Web POrtfolio

During the last conference meeting, I was asked what I want to provide the audience with when they view my online portfolio, and how I would like to present that material. This is a very important question and one I have taken a lot of time to consider. Audience's understanding and perception of my information and examples can be impacted by the way the material is laid out.

I need to start with a background that is something I like, that perhaps even reflects something about my individuality or personal taste even, but that doesn't distract or overwhelm the reader. Then I will post a general reflection of my experience and my goals and organize links to take the users to specific examples of what my reflection is talking about, like the editing I learned to do, the research, and the writing. I want to always have my name and email address visible to the audience so that it does not go overlooked and is easily accessed.

Poster fair

The PWE Capstone class poster fair was a great success, it was interesting to see everyone else's work experience. All of my supervisors came which was very nice, I got to finally introduce Dr. Wible to Sandra, Mark, and the Director here at the NESC. I hope that other PWE 491A Capstone students have the pleasure of interning here again in semesters to follow.

Lately I have been realizing the importance of understanding your audience. The things I had learned during English 301 have been reappearing more frequently; ethos, pathos... My last assignment REALLY emphasizes the importance of knowing your audience- I am to read over materials that all relate to an article Sandra is writing for "The Water We Drink" on the topic of WARN--Water/Wasewater Agency Response Networks.

I am to read the documents and come up with some questions that I might have about WARN if I were a small community official, like a mayor, council member, or water board member who had oversight responsibility for the water or wastewater utility.

One of the challenges with WARN is convincing these local officials to support their water/ww utility's membership in WARN. For example, some utilities might not be able to join unless their local leaders know about WARN, clearly understand the benefits of joining and what's expected. So, if I were one of those officials, what would I want to know about WARN? The more questions I come up with the better, they will help shape the focus and direction of the article for Sandra.

One of the documents is an article by our editor/writer Natalie "Being Prepared Before the Next Disaster Strikes." It's a great article and Sandra will probably borrow some of the info from it, but our focus will be on convincing the local official to take action, (1) getting them to engage their water/ww utility staff and discuss WARN, (2) facilitating and supporting the utility's involvement in WARN.

I have to be extremely well versed in the content of these materials and really put myself in the shoes of some that this may effect. It is a fun exercise that will definitely help focus the purpose of Sandra's writing.

Revisiting Expectations

When I began my internship experience, I anticipated becoming a stronger, more confident, more experienced, better writer. I called upon my existing strengths as a writer, worker, and editor, and jumped into the field. The work I have completed has taken me more time than originally thought, but this is because I wanted it to be as good as it could be. I have had help and support from both of my advisors along with everyone in this office providing feedback and tips. The items I have completed were made better with help from these associates, and without them, the articles probably could not have reached a level of expertise. My strengths in strict punctuality and staying focused have allowed me to accomplish my work in time for deadlines, and have helped maintain a healthy work relationship and atmosphere. Also, persistently revising and submitting my work for review has helped my writing improve vastly. I see how the changes suggested betters the writing, and I have grown more confident through learning from my mistakes. It is very fortunate that this class offers me an opportunity to get a real feel for that a career in this field is actually like, I have learned so much not only about professional writing and editing, but also how to be a professional in the workplace. My electronic portfolio will certainly contain statements that directly reflect my experience during my internship. This exercise has resulted in my reflecting on everything I have learned this semester through my internship, and has brought forth realizations of my improvements as a writer. I now know how to write several different forms of writing, from articles to promotional letters. Also, my experience here has increased my experience with comprehensive editing as well as heightened my skills as a team member.

Interesting Notes

This week has been exciting for me at work because it is the first time I have been assigned shorter works and works that are collaborative and non-article. I revised my version of the promotional letter to the National League of Cities on Wednesday and submitted it to Sandra Fallon. The changes I made were not drastic, but made a significant change. The attention-getting fact was moved to the second paragraph in the somewhat short letter, and the thank you was moved to the first line of the letter. This created a better flow, and maintained a clear purpose/objective for the reader to identify while reading it. I added an incentive for the reader to take advantage of the information my letter was offering- to not only visit our new website but to use the free downloadable sources found on it- to increase the chances that my letter will promote our web traffic. The incentive was that I mentioned several other state affiliates that have used, and profited from, our website. I think that knowing others have benefitted from our services that the National League of Cities will be more inclined to do the same.

The other project of the week is a collaborative effort to edit/review all of the materials that are going into our Spring/Summer 2010 issue of On Tap. There will be about 7 different articles in this season's issue, and all are compiled before me to read over for review. This same task is being undertaken by 4 others- editors, writers, supervisors- a group effort to create the best possible work. This is fun for me, and challenging also. Some articles are specifically intended for experts in areas, such as equations for water system staff members. The material goes beyond my knowledge of what would be incorrect, but luckily trained professionals have already perfected those aspects of the article. Mostly I catch grammatical, format, or spelling errors, which is going well.

On another note, my internship is going very well. My time here is running out, and I will be very sad to leave the National Environmental Services Center staff who have been very kind and helpful to me. Also interesting is that the janitor recently provided me with my own trash can, I wonder if people notice I throw things out often...?