Interview – MEMORANDUM

Alumni Spotlight: Sydnei Wheat

Sydnei Wheat and her colleagues — Sydnei Wheat (right) and her colleagues

Alumni Spotlight: Sydnei Wheat

By Danielle Ivey

UAB alumna Sydnei Wheat was a Professional Writing student at UAB. She was the first winner of the Outstanding Professional Writing Student Award in 2016, for her research paper concerning the visual representations of transgender women.

Sydnei specifically covered Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner, magazine covers (and articles) and how both visuals and narratives can perpetuate longstanding racial myths and discourse surrounding women. After her internship with Good Grit Magazine and during her time at UAB, she has gone on to the University of West Georgia to work as a Library Assistant in their research library.

MEMORANDUM recently caught up with Sydnei (pictured above), to learn about her experiences.

Why did you choose Professional Writing, and what were your favorite experiences as a Professional Writing Student?

Honestly, my initial decision to go into Professional Writing stemmed largely from wanting increased job opportunities than actual interest in the concentration. I was previously in Creative Writing—from my freshman to mid-junior years—and while I loved the courses and the various prose, short stories and poems that I wrote (I did after all, aspire to be a writer/editor), it just didn’t feel like it was enough for me.

After taking all the classes in the concentration and engaging in so much awesome interdisciplinary work, I fell in love with the major. Coding websites, filming and editing videos, designing promotional/advertising materials, even studying the human psyche and how Professional Writers have a hand in influencing all of that and still getting to write? To me, it was the best major ever!

What was your goal after graduation? How did you prepare for starting out in the professional world?

I always (and still do) want to be a book editor, but opportunities in the book publishing industry in Birmingham are slim to none. But the magazine publishing industry is thriving in Birmingham. And so in order to gain hands-on experience, Dr. Ryan—who is the Internship Director for the English department—set me up with a magazine editorial internship.

While I did enjoy my time at Good Grit Magazine along with learning about how magazines work, my love for books and working with them didn’t go away. I decided to continue to pursue a career in which I could work around books whether through librarianship or publishing. If I’m lucky I might even be able to do both!

Honestly, I think the best way to prepare for the real world is to not put your eggs all into one basket. Meaning: always have another career option for yourself. I have always wanted to be a book editor, but I also knew that that might not be as feasible a dream as I wanted it to be.

When I got a student job on campus in the research library in my junior year, I fell in love with the environment and knew that librarianship could be another option for me. I’m happy to say that with my new job I am now on the track to further advance that dream with a MLIS (Masters in Library and Information Science) education that will be fully paid for.

The Professional Writing concentration and the English major itself was a natural precursor to library and information studies. Dissemination of information is the main foundation of both fields and I find that they complement each other well. I even wrote an article on it for the digital MEMORANDUM site.

Tell me a little bit about the job that you have now: what is your role, what do you like the most about your job, and what are the most difficult parts of your job?

I just recently accepted a job offer from the University of West Georgia to work as a Library Assistant in their research library. In fact, as I’m writing this, I’ll be completing my first official week at my new job!

I work in the circulation department, so the most difficult part of my job is actually talking to people, because that’s not my strong point. But the other employees are patient with me and answer all of my questions even if I asked them a thousand times already.

What I like most about my job is the fact that I’m surrounded by so much information and I can actually use my academic/research skills and knowledge to help patrons locate items and even make suggestions on reading or reference materials.

From Bar to Brewery: Alumni Interview with Jay Haywood

By Lexi Waldon

Jay Haywood, a graduate from UAB with a BA in English-Professional Writing, has built his career by maneuvering through the restaurant and bar business since the day he graduated high school. He made his way from restaurant gigs and bar-backing jobs to becoming a Sales Representative for Cahaba Brewery here in Birmingham.

Because there are only two members on the sales team for this swiftly growing company, Jay’s responsibilities lie beyond those of a typical sales rep. With his service industry experience and his professional writing skills, Jay proved himself to be pretty useful to a newly established brewery in a town where many competitors have already made their mark. To learn more about Jay and his line of work, MEMORANDUM met up with him on his own turf.

