English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

I am from Fort Wayne, Indiana and am currently a Junior studying Computer and Information Technology. I am planning on graduating in May 2010 and at that point hope to pursue a Masters Degree either at Purdue or another school. Once I am done with school, I hope to either start up my own company or join a small reputable IT related company. With this course, I hope to improve my technical writing skills. One personal thing is that I am currently training for a triathlon in April.

My name is Bobby Dunford and I am from Terre Haute Indiana. I am currently a Junior at Purdue University studying Building Construction Management. After I graduate from Purdue I plan on working for a small mechanical contractor in Terre Haute called Freitag-Weinhardt Inc. I am hoping to become a project manager at FW and then maybe one day starting my own company with some fellow BCM students. With this course I hope to increase my skills in the technical writing field. One personal thing about me is that I am taking this course online because I was recently in a vehicle accident. In this accident I broke my hip, pelvis, crushed my heel, broke two ribs, and also broke my third vertebrae in my back. I am currently in a wheelchair but should be able to start walking in a couple weeks hopefully.

I'm Shane Coleman from Veedersburg, Indiana. My major is Aeronautical Technology and I am a 5th year senior. I commission for the Air Force in May as a pilot and will be sent to Milton, Florida for flight training. My career goal is to earn a fighter slot. With this course I want to finish out my necessary credits and graduate. Personally, I have a Great Dane named Busa. His name is short for Hayabusa (the model of my motorcycle).

My name is Young Yang and I'm from Dyer, IN. I am a senior pursuing a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology and I will be graduating at the end of the semester. I will either work in Chicago for a power controls company I interned for last summer or look in the market for a manufacturing or design job. From English 421, I want to become more familiar and comfortable with technical writing as it pertains to my career. On a personal note, two summers ago I bicycled across the country from San Francisco to Washington DC for people with disabilities and fund raised $6,500 for a non-for-profit organization, Push America.

My name is Thomas Nolan. I am from Cincinnati, Ohio. I'm a senior in Mechanical Engineering, currently doing an internship in the Seattle area with Mass. Electric Construction Company. This is my third internship with the company (I spent the last 2 summers in Boston).

Engineering isn't the only thing I'm involved with at Purdue. I have spent a few semesters with the Exponent, first as a sportswriter, then as a columnist and eventually as the opinions editor. In addition, I have taken the private pilot ground course at Purdue and I am hoping to complete the flight portion and get certified as a private pilot when I return to campus this summer. I am also considering a minor in Astronomy after taking a class in that area this past fall. My ideal career would incorporate all of these. With a few semesters remaining, I will be actively searching for that career. Although aeronautics and astronomy are not part of what Mass. Electric does, I do expect employment with the company to be a major option after graduation.

I am taking this course because as an engineering student I don't want to miss the opportunity to study writing in a technical context. Writing is an important part of my life and I want it to be an important part of my career.

I love making music, and I'm a big fan of outdoor activities like skiing and backpacking.

My name is Andy Jones and I am from Westerville, OH. I am a Computer Technology major trying for a MGMT minor. Currently I am planning on joining the Peace Corps after graduation. I would like to be able to take what I learn from this course and use to to help create manuals for people I would be working with in the Peace Corps. I enjoy doing training for triathlons in my free and I am also the Student Manager at Wiley Dining Court.

My name is Kristin Hines, and I'm from Greenwood, Indiana. I'm now a senior working on a double major in Professional Writing and Psychology, with a minor in Spanish.

From this course, I hope to learn more about the theoretical part of technical writing and find out if it might be something I want to pursue as a career. My career goals are shaky, but I hope to be doing some sort of writing for some sort of company.

Right now, I'm working at the Exponent as a Copy Chief, and I am also a Business Writing Consultant in the Writing Lab. I also work for a real estate management company from my hometown, writing all of their standard operating procedures and taking care of a few other odd jobs for them from school. I'm hoping I might be able to turn this into a full-time job after graduation in December.

My name is Patrick Dodson and I am a senior in OLS. I am from Indianapolis, Indiana and will be graduating in December of 2009. After graduating from Purdue I will then enroll in the PGA of America Program and work towards my licenses to become a Head Golf Professional. While enrolled in this class, I would like to build a strong resume and learn more about blogging in general. One interesting thing about myself is that I am a fourth generation Boilermaker.

