Mentoring Affairs Committee Program: Reference Guide and Turnkey Toolkit . (CAC) at 59th STC international conference. (Co-authored with Dan Voss)
When we petitioned to have our name changed to the Florida chapter, our chapter committed to delivering on a statewide presence that would engage STC members across the state. Our initial approach was to establish local meetups in different parts of the state. However, this proved difficult to promote and sustain, since it required effort form a local member to coordinate and manage the meetups.
Based feedback from our members, I recommended that we virtual engagement with our members our primary goal. This proposal was met with understandable concern since it inverted our current approach: enabling virtual attendees to dial in to our face-to-face meetings. I was able to win the support of the Administrative Council by providing a detailed plan for executing virtual meeting, listening to the concerns raised, and suggesting that we conduct a trial run with our January meeting before moving forward. In the end, we implemented this approach to meetings for our chapter year.
This year, I was honored to be elected as President of the Florida chapter. My responsibilities are broad: to preside at meetings, manage the Administrative Council, and support the voting members. In practicality, my primary activities are to collaborate with my fellow Administrative council members, to work with our treasurer to ensure we are making wise financial choices, to motivate our volunteers, and to promote the benefits of membership.
As we prepared to embark on our statewide initiative as the Florida chapter, I strongly encouraged our administrative council to update our brand. In addition to preparing for hosting the Summit, this required us to update our logo, our website, and our communication strategy in general. While everyone supported this effort, I made the decision to spearhead the initiative. By collaborating with the chapter members, I cannot express how proud I am of our new logo and new website.
At our annual leadership retreat, I worked with our core group of volunteers to create a plan for the chapter year driven by responses to a survey of our membership. While I am still in my first year in this role, we have already made strides to sustaining a cohesive statewide technical communication community with greater engagement from members in other parts of the state.
At the Florida chapter leadership retreat this year, as each attendee explained why they had joined the society, many of our talented, young members had originally joined because I had spoken to them one-on-one after their class to share what mentoring and STC membership mean to me. I have always seen my role as an influencer, where I can encourage and support others.
When I think of the STC board members I have known, I have always admired their passion for the practice of technical communication and their dedication to serving the society’s membership. Caring commitment to our members sets STC apart from other professional societies.
STC has played an integral role in my development as a technical communicator and a leader. I see the value of STC in providing technical communicators with the tools and opportunities to succeed throughout their career. I would appreciate the opportunity to take what I have learned and contribute to a STC at the society level.
I always work hard, and I thrive in a collaborative environment. I enjoy the chance to work with new people with different perspectives to brainstorm creative solutions to problems. In general, I strive to engage with my teammates and support the success of the team.
Making strategic plans requires thoughtful decision-making rather than impulsive reactions. I see the value of STC in providing technical communicators the tools and opportunities to succeed throughout their career. I want to see the society continue to deliver on that value for years into the future for technical communicators at all experience levels. My roles as President and, prior to that, treasurer of the Florida chapter have given me a chance to balance the needs of our membership with the realities of managing finances.
I hope that I can provide insight into the goals and expectations of young technical communicators.