Jay began his journey in Columbus, Georgia where he began working various restaurant jobs after high school. At the age of 24, he decided to move to Birmingham and begin his college career at UAB.

With a major in Secondary Education and a concentration in English, he found himself enrolled in a few Professional Writing courses and became increasingly involved with the program. After establishing a relationship with one of his professors within the PW program, he decided to shift directions and begin working towards a degree in Professional Writing.

While earning his degree, he continued working restaurant jobs to stay afloat—all the while making connections and building long-lasting professional relationships.

During the beginning of his senior year at UAB, an old friend from a previous job called him up and asked if he’d be interested in running the bar at a new brewery in town—Cahaba Brewery. This put Jay’s foot in the door of a fresh company with a quickly increasing demand.

For the remainder of his time in school and the beginnings of his time at Cahaba, he began to push the company to host events and create an online presence for itself. Once the company realized the impact of social media in today’s society, its presence became imperative. The company saw the need for this and Jay saw the opportunity to fulfill it, so he began curating online content and creating a social media following for the brand.

As the online following grew, so did the sales, thus creating a new job position for Jay as a sales representative and professional social media guru.

Jay plans events, books bands and food trucks, posts on Facebook and Instagram, updates the website, writes press releases and coordinates with distributors and graphic designers to make sure the concept of the brand remains intact.

Jay calls sales meetings, meets clients, coordinates donations for non-profit events and hosts tastings at restaurants in the state. He’s the guy shaking your hand at the end of a meeting, the guy sitting behind the computer screen booking the band for the next event and the person making sure the food truck shows up for “Good Lil’ Wednesday,” a charity fundraiser Cahaba hosts every Wednesday night for a local nonprofit organization.

He stays in contact with those who drink the beer and makes sure that the people creating it understand how crucial it is to keep Cahaba Blonde in stock. He reaches out to the other breweries and restaurants in town, making sure not to host any specials on the same night as them.

When asked how he stays in the know with the community and the customers, he says, “Because most of my work is done outside of these walls, I get to experience the people of our brand and feel more connected to our customers. It feels very close knit that way.”

Because Jay is still fairly new to this position, he is eager to learn more and create more. He is always thinking of new ways to engage with the community, whether it be through planning new events, promoting a new beer on social media or helping a nonprofit put on an event of their own. These things not only drive customers directly to the Brewery itself, but allow the personality of the brand to be experienced, which is one of Jay’s priorities when it comes to his work.

Swing by Cahaba to see how professional writing and beer can come together to form a unique and exciting career.

Alumna Spotlight Interview: Allison Underwood

By Natalie Pagan

Allison Underwood, a UAB graduate, sat down with me to discuss how the Professional Writing program can help students reach their career goals. Underwood currently works at Good Grit Magazine here in Birmingham, Alabama as a digital media coordinator. Good Grit focuses on an elegant and progressive reflection of southern heritage.

Underwood said, “I’ve lived here my whole life, but it wasn’t until I started working with Good Grit that I fell in love with the South. Good Grit brings the Southerner out of the box—there’s a place for everyone here!” This August will mark Underwood’s two years of employment at this magazine.

Underwood started off at Good Grit working as a paid intern before becoming a part-time staff member and currently the person in charge of running digital and social media. Some of the job activities include posting on social media sites such as Facebook, managing social profiles, emailing newsletters and creating graphics for profiles. Underwood mentioned having taken UAB’s Digital Media Capstone course, which brought about the unpaid internship. This allowed them to receive a job offer to be a part-time employee at Good Grit Magazine.

I asked about the experience that Underwood had prior to working at Good Grit. They gave credit to a professional writing background and how the degree has helped thus far. Underwood mentioned that they are thankful for having been introduced to the major early enough to pursue and finish the degree. Underwood went on to promote the degree by saying, “A person who chooses this major can do whatever they want with it.” Underwood listed technical writing, teaching, social media and coding as a few of the jobs that are relevant in the professional field.