My name Jeff Kovacich and I am a junior in Computer and Information Technology. I want to get a job that is involved with computer security or networking as those fields interest me the most. I was born and raised in Munster Indiana which is about an hour away from Chicago. With this course I would like to learn a few new writing techniques and of course get a good grade. I am really into movies and music. I am usually listening to a variety of music constantly. Another hobby of mine is cooking. I love to cook and bake a lot of tasty and unique foods from around the world.

My name is Joey Meisberger and I am from Fishers, IN. I am a senior in Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) at Purdue University and will be graduating in December 2009. This semester I am currently doing an internship for Subaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA). Once I graduate I plan to enter the automotive industry either being a Manufacturing Engineer or a Quality Engineer. From this course I would like to gain all the technical writing skills that will be needed in industry. Something personal about me would be that I used to work for an IndyCar Race team and I love racing.

My name is Joey Meisberger and I am from Fishers, IN. I am a senior in Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) at Purdue University and will be graduating in December 2009. This semester I am currently doing an internship for Subaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA). Once I graduate I plan to enter the automotive industry either being a Manufacturing Engineer or a Quality Engineer. From this course I would like to gain all the technical writing skills that will be needed in industry. Something personal about me would be that I used to work for an IndyCar Race team and I love racing.

Hello everyone!

I am from southern Indiana (Evansville), please don't hold that against me. I am a junior in the Computer & Information Technology Major and love every bit of it. I have previously interned with a large company and will intern with Cisco this coming summer. After graduation I hope to work for a reputable company and to continue my education. I would really like to perfect my writing skills, and to improve upon my inability to use commas correctly (sorry). I am currently the President of The Associations of Information Technology Professionals at Purdue, and I absolutely love anything that involves technology.

Thanks!

Jason Flittner

Hello! My name is Francesca San Pedro and I am from a suburb about 30 miles southwest of Chicago (Bolingbrook, IL). I am currently a junior majoring in professional writing, with minors in linguistics and Spanish.

Through this course, I hope to better understand what exactly technical writing encompasses. I hope to strengthen my writing skills, and perhaps even come to consider technical writing as a career path. As you may have inferred, I have no concrete career plans as of now. I just hope to incorporate my love of writing and languages in my future.

I am currently the Secretary of Professional Writing Club and will work as a Business Writing Consultant in the Writing Lab beginning fall 2009.

My name is Stephen Shubeck and I'm from Kalamazoo Michigan. I'm a senior in Mechanical Engineering Technology and plan to graduate next Fall. After graduation I would like to work for an OEM or a company specializing in renewable energy. These markets are advancing every day and would be a very rewarding environment to work in. Some of my interests include snowboarding, mountain biking, cars, cooking, and home brewing. Upon completing this course I would like to become a more detail oriented writer and learn how to read and understand my audience.

Hello my name is Dean Basso. I am from Lowell, Indiana and am a senior in Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University. This summer I worked for U.S. Steel in Gary, Indiana but after I graduate in December 2009 I plan to move to the West Coast. I look forward in taking this course and developing my technical writing skills and overall writing skills. An interesting fact about myself is that I am an identical twin and also live with my brother at Purdue University.

Hello! My name is Zebulon Rouse. I am from Freetown, Indiana and currently a senior at Purdue studying Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET). My graduation for now is in August 2009. Post graduation I am planning to work for US Steel where I spent the past summer in an internship. From this course I hope to increase my writing skills and develop a better writing thought process. Hobbies include anything active outside and working with my hands.

My name is Nigel Hess, and I'm from Saint Louis, Missouri. I'm currently a junior in Mechanical Engineering (ME). I've yet to decide what exact type of work I'd like to go into after graduation, and continue to look into the various opportunities that are out there. Through completing this course, I hope to become more proficient and confident in professional exchanges. Aside from academic ambitions, I enjoy spending time with friends and participating in competitive activities, namely intramural sports and poker. I'm also very excited to be spending spring break this year in Las Vegas.

