Membership Introductions

by Sarah-Beth Doner, Membership Manager

In a group this size that is spread over many cities and towns, it is not always easy to get to know other members. This is one reason that it is so great when people supply me with a biography that I can include in our newsletter.

Thanks John and Roger for taking the time to tell us about yourselves.

John Morland

John graduated last June from the Technical Writing Certificate Program at Fanshawe College, London Campus, and has been working under contract with Christie Digital Systems in Kitchener for the last three months. In February, he will begin working out of his home in Ingersoll, on a six month contract for Innovatia, which is a telecommunications company based in St.John, New Brunswick.

Thoughts About Technical Writing

What John likes best about technical writing is the variety—writing, interviewing people, and discovering how things work. He hopes to establish himself as a consultant in the future.

John is a late-comer to the field of technical writing, but "no matter how late," he says, "I am thankful I found something that I really love doing."

Roger Graves

Roger is actually a returning member of the Southwestern Ontario chapter, having belonged to the chapter between1992-1993 when he was a faculty member at the University of Waterloo. At that time he worked on the education committee and organized the chapter conference in 1993.

Education Field

Currently he is an associate professor of English at DePaul University in Chicago and Director of the New Media Studies MA program there. During the academic year he divides his time between Chicago and Waterloo, spending most weekdays in Chicago.

As a member of the Chicago STC chapter, Roger has worked on the Education committee for over 5 years. They have organized a series of university courses on technical communication (credit is awarded through Northern Illinois University); he has also been a member of the team that has taught the introductory course for approximately the past five years.

Current Work

Roger is also a member of the chapter's Consulting and Independent Contractors (CIC) Special Interest Group (SIG). As a consultant, Roger is currently working at a large financial services firm to help financial writers to develop their writing skills 

Communication Technologies

The changes that new communications technologies bring to technical communication fascinate Roger. The availability of medical information on the internet (although some of it is useless or even toxic) has altered the patient-doctor power dynamic by putting more information into the hands of patients and their proxies. Rogers says that he "could point to any number of technologies that alter our relationships to others and to communication, and not all of them are good. But that they are changing communications is beyond a doubt."

Goals

His goals for the future are to continue to both study and participate in these technologies through his teaching, writing, and consulting work.

About Sarah-Beth Doner

Sarah-Beth is a student at the University of Waterloo where she is studying English Rhetoric and Professional Writing, and participating in the Applied Studies Co-op Program. Two of her co-op terms have involved technical writing at iAnywhere Solutions in Waterloo.