The interviewee explained that in their particular job, there is not only writing involved, but coding, designing and editing documents. Although Underwood does not code for Good Grit Magazine, they have done some coding as a freelancer.

During the interview, Underwood explained that the required courses for their Bachelor’s degree provided an opportunity to gain the experience needed for the job at Good Grit Magazine.

Because the internship was geared primarily towards digital media, they were able to use what was learned throughout courses such as Developing Digital Documents to better analyze the material that was going to be distributed or posted onto the internet.

This course allowed them to learn how to compare different font choices, colors and proximities on different documents, making sure that the magazine is sent out looking its absolute best. This course allowed Underwood to become familiar with programs such as Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop which many magazine companies work with, including Good Grit.

Although these skills have helped Underwood reach a stellar career goal, Underwood admits that they have also made it difficult to not feel the need to analyze every document or advertisement they see. Underwood unabashedly stated, “I’ll look at a billboard and think about what I would change to fix it.”

As someone currently taking the Developing Digital Documents course, I had to agree with Underwood that nothing can possibly look the same once you’ve figured out all of the tricks of document design. The interviewee agreed and said that this was in fact the gift and the curse of learning all of these skills. “Once you know how to do it correctly, you notice that the rest of the world does not.”

The interviewee strongly encouraged current English majors to look into the professional writing program. Underwood is the proof that with the right experience and education, your dream job can be the one that you land and thrive at.

Days after interviewing Underwood, they have just obtained a new position at Good Grit Magazine. While keeping most of the same responsibilities, Underwood’s new position now includes managing interns, gift guides, developing campaigns for magazine subscriptions and curating sponsored content.

While still being actively involved in scheduling Facebook, Instagram and the email campaign, Underwood has begun delegating a lot of these responsibilities and tasks to interns to be able to focus on the bigger picture. Good Grit is always looking for hard-working students to fill internship roles.

On behalf of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, we wish Underwood the best of luck in continuing to further their career.

Inside Mentoring for EH-301: Reading, Writing, and Research

Dr. Jaclyn Wells, Writing Center director

By Malecia Luckie

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to be mentored in the professional writing world? Well, I had the chance to be mentored by the director of the Writing Center, Dr. Jaclyn Wells. It was a requirement of the English 301 Course: Reading, Writing, and Research.

The course is designed to improve in-depth reading. Most students tend to overlook deeper messages hidden inside smaller ideas. This course features mentoring to help students as undergraduates and prepare them for life after college. Each student writes a 500-word essay describing their future career plan, then mentors are selected based on a student’s professional goals.

Get to Know Your Mentor

Mentors provide an indispensable service to students considering their lives after graduation. UAB offers a myriad of excellent opportunities for guidance, with professors who have extensive experience in the writing world. If you’re looking for a mentor, it is important to know your their background beforehand, so you can ask relevant questions and know what to expect.

Dr. Wells’ work has been featured in the Writing Center Journal, the Community Literacy Journal and WPA: Writing Program Administration. She even has a book that has been published, Partners in Literacy: A Writing Center Model for Civic Engagement, which was co-authored by Allen Brizee. Dr. Wells has given me many tips on how to be prepared for the world of professional writing.

Take Notes on Their Advice

Dr. Wells gave advice that was simple and to the point. Her first tip for me was, “Internships are incredibly useful for professional writing, actually any sort of real world experience with writing is great and to have a portfolio by the end of college is helpful as well.”

Internships can provide you with real-world experience that will look great to long-term employers. She went on to mention that nonprofit organizations can benefit students tremendously. Nonprofits look great on résumés because it is close to volunteering and service work.

Save Your Work

Dr. Wells emphasized the value of a portfolio, which highlights your skills and helps potential employers know what kind of work to expect from you. Even if you’re not sure it is “good enough,” you should keep your work saved. “Obsessively hold on to things, for people do not credit themselves enough. You should keep everything you have,” she said.