Hello! My name is Gary Scamehorn and I'm from Satellite Beach, Florida. I'm currently a senior majoring in Computer Graphics Technology, with a minor in Computer Information Technology and Art & Design. One of my career goals is to become a technical director for a major movie production company such as Dreamworks or Pixar. I hope while taking English 421Y to develop new technical writing skills to further help me in my future endeavors. Some of my hobbies I love to do include piano,guitar, baseball, and surfing.

My name is Bill Dietz and I am from Tinley Park, Illinois. I am majoring in Neurobiology and Physiology with minors in Psychology and Forensics. I am a senior planning to graduate in December of 2009. After I graduate I plan on attending medical school, hopefully at Loyola University in Chicago or somewhere on the West Coast and then working in surgery in either of those areas. In the classes that I have taken so far, I have written many scientific essays as well as experiment write-ups. I am hoping that this class will help me in writing these types of technical pieces as well as help with my medical school applications. I enjoy watching all types of sports as well as playing them, but my favorite by far is football. I also enjoy laying on the couch watching tv and relaxing when I finally manage to find a break from school.

My name is Brandon Jones. I am from Columbus, IN and am currently studying Mechanical Engineering Technology at Purdue. I am a senior and plan to obtain my bachelor's degree in December 2009. After graduating I would like to pursue a career in the automotive industry or wind energy. From this course, I would like to improve my ability to funnel thoughts in a comprehensible manner suitable for the industry. I really enjoy snowboarding, listening to music and taking things apart for no reason.

Hello, my name is Patrick Griffin. I am from Elkhart, Indiana and am currently a Junior studying Computer Science. This summer I am interning with Coca Cola in Louisville, KT and hopefully after graduating next year I will be working there full time. I hope that this course will help me improve my writing skills overall, and especially the writing skills I will need in the business world. My personnel hobbies include almost anything involving technology, music, movies, and playing tennis or football with my friends.

My name is Justin Greer and I'm from "the region" in northwest Indiana, Crown Point specifically. I'm currently a junior, studying Computer and Information Technology with a focus in Information Systems. My post-graduation plans are yet to be determined as they are highly dependent on what happens until that date; primarily regarding job offers and the like. In any event, I would like to obtain a position in IT, preferably web development, somewhere in or around Denver, Colorado. Throughout this course I hope to learn how to professionally prepare the technical documents we will be exposed to in our careers but also to fulfill a requirement toward my CNIT major. Something about me: I play the drums and a lot of poker, work full-time for ITaP, and, although I have an account, fully despise Facebook.

My name is Adam Persohn, and I am in Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET). I will be graduating this May, and I am not quite sure what I will be doing yet. I am hoping to work in the HVAC field as a designer for new buildings. This course will hopefully increase my grammar and punctuation skills, vocabulary, and writing in general as I will most likely be writing many reports and proposals in the future. I love anything outdoors such as fishing and hunting. Sports are fun to me as well, especially soccer, baseball, and volleyball.

My name is Jack Kennedy and I'm from Lafayette, IN where I'm a Junior in Computer & Information Technology at Purdue. When I graduate from Purdue I hope to become a database administrator, and then return in a few years to complete my masters degree in business. I would like to learn about different types of business and job hunting documents such as resumes from my participation in this class.

My hobbies include professional video gaming (http://www.mlgpro.com) and solving rubik's cubes. My personal best solve time on a cube is 36 seconds, with an average time of 45 seconds.

Hey everyone I'm Scott and I'm from, in the following order: Omaha, NE; Geneva, IL; DeWitt, MI; back to Geneva, IL; and finally Zionsville, IN just after high school. I'm a senior in the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, and my major is Food Process Engineering. My career goals include copious amounts of school through PHD likely ending up as a professor. More specifically I'm interested in applying engineering principals in non-traditional ways; specifically, in terms of artificial intelligence. This class, I'm hoping, will offer techniques to allow me to convey information to varying audiences without having to take so much time to explain every little detail. Hobbies include but are not limited to: soccer, cooking, camping, and fishing. I'm also a big fan of Star Trek: TNG and ENT as well as Bizarre Foods and No Reservations-both on the travel channel.

