Tech Com Majors Attend Conferences in Springfield

In late April, several S&T tech com majors attended the 8th Annual Workshop for Teachers of Technical Writing and the 10th Annual STC Student Conference at Missouri State University in Springfield. The students were Razmus Kerwin, Misty Adams, Andrew Herbert, Shristy Bashyal, Melissa Hollingshead, Shubhangi Vajpayee, Shubashini Gamagedara, and Kenny Wampler.

The following paragraphs are adapted from Razz Kerwin’s trip report:

“On the first day of the conference, well-known tech com scholars such as Sherry Southard, Carolyn Rude, Tom Warren, Mike Markel, and Steve Gerson gave presentations on various aspects of the teaching of tech com — from retrospectives on teaching tech com to a frank discussion about the uses of social media in the tech com classroom. One thing I found particularly valuable at the conference was Dr. Southard’s brief retrospective of her career in teaching tech com. I was fortunate enough to talk with her at length during lunch about my upcoming GTA position and some basic teaching strategies for someone just starting out.

“The presentations on the second day were primarily geared toward undergraduates preparing to enter either industry or a higher level of academia. Shubhangi’s and Shubashini’s poster presentations were interesting and unique additions to the poster session. At the book raffle several S&T students won a free Bedford/St. Martin’s technical communication textbook. The day concluded with a three-person panel of current tech com PhD students who held an open Q&A session about what it’s really like to be a PhD student. It was a real eye opener regarding the level of commitment it takes to accomplish that goal.”

Missouri S&T tech com majors at Springfield conference on April 26, 2012. From left to right: Kenny Wampler, Melissa Hollingshead, Shubhangi Vajpayee, Subhashini Gamagedara, Misty Adams, and Razmus Kerwin