All work can be valuable. Dr. Wells believes that students too often discredit themselves when their work can be used in many ways. Never sell yourself short. You may miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime if you lack confidence in yourself.

Now You’re Ready

Now that you know how and what to do to stay afloat in the job searching process, don’t lose your determination. Even if you do not get every position you apply for—keep going. Sometimes it might feel like things will never work out, but just that know good things come to those who wait. It takes hard work to reach your career goals.

Professional writing majors face many obstacles. Get connected with others like you and find a mentor who has experience in the field you’re interested in. There will times when you feel like giving up on yourself. Just remember: winners never quit, and quitters never win.

Professional Writing Within Creative Writing: An Interview with Tina Braziel

By Sam Baine

The writing field offers a multitude of paths for English students to take, but it’s at the intersection of these paths that make a writing career so interesting. Professional writing may conjure up ideas of strict rules and a lack of creative control, but UAB alumna Tina Braziel knows that isn’t the case.

After receiving her Masters in English, Braziel taught at UAB as an English professor for a total of seven years. But she “wanted more instruction and time to write,” so she decided to get her M.F.A as well. Between her degrees, it was the Ada Long Creative Writing Workshop that really drew her back to UAB. Now she works as the director of the three-week long workshop, which offers high schoolers the opportunity to work closely with published writers.

The intensive summer program is aimed at those who are interested in creative writing careers. Braziel uses several different methods to reach out to students; she has had to craft an online presence, post on bulletin boards and draft letters and informational cards for teachers. So, while the focus of her career may lie in creative writing, Braziel uses elements of professional writing to represent her ideas.

Braziel also relies on document design “to make clear what is advertised [and] what the classes will offer.” This is especially useful when building a creative platform, as there can be no creative publication without the traditional markers of technical writing like web design and copyediting.

She must also use professional skills for effective communication when it comes to engaging and recruiting students who aren’t considering college, keeping in touch with other faculty members to expand upon enrichment activities and contacting guest speakers and field trip sites.

Braziel’s work isn’t finished with the end of the workshop, though, as she immediately begins prepping for the next one: drafting donation and thank you letters or sending out copies of The Writer’s Block. She uses professional writing to accurately portray the workshop’s purpose and solidify its logistics so everything runs smoothly.

Outside of the workshop setting, professional writing has benefitted Braziel’s creative pursuits. She uses the same learned techniques—like drafting, critiquing, and revising—to promote her own work. Her poetry has been published in many acclaimed journals and her first poetry chapbook was published by Porkbelly Press in 2016. While Braziel never imagined that technical skills would be so closely related to creative work, she has come to find that this intersection is what makes her creative pieces possible.

However, she says that “the process of getting to that point takes more than just creative skill.” Through the ordeal of submitting (and revising and resubmitting) manuscripts, cover letters and pitch letters, creative writing doesn’t get to speak for itself. Writers must do a lot of additional work “to develop a creative style while honing writing skills,” whether that be applying for residencies and fellowships, accurately marketing yourself or pitching your publication.

There is a fine line to balancing creativity with the technical skills necessary to work throughout multiple genres and platforms. Braziel has worked hard to hone a personal professional language, a valuable skill she highly advises for other writers.

Braziel was recently announced as the winner of the 2017 Philip Levine Prize for Poetry through the Fresno State Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing, which awarded her with the publication of her debut full-length book, Known by Salt, through Anhinga Press.

How to Become a Global Sensation With Professional Writing

A hand holding a globe — Image courtesy of Adobe Stock

Becoming A Global Sensation With Professional Writing

By Skylar Summers

“Despacito” topped the charts, the Korean pop band BTS is being compared to The Beatles, and foreign filmmaking is on the rise. You may be asking what this has to do with professional writing, or even English. Well, a lot more than you might think. Here, we’ll take a look at how to master the arts of editing and technology, and how universal themes are generated to target mass audiences.

As English enthusiasts, our ultimate goal is to create, contribute to, or study these major climactic points that define our society on a global and historical scale. As professional writers, we can learn from these sources in order to globalize our own projects and passions.

