Sigma Tau Delta Outreach

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Sigma Tau Delta Outreach Joint initiative by Orlando Central Florida Chapter, Willamette Valley Chapter, and Academic SIG that led to an organizational alliance between STC and ΣT∆. 2013 Pacesetter Award.

Transcript of Sigma Tau Delta Outreach

Page 1: Sigma Tau Delta Outreach

Sigma Tau Delta OutreachJoint initiative by Orlando Central Florida Chapter, Willamette Valley Chapter, and

Academic SIG that led to an organizational alliance between STC and ΣT∆.

2013 Pacesetter Award.

Page 2: Sigma Tau Delta Outreach

STC Was Invited to the 2013 ΣT∆ Conference

STC received an invitation to present at the 2013 conference of Sigma Tau Delta, the international scholastic English Honor Society, in Portland, Oregon. We were asked to describe the technical communication profession, focusing on career possibilities it offers for English majors.

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STC Sent Two Representatives

Bethany Aguad Rachel Houghton

Representing the Society at the ΣT∆ conference were Bethany Bowles (now Aguad), from the Orlando Central Florida Chapter and also president of the Zeta Xi chapter of ΣT∆ at the University of Central Florida, and Rachel Houghton, from the Willamette Valley Chapter. The two communities and the Academic SIG co-sponsored the initiative, pooling their resources to cover travel costs. ΣT∆ provided free lodging and conference registration.

ΣT∆ΣT∆

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They Presented on Careers in Technical

Communication for English Majors

The presentation explained the basics of the technical communication

profession, including the various disciplines it spans and the diverse career

paths t it offers. It stressed the commonality of core skills between English

majors and technical communication majors and suggested ways English

majors could move into our field.

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When $$$ Count …

The presentation included a salary comparison chart showing how favorably

salaries in technical communication stack up against those in other

professions that draw upon the same core skills in writing and

communication.

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When $$$ Count … Cont.

The only writers with higher mean salaries than technical communicators

were writers and authors in California, but as evidenced by the much lower

median salary in this group, this statistic was skewed by a small portion of the

population—the Hollywood writers who “made it.” At the end of the day,

technical communication was clearly the most stable and well-paying option.

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The Beginnings of a Partnership …

STC staffed a table at the conference, offering literature about the technical

communication profession and recruiting ΣT∆ members as STC student

members at a steep conference discount that was extended through the year.

One chair is empty because Rachel was taking the photo!

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Our Overarching Message in Portland …

Bethany and Rachel enjoyed a very warm reception in Portland, and the

information they shared at the conference paved the way to a mutually

beneficial organizational alliance between STC and ΣT∆.

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The Two Organizations then Formed an

Official Alliance

STC Executive Director Chris Lyons and his ΣT∆ counterpart signed an agreement which included discounts on memberships and conference registrations as well as maintaining STC and ΣT∆ informational tables at conferences. Chris is shown here chatting with ΣT∆ Director of Communications Elfrida Gabriel at ΣT∆’s 2014 conference in Savannah, GA, to which he and STC Director of Communications Liz Pohland were invited.

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How the STC/ΣT∆ Alliance Can Benefit

Student Communities

Members of STC student chapters can reach out to the ΣT∆ chapter on their

campus and conduct joint on-campus activities such as fund-raising book

sales, educational activities, and the like.

STC student chapters can increase their membership by encouraging ΣT∆

members to join under the discounted membership agreement between STC

and ΣT∆.

Conversely, STC student members can benefit from a discounted membership

in ΣT∆.

In universities where the technical communication program falls under the

English Department, the tech com faculty and department administration are

particularly likely to encourage synergy between STC and ΣT∆, although the

alliance would be seen as mutually beneficial under any circumstances.

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How the STC/ΣT∆ Alliance Can Benefit

Geographic Communities

STC geographic communities who are partnering with an STC student

community at a nearby university can encourage the students to engage the

ΣT∆ chapter on campus.

STC geographic communities who are not close to a university with an STC

student chapter can work through the English Department and engage the

ΣT∆ chapter directly (as well as tech com students if there is a tech com

program), encouraging them to join STC as student members of the

geographic community.

This, in turn, supports the formation of student mentoring programs, with the

many mutual benefits those bring on both sides.

The presentation “Careers in Technical Communication for English Majors” is

turnkey-ready (it’s even scripted!) for presentation at a ΣT∆ chapter meeting.

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How the STC/ΣT∆ Alliance Can Benefit

STC Virtual Communities

The Academic SIG has already assumed “oversight” of STC’s overall student

member population—including “at-large” student members such as ΣT∆

“recruits” on campuses lacking an STC student chapter with which to affiliate—a

natural outgrowth of the Board’s decision to provide student members with free

membership in the Academic SIG as well as one other SIG.

Leveraging STC’s new online MentorBoard tool, the Academic SIG can facilitate

self-pairings of student members with SMEs in the other SIGs for virtual

mentorships.

This concept has already been demonstrated with successful virtual mentoring

pairings between students working on research/writing projects relating to STC’s

Technical Communication Body of Knowledge (TC-BoK) and SMEs in the SIGs. This

is a win-win situation where the SME provides “quality assurance” to maintain

the high professional standards of the TC-BoK, and the student earns a valuable,

resume-enhancing professional pubs credit (as well as academic credit).