Hello, my name is Matthew Moryl and I am from Laporte, Indiana which is up in the Northwest corner of the state. I am a senior working\studying for my major this semester, which is Profesional Flight Technology. I am either going to graduate in the summer or fall semester. I am hoping that my degree will move me into a corporate flight job or into the major airlines. I would really like to fly for a corporate flight department flying business jets. My favorite hobby would definitely would have to be aviation, I enjoy everything about it. I plan on this course teaching me more about how to write more effectively because that is an area that I need a lot of improvement in.

Matt

Hello fellow classmates,

My name is Evan White and I am a third year student here at Purdue University. I am studying Technology Education. I am originally from Westfield, Indiana. I just return home from a semester abroad in Australia. It was awesome! I stayed in the city of Brisbane most of the time, but, I also did a lot of traveling. I feel like I have a new goal in my life, see the world. I want to get a lot more traveling done, and experience a lot more things before I start my career as a high school teacher. I am not the best at writing in general, let alone "technical" writing so I hope this course will improve my basic writing skills. Thanks a lot for listening.

Cheers,

Evan

My name is Matt McKissick. I'm from Granger, IN and am currently a Junior studying Computer Information Technology. Following graduation in May 2010 I am considering graduate School. Not exactly sure where yet, but Purdue is one of my options I'm considering. Following my academic career I'm interested in working in a research based environment. Ideally I would like to work in an environment that would allow me to work with emerging technologies in a creative manner. I'm hoping this course will brush up my writing skills and prepare me for the business world. A little personal note about me, I love traveling and have traveled to 40 states and 9 countries.

My name is Brian O'Leary and I am from Lowell, Indiana. I am currently a junior in the majoring in Computer and Information Technology. At this point I really do not have any idea about my career goals. By taking this course I hope to improve my pretty much non existent technical writing skills as well as my general writing skills. Hobby wise, I really like to read a lot and I'm a big fan of most movies.

My name is Joe Davies and I am originally from Glenshaw, PA. Glenshaw is a suburb that is about 15 minutes north of downtown Pittsburgh. I currently have enough credit hours to be considered a senior in the school of Mechanical Engineering, but I won't graduate until May 2010 due to my co-op rotation. As I complete this course, I will be working for the vehicle braking system division of the Robert Bosch LLC in South Bend, IN.

I'm not entirely sure what my career goals are yet. However, I do know that I want to graduate and get out of West Lafayette as soon as possible. From there I'd like to gain experience in the engineering field in a subject area that interests me, although I'm unsure of what that is at the moment. After about 5 years, it would be great to return to school (at the expense of my employer of course) and study for an MBA. Ultimately I'd like to become successful in the senior management of a company or corporation. However, if that falls through, I'd also like to start my own business.

I chose to take this course because I'd like to enhance my writing abilities (technical and non-technical). The school of mechanical engineering really doesn't help very much, and I also feel that I haven't been getting enough practice throughout my college career to keep my writing technique at its peak.

As for personal hobbies, I recently picked up longboarding (on land; i.e. skateboarding with a longer board than usually seen). At first I wasn't sure how enjoyable it would be, but after a summer of skating I decided to put together my own 55" setup. It's a lot of fun, especially on the Ackerman Hills golf course golf cart paths.

Hello my name is Barton T. Smith III, but everyone calls me B.T. I am orginally from Hilton Head Island, SC but moved to Marion, IN where I graduated high school from Marion H.S. I currently am a senior in OLS. I would eventually like to run my own businesses in the future. Current plans however are to find a job in project management or that type of field. I also plan on going to graduate school for my masters in OLS after graduation. In this coarse I would like to learn proper etiquette for writing business documents especially those currently used often in the corporate world. One thing I really enjoy doing and find very relaxing is playing golf. I started playing at a very young age and have always enjoyed it.

My name is Isaac Townsend and I am from Evansville, Indiana. I am a senior in mechanical engineering and will graduating in May of 2010 after my fifth year. After graduating I plan on pursuing a career with a major construction company such as Kiewit as a field engineer and move upward. From this course I hope to become more comfortable with technical writing to explain problems and solutions. On a personal note I love to play guitar and go to every concert I can get to.