For most of history, Western culture has influenced other regions, but now the tables seem to be turning in a phenomenon called cultural diffusion. How does this relate to professional writing? By conducting three interviews, I was able to learn how to attract massive global audiences through new technology, editing according to universal themes and understanding the power of language.

Through interviews with a non-native English speaker from a country with ever-influencing pop culture, a sociologist and somebody with an indifferent stance on the rise of new influences shaping America, I’ve come a bit closer to identifying the cultural tipping point that many professional writers learn to find in order to draw attention to their own projects.

Interview 1: Jay

The backdrop for any global sensation is technology; it’s crucial to learn how to design, market and broadcast any product. In professional writing, a student does just this. By analyzing font types, color schemes and details that draw in audiences, professional writers hone the same skills used by major companies to attain globalization.

Jay, a UAB student born in South Korea, weighs in on this topic. On the subject of Korean pop music, he tells me that he believes it’s the culture shock that typically attracts foreign audiences. The expressive style choices, technicality and overall extravagance presented in K-pop music videos allow a foreigner to escape into a world that isn’t their own. Jay says that most people don’t know what the actual lyrics to “Despacito” mean, but because of its marketing and appeal, it became a hit to English speakers.

Professional writers learn not only how to relate, but how to present our work in way that will inspire a sense of awe in our audience, and to make them truly interested in what we are presenting. Through classes in editing and design, students in the professional writing program are on their way to creating the same widespread appeal around their own projects.

Interview 2: Dr. Szaflarski

Next, I spoke to Dr. Szaflarski, a sociologist and professor at UAB. She explains how this phenomenon isn’t new, yet the presence of technology has created a platform with the power to reshape our culture.

Our discussion centered less around specific media influences than around widespread theories that prove how our world is changing. According to human ecology theory, technology enables new “tipping points,” or the factor that allows for a product to become successful to a large group of people.

Dr. Szaflarski goes on to discuss contemporary theory, or the idea that language and communication helps spread new innovations. As English speaking creators in a highly technological society, we are part of a global system in which cooperation with other nations and cultures is essential. Professional writers learn valuable skills in dealing with phenomena that’s not only embedded in American society, but modern global society as a whole. This puts analytical professional writers at the forefront of creators who can release culturally sensitive products in the midst of a digital age that makes issues like cultural appropriation more prevalent.

It’s important to note that communication is far more than words, but how those words are printed to attract an audience. Knowing what to use to gain viewership and how to create positive global reactions, professional writers possess a set of skills that are essential to the modern world.

Interview 3: Ashley

Ashley is a UAB student who sheds some light on my final question: how does the English language tie into all of this? Globalization and language are closely correlated, as language is essential to communication, and becoming proficient at analyzing trends is the goal of any writer, editor, marketer or global sensation, whether that be a musical artist, a filmmaker, or a series creator.

English students analyze texts such as novels and poetry with longstanding significance in many of our required classes, and a common denominator are themes that shape generations. This universality of topics can be applied on an even greater scale. Ashley gives a more a more objective opinion on this matter, particularly in the K-Pop genre. She says that themes like love and the universal appeal of certain features being deemed “attractive” allow this type of cultural diffusion to soar.

If you can learn how to analyze longstanding values, themes and cultural norms (as one does in an English class), you can acquire the tools that could make you successful in nearly any field that requires creativity, expression or “selling” an idea.

Conclusion

Globalization and cultural diffusion are very real aspects of our lives in the 21st century. It is important to understand not only what a piece of media is, but how it uses technology, editing according to universal themes and language to attract massive global audiences.

Professional writing encompasses these aspects and more, and is therefore rising in prominence as a viable path of study. So, next time you listen to listen to “Despacito” or watch Pokemon, perhaps you’ll notice how these phenomena appeal to their audiences, and through professional writing, your understanding could grow even deeper.

