Graduate Success
Web Developer
Garrett Massey
''I work as the main programmer and web
designer in the Early Childhood Services
Centre at UNM. My regular work involves a
combination of programming, web design, UX
design, and content editing on all of our websites and applications. My background
in computer science gave me the
foundation for programming, and my studies
of web design in the TC program gave
me the skills I use every day in building and
maintaining our websites and applications.
It is my job to make sure that our websites are up to date with accessibility standards,
usable on a variety of devices and accessible
to people across multiple languages. I also
provide technical and managment support
to other programmes, guiding the direction
of programming projects and updates
to our systems.''
Technical Writer/ Editor
Abbey Chesebrough, Raytheon
''My job responsibilities include compiling, formatting writing, and editing technical
documentation, including user manuals,
proposals, and other contract deliverables.
I was also a data manager, which
required monitoring the status of all contract
deliverables,submitting deliverables to the customer(s), and managing feedback
received on the deliverable. I got to
travel a little bit, work with some interesting people, and even operated some of
the
equipment in the process of writing operations and maintenance manuals for
the final product.''
Communications Specialist
Paula Le June, Presbyterian
''As a communications specialist, I edit and write documents for members. This includes
materials for commercial, Medicare, and
Medicaid plan members. My team ensures
that member materials are written in
accordance with health literacy standards
and best practices while also making sure that communications adhere to the style
and branding requirements determined by the
organization and federal government.The
purpose of my job is to make sure that
plan members get and understand the information they need to make health care
decisions appropriate for their level of health
plan benefits.''
Technical Writer
Keegan Livoti
"There's a lot of joy in learning something and then sharing it with someone else."
Keegan is a tech writer for a data analytics company and a 2018 alumnus. The Society
for Technical Communication played a
significant role in his TC journey, and he
notes both the fun of participating
in the NMT chapter and the valuable experiences of attending the STC
conferences as high points of his time at
Tech. Keegan鈥檚 appreciation for the
importance of interpersonal skills to success
in the TC industry and how such experiences
helped shape these skills is a testament to the value of community to the TC program.
The advantage to his career of having a
technical focus in his repertoire is also
apparent to Keegan. Overall, the TC program
provided him with the tools he needed to
excel at the work he enjoys.
Systems Engineer
Marqui Jungling
''I use what i learned in the TC degree [program] a lot''
Marqui is a 2018 alumnus working for sandia National labs as a systems engineer.Though
her current work is not specific to the field
of TC, she emphasizes the unique
opportunities presented by having TC
expertise. TC skills like an eye for
documentation design and refined writing
proficiency allow her to fill important needs
and stand out among her engineering peers.
Experiences such as collaborating on her
thesis and studying visual communication
helped prepare for work in and
outside the confines of TC. She counts the
variety of specialization areas and flexibility of work in the TC program among the
reasons
why undecided or incoming students should
consider pursuing TC.
Documentation Specialist
Ali Lenox
''You can really get to know your professors. I made great friends with my peers.''
Ali is a documentation specialist at NRAO. She graduated from NMT's TC program in
2019 after switching between multiple majors. She cites the appeal of the program
to her creative personality as an important reason for eventually settling on TC.
For
Ali, community was an important aspect of the program. Developing friendships with
her peers allowed her to reap the full benefits
of colllaboration on projects and develop
the sort of cooperative skills that would
directly carry over to the workforce.
The help she received from both classmates and instructors led to her creation of
standard operating procedure documentation
for the Puerto Seguro homeless shelter. She
credits this project not only with helping her
develop critical skills but also enhancing her
resume at the outset of her career.
Copywriter
Jade Baca
''Technical Communication is really unique. The TC program... covers so much.''
Jade graduated from the TC program in 2020 and first worked for Hobby Lobby as a
copywriter. She then became a proposal
writer at MetroStar. Currently she is working
at the HydroGeologic as a communications
specialist II. Community was a very important
part of her TC journey. Jade was the
President of NMT's Society for Technical Communication chapter and made fond
memories, fundraising, mingling at chapter
meetings and attending the STC summit. The
program's hands-on nature, the availability
of help from faculty, and thetight-knit group of peers made Jade's time at Tech equally
valuable and memorable.
User experience researcher
Rachel
鈥溕肟 Tech [TC program] is worth it because of the real-world application鈥
professors push you to apply what you've
learned under real-world scenarios instead
of carefully controlled class scenarios.鈥
Rachel completed the TC program in 2015 and now works on user experience
research for the library of Texas Tech. She
recalls her TC experience with fondness
for the program鈥檚 distinctly enjoyable flavor
of productivity and a respect for how the program equipped her for the
workforce. These sentiments are evident
in her stories about TC at NMT -- from spending a late night with friends working
on theses in the writing center with a blanket
fort and snacks to getting her senior project
published in Technical Communication,
a flagship industry journal. Rachel benefitted from the hands-on practicality of the
TC
program鈥檚 many projects that are often
completed to solve real problems for real
clients. She also attributes the success of her publication while still an undergraduate
in part to the TC faculty pushing her to
explore the full potential of her work.