Hi, i am Mike and i am from Hobart, IN which is in the northwest corner of indiana, better known as the "Region". i am currently a Junior majoring in Mechanical Engineering Technology (MET) which is pretty tough but i will manage. After graduating, i hope to get involved in Automotive Design for a major company. If that doesnt work out, there are plenty of other job titles that i would hopefully be qualified for. Overall, i would like to get a well rounded expierience on the different forms of writing that are used in the working world. Truthfully, i would not be taking this class if it wasent required. In my spare time i like to work out or play sports.

My name is Mike Sheridan, from Somerset, PA. I am originally from central Michigan where I went to Michigan State University and studied Agricultural Communications. I am taking several online classes to finish my degree in May. I hope to work in the animal agricultural industry marketing and promoting purebred livestock. I have always struggled with writing concisely, so I would like to strengthen that skill through this course. However, I am also very excited about the work we will do to improve our job hunting skills. Throughout my degree program at MSU, we worked a lot with our portfolios and job search materials, so I am looking forward to a new perspective. I am also a huge sports fan. Mostly of MSU football and basketball, but I am an ESPN addict. I do have connections to Purdue as my brother and sister-in-law both work on campus. I'm looking forward to working with all of you!

Hello all. My name is Adam Waters, i'm a senior in Mechanical Engineering Technology set to graduate at the end of this semester. I've been interviewing for post-grad jobs pretty heavily over the past couple of months, and hope to obtain a position as either a product or sales engineer for an automation/control company. Beyond that, I plan to attend grad school in 4-5 years to obtain an MBA and hopefully start my own business. From this course, I hope to learn effective ways to communicate technical information to non-tech-savvy individuals. It's pretty frustrating to describe something technical while your audience has no idea what you're saying. Outside of school, my interests include watching sports, spending time with friends, golf, and snowboarding.

Hello all. My name is Adam Waters, i'm a senior in Mechanical Engineering Technology set to graduate at the end of this semester. I've been interviewing for post-grad jobs pretty heavily over the past couple of months, and hope to obtain a position as either a product or sales engineer for an automation/control company. Beyond that, I plan to attend grad school in 4-5 years to obtain an MBA and hopefully start my own business. From this course, I hope to learn effective ways to communicate technical information to non-tech-savvy individuals. It's pretty frustrating to describe something technical while your audience has no idea what you're saying. Outside of school, my interests include watching sports, spending time with friends, golf, and snowboarding.

Hello everyone, my name is Erin Daugherty. I'm from Fort Wayne, IN and I'm a Junior double majoring in professional writing and communications, minoring in Spanish.

My career goals include 1. figuring out what I want to do, and 2. executing it to the best of my ability. So far, I'm using my professional writing major to supplement the COM major; writing is important in any job, especially COM. But if I had my choice of dream job, I'd work in publishing for a magazine, or be a travel and food critic.

From this course, I would like to gain an even greater respect for technical communication in general, and be able to learn how to be competent in writing technical documents. I feel like (and I know everyone always says this) our world is really becoming more technologically advanced, and the people who can't keep up with it and create sound and usable documents for that type of work world are going to fail. So I'm hoping this course will teach me how to hang (and excel!) in the aspect.

As far as personal gets, I'm a magazine junkie and dislike working out (but enjoy playing volleyball and badminton!). I love cooking and eating, but am hindered in this aspect (the cooking aspect, not the eating) because I live in a sorority, and cooking in it is considered a liability for insurance.

Best,
ED

Hi I am from Westfield, IN. I am currently a Junior in CIT. I plan on working in some sort of network administration after leaving Purdue. I hope to improve my writing skills by taking this course. I enjoy camping and backpacking. This past summer I hiked rim to rim in the Grand Canyon.

My name is Chris Kirkwood and I am from a small town named Bicknell located just outside Vincenness, IN. I'm currently in my third year at Purdue studying Professional Flight. My goal is to become a professional airline captain for a major cargo and freight company. From this course I hope to improve my writing skills and be able to apply them during my career. I am currently part of the Purdue Track and Field team as a high jumper.