Advice from a Professional Writing Storyteller

Advice from a Professional Writing Storyteller

By Laura Jane Crocker

Professional writers are often labelled as having a certain skillset. Usually, this would imply a background in document design, editing or technical writing, among other things. However, there are plenty of ways that creative writers may find themselves in a career that requires professional writing. Making this transition may not be as uncommon as one would think, and for Brett Bralley, a writer on UAB’s University Relations team, focusing on professional writing has led to a successful career that combines her creative background with practical communication skills.

Bralley studied journalism at the University of Alabama, and her career eventually led to UAB. She works on the content team, which is in charge of creating and editing copies for university initiatives.

“I write a wide variety of content,” Bralley explains. “Sometimes it’s a shorter, dynamic copy for a brochure or a website landing page. And sometimes it’s an in-depth feature for UAB Magazine. All of it is focused on telling the stories of students, faculty, staff and friends of UAB.” Although the art of storytelling is more frequently attributed to creative writing, professional writers like Bralley are often tasked with achieving this goal with limited word counts, focused target audiences and design in mind.

With a creative writing perspective, Bralley has been able to approach the challenges of a professional writing career from a unique angle. “My background in journalism prepared me for almost every aspect of this job. I learned editorial judgement, story structure, how to interview sources, how to always consider my reader, the importance of accuracy and attention to detail, and—of course—how to tell a story in meaningful, effective way,” she says. Together, Bralley and her coworkers implement a diverse set of skills that are fundamental to professional writing.

As opposed to writing careers that focus on churning out content, Bralley is often tasked with considering design. Depending on the project, the design may be created around a copy that has been written, or the content may need to fit a specific layout, and that’s where Bralley must use her judgement to create captivating copies.

“Good writing can be all for naught if the design isn’t there,” Bralley says. “The presentation of the work has the power to entice the reader and make them want to dive into your content. A clean, legible font, a lovely layout and the right medium for sharing your work is paramount to creating quality content.”

But the process is not as strict as one might think. Often, professional writers must be in touch with their creative side to ensure that content is engaging for their audience—this requires Bralley to be adaptable. She explains, “A fun part of my job is that I’m doing all kinds of writing, so I get to exercise all sorts of skills. When I’m writing for a professional audience, whether by crafting an internal newsletter or putting together an email for a source, I think about the most informative and simple way to connect. I want to keep it engaging, but I also want to get the point across quickly.”

When asked if she had any recommendations for young professional writers, Bralley says, “Write as much as you can! Build your portfolio with a variety of work. Take classes or workshops to learn new skills. Connect with a mentor who can give you advice and help you along. When someone edits your work, review those edits and see how you can improve. The more you work at it, the better a writer you can be! And when it comes time to show off your work, don’t be shy.”

Interview with UAB Alum Emily Wiginton

By Nora Krall

Emily (Em) Wiginton graduated from UAB in 2017 with an English degree and a concentration in Professional Writing. Emily was raised on a farm in rural Alabama and spent her college years working at the public radio station 90.3 WBHM. During her time at UAB, she was President of the Professional Writing club. Post graduation, Emily is located in North Carolina at UNC Chapel Hill and lives with her partner and their cat Jiji. Emily is a queer writer, artist, and communicator who loves traveling, Korean food, and video games.

1. What made you want to major in professional writing?

I initially went into Professional Writing because I was interested in a practical application of English, but also because I was terrified to talk to anyone. As an incoming freshman, I thought that Professional Writing sounded like a field that wouldn’t require a lot of communication with other people, but boy, was I wrong. PW ended up making me a much stronger communicator—and a better writer to boot.

2. How is your degree useful to you?

A lot of my job involves sharing and explaining critical information between Women’s Health organizations across the globe, and PW really helped me learn how to consider my audience when communicating to certain groups. I also self-publish autobiographical comic zines on the side, and learning how to use software like Illustrator and InDesign to design and print my own materials is still something I use literally every day.

