CWC Reflection

I would say my CWC was largely successful because I was able to create an internship packet for Equality Utah. They were already planning on creating something like this but didn’t have the time or manpower, so not only do I think I created some useable documents, but I think they were vital to the success of the program and for Equality Utah itself.

I faced several challenges in the process of this project. First, the fact that I was creating documents for a program that hadn’t been developed yet required a lot of research on my part. After the first meeting they gave me a stack of at least 100 pages of reading to do so I could determine from the beginning the documents we even needed. We needed to identify which roles were necessary around the office, what requirements are typical of such internships, how to market the internship and who to, what design would work best for which internship, and more. I spent a lot of time before even starting the required part of the assignment in preliminary planning for them, in addition to contacting our Career Resource Center to find out what their requirements were. I overcame this simply by setting my mind to the task and realizing that it would benefit them a lot; because I chose a company that I care about, it wasn’t a difficult task to overcome, I just needed to find the time for it. Another challenge I faced was that they often wanted me to come to events to learn more about the company and the people they work with when I really didn’t have the time to go to the events. I have a problem saying no to people, so I ended up going and found them to be very engaging, even though they didn’t really end up helping me in the project.

I had to do an audience analysis for them and they regarded me as an expert for their intended audience. Because we would be marketing the newsletters to college students, they wanted me to understand what would catch a college student’s eye and what a student would be looking for in a good internship, and apply that knowledge to my documents. With this in mind, I tried to create designs that were fun and eye-catching, use character styles to set apart important information for students who were skimming the documents while walking between classes, and overall keep the information in them pertinent. I also needed to recognize the values of the students, understanding that they are looking not only for expertise in their fields but for income; because the internships are unpaid, I needed to market the skills they would gain from the internship well enough to make them seem worth their time.

If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t do much differently.  I would try to get a hold of the letterhead format and the logo sooner, because in the last week my contact seems to have dropped off the face of the earth and wasn’t able to get that information from me. Otherwise I think this project went really well.

I would give myself an A on this project. I was able to meet all the goals my contact and I set before starting the project and was able to work within their branding guide (which dictated which fonts, colors, and in some cases verbiage I could use) to create quality, usable documents. I put a lot of time and effort into this project and will continue to work with them to make sure they get the internship program in place at Westminster because it is something that we are both very passionate about. 

The 6 Steps

I think that professional writing can absolutely be an art, especially taking into the account the ideas presented in the Understanding Comics article. Idea and purpose, form, idiom, structure, craft and surface are all principles that are also taken account by professional artists of various mediums, such as painters, sculptors and creative authors. I think that all writing, including professional writing, has the power to plant ideas in people’s heads and leave a lasting impression on them. As such, I do believe that it is an art form and a great way to communicate, and needs to be taken seriously.

I think that I need to work more with simplicity in my writing. I have the tendency to go overboard and use a lot of grandiose language, and that may alienate some of my audience even if it does still get the point across. I think that knowing your audience and the purpose you are trying to achieve is a very important part of professional writing and is definitely a contributing factor to what makes it an art. But at the same time, I think that if you consider professional writing an art it also brings with it the implication that it is a personal experience: that is, the writer (or artist) is trying to communicate something from within them and sometimes you can’t put a barrier on that without losing the artistic quality of it.

University Usability

I thought the website looked pretty well organized and easy to navigate, but it took Sammi longer than expected to find the information. She seemed confused and unsure where to look for the information I asked of her. When it was over she said that she thought the website was laid out well, but she just doesn't perform well under pressure. She said the website had nice pictures and was very visually appealing. It took her 47 seconds to find the tuition information and 53 seconds to find the name of the school's president.

I conclude that the website is laid out well, but that it isn't super self-explanatory for people who are unfamiliar with finding information on college websites and who don't have a general idea where to look in the first place.

NaNoWriMo

Genre: Young adult lit

Audience: Young adults

Plot/Concept: An idealistic girl attempts to make a big change in the world but through some turmoil realizes that she may not have the power as an individual to create the magnitude of change she was hoping to.

First line: There was a time in my life when I wasn’t really living.

What do you need?

Our team project is going well and we have finished all the research necessary to complete the report, we just need to meet up and actually write it which we will do tomorrow or Wednesday. I haven’t started my resume and cover letter yet, but plan on using a resume I created last year to apply for a job and editing it with updated work experience, so it shouldn’t be too difficult. For my CWC documents, I have a whole pile of reading to do about branding and internship programs so that I can create my marketing campaign for Equality Utah’s internship program they want to create at Westminster. I will need to complete all this reading (about 100 pages) before I can start thinking through the content and design of my publications, which I expect to be very time consuming. I’m glad that I don’t have to have all the drafts done by that 9^th as I thought before, because that would be a very difficult deadline to make.

I feel like I’m pretty well prepared to complete my assignments, all I need is more time. If anything it would be helpful to have lab time at the end of classes so that we can work on it and get advice from you, because if I need help I honestly don’t have any time that I would be able to meet with you to get it. As it is I’m already having to leave class early some days to get all my work done for this class and others. I was a little frustrated that we are also expected to do the design side ourselves, but I have a design class this semester and feel like I have the skills to complete at least satisfactory designs (especially with the help of the branding guide they gave me), if I have the time to do so.

Resume quiz

I got a 67% on the resume quiz.

Job Ad

The job I chose was the Communications Intern position at Invisible Children. IC is an organization that uses creative storytelling techniques to raise awareness about and help bring an end to the longest-running war in Africa, which has been going on for 25 years. The position calls for two people who are passionate and knowledgeable about the organization to create original content and get information out to the public about IC’s efforts. The position is interesting to me because IC is an organization I am passionate about and fights for a goal that I find very honorable.

In the description for the position, they state that the ideal candidate would be a self-starter with a lot of initiative and someone who can handle a lot of writing and responsibilities for research, reporting, and strategizing. They also require candidates to be strong communicators, both written and verbally. These are qualities that I obtain and in fact enjoy in a working environment. Responsibilities include creating content daily and weekly for their blog, writing website content, emails and grant proposals, editing print and web copy, and creating a strategy for a communications campaign for IC – all of which I have experience in.

I have been following this company for four years now and know a lot about their history, programs, mission, and ethos. At any given time, they have many projects running aiming to end the reign of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Africa, protect the people in local African communities, rehabilitate returned child soldiers, and educate the rest of the world about the atrocities perpetuated by the war. Humanitarian aid and social justice are two issues I am very passionate about and want to work with in the future, making IC a perfect place to intern to gain experience for my future.