3. What was your goal after you graduated from UAB and how did English/PW help you get there?

My goal after graduation was basically just to get a job—any job. A lot of PW focuses heavily on professional development, so by the time I graduated, I had a fully developed LinkedIn, a gorgeous resume, and a working knowledge of how to apply for positions or market myself in the industry using sites like Indeed. I also learned how to make a web-based portfolio (emilyrosewiginton.wordpress.com) through my PW classes, and having a website really gave me an edge in interviews.

4. What was your thesis on?

For my thesis, I created a sample email newsletter for the UAB-based PW publication, Memorandum, along with a user guide that could be used in both print and PDF formats. The user guide ended up being something I took to job interviews with me as an example of my skillset—people really like it when you have a tangible example of work you’ve done, especially one that combines writing, design, and self-publishing.

5. How did you get to UNC?

I got into UNC by working a few temp jobs when I first moved here. I can’t stress enough what a useful tool this was for breaking into the job market. The best advice I can give for recent grads is to apply to as many temp pools as you can get your hands on. There are tons out there, especially around Universities, and often for communications and writing-related positions. I was at the Department of Music here at UNC, then landed a permanent position at the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Research Evidence in Sexual and Reproductive Health (WHO CC for short).

6. What are you doing at UNC now with your English/PW degree?

Here at the WHO CC, my official job title is Public Communications Coordinator, which means that I’m not only the front-facing person for our offices, but also serve as a connecting point between us and other Women’s Health Organizations around the world. We work to develop programs that apply implementation science to Women’s Health research, with a larger goal of ensuring reproductive health and justice for all. It’s challenging work, but honestly a dream job for me. As a queer, gender-nonconforming woman, I have a huge passion for reproductive justice in a global health context, and am so grateful to be working in a position that directly contributes to that.

7. What do you want to do in the future? Are you getting another degree?

My dream for the future is admittedly little less career/academia-focused. I mentioned earlier that I illustrate and self-publish comics in my spare time, and I’d love to get more serious about that while still maintaining a day job similar to what I do now. I’m so grateful to have such an amazing career, but my real joys in life come from making art, traveling with my partner, and pursuing my hobbies. However, I feel super fortunate that I can work in a position that matches up with my political and ethical convictions.

8. How did your undergraduate experience at UAB help get you to where you are today?

Professional Writing equipped me with the skills I needed to find a job pretty quickly after college, as well as the skills to pursue the things I wanted to do outside of a professional setting. Above all, however, PW helped me grow into a confident and effective communicator and leader. Professional writing is curriculum that teaches people how to write for certain audiences, interface with contemporary discourses and find work in a complicated job market which is more vital than ever, and I’m thankful that it was part of my education.

In Conclusion

Emily’s professional writing degree has propelled her into the job market seamlessly and with it, she acquired her dream job. The professional writing concentration offers skills that are necessary for most every major and vital to any job. Emily’s work post-graduation is proof of effective communication skills at work and has made the transition into the job market a rather easy one. A degree in professional writing gives you a skillset that is useful and relevant in any job.

The Creativity of Grant Writing

By Carli Doyle

Rivka Levin, grant writer

Before I transferred to UAB, I used to tell people that I was a Theatre Major and their first response was to look crestfallen and offer a consolatory: Oh.After transferring and switching my degree track, I can now proudly state that I’m an English major and receive a marginally softer oh instead.For me, a traditional corporate job was never an option, and I know many others in the English department who feel the same way. So what do you do when you have a passion for the arts and a knack for writing? Simple: grant writing.

What is grant writing?

Rivka Levin has been writing grants for The Atlanta Shakespeare Company (ASC) for twelve years, and lives as proof that there can be a happy marriage between corporate writing and creativity.

With a musical theatre background and a passion for writing, Levin ensures that the ASC’s programs—such as their Shakespeare Intensive for Teens summer camp, and In-School Residencies—receive sufficient funding from charitable sources.

To secure this funding, Levin crafts letters to prospective investors/donors, such as the Georgia Council for the Arts or the National Endowment for the Arts, and appeals for grants. In her appeals, Levin outlines what programs the donations will support, the impact of the programs on the community and how the donations will be handled.

What makes writing for a theatre company unique?

Levin:My grants are allowed to be a little more passionate and descriptive than if I was writing for the American Heart Association. Though we use hard, quantifiable data to prove the economic, academic and social value of what we do, many times it comes down to the emotional response of the reader

So there’s a significant difference?

Levin:Yes. In some cases, I have to explain the benefit of the arts. No one needs an explanation of why cancer research is worthy of funding.

Why pursue grant writing?

Being a grant writer for a company that, at its core, is a massive proponent of the arts has allowed Levin to toggle back and forth a bit from dry business-speak to something a bit more personal.

Why write grants for the performing arts?

Levin:Many of the people who need our programming the most […] benefit from grants. The grant money often subsidizes programming, allowing an arts organization to offer free or discounted programming for those who can’t afford it. Not only is the act of grant writing personally fulfilling, the result directly impacts the lives of the children and teenagers who gain self-worth and insight from the ASC’s programs.

In your opinion, why should prospective English majors should consider grant writing?

Levin:If there is something about which you’re passionate—animal welfare, cancer research, the arts, prevention of domestic abuse—grant writing can be a way to earn a living as a writer…and advancing your cause at the same time.

Write With Fun: Professional Writing Odd Jobs

By Amy Reid

The Birmingham Zoo

Professional writing is often surrounded by the stigma that it is boring and monotonous, and honestly, a lot of times it can be. But does it have to be? Of course we all enjoy writing, that’s why we do it, but I wanted to take a look at some careers that aren’t what you’d consider when you think about professional writing.

I first sat down with Jackson. Jackson earned a degree in environmental science with a minor in professional writing from Blackburn College in Illinois. He currently works for The Birmingham Zoo, previously at The St. Louis Zoo.

What kind of things do you do at the Zoo?

“When I worked in St. Louis, I mainly worked in the Animal Food and Nutrition Center. We started our days separating what food goes where. All of our animals had specific diets depending on their species, age, and health. It was up to me to keep track of all these animals’ feeding. I normally took buckets of fish to our penguins as well. We hand fed them so we could keep track of who got what, and it allowed us to get a good, up close look at them to make sure they were healthy.”

How do you use professional writing at the zoo?

“The writing aspect was a major part of my job at the zoo. After each feeding, it was my job to write up reports about the animals I had fed. I had to write how much they ate, and document any ailments or health issues I might have noticed. This was important because my reports were sent to our veterinary staff for review. They chose me for that job specifically because I had a background in writing. Actually, most of my day was spent writing up reports, but I looked forward to each day because I knew I got to see my animal friends.”

Next, I caught up with Jeanette who works as a professional dog groomer. She has a degree in professional and technical writing from the University of West Georgia. Before opening her own pet grooming business, she served as a technical writer for an engineering company in Georgia.

Could you explain what it is you do now as a Professional Dog Groomer?

“I am a Certified Pet Stylist, and just like a human stylist would do, I cut and style hair-only it is people’s pets’ hair. Sometimes I do simple trims, and sometimes I even dye their hair funky patterns. That’s the really fun part. Everything I use is completely safe and doesn’t harm the pet at all. The pets are always my number one priority.”

How do you incorporate professional and technical writing into pet grooming?

“I do a few things actually. When we first get a new client, I always write up a report about what the client wants, any special requests or needs that they have. All of my employees read these reports and they are extremely important, so we don’t mess up a client and so that everyone is always on the same page. I also run our website. That is our main form of advertisement, so it is very essential for us. I also run a sort of ‘dog blog’ where I write about the experiences I have every day. This allows people who are skeptical or worried about us and our process feel more comfortable. I absolutely would not have been successful in my business without my writing knowledge.”

Jackson and Jeanette are two great examples of professional writers who go to work every day to have fun. They both talk about their jobs with such enthusiasm. I think all professional writers could gain something from them. They show us that we need not sacrifice our hobbies and interests for our career. Professional writers, let’s remember to keep our minds open when looking for careers, and not just settle for one of those boring, predictable jobs.