Path to Fellow is a recurring feature here on STC’s Notebook to highlight the rich contributions of our honored members. We want to tell your story! If you’re a Fellow or Associate Fellow and would like to participate in this feature, please email Kevin Cuddihy.
My path to Associate Fellow began in a night school systems analysis class at Widener University, Wilmington, DE. I was one of many journalism graduates during the Watergate Scandal era who was trying to distinguish myself in a tight job market. During this systems analysis course, I enjoyed the analysis process presented by the complex problems discussed during the course. I liked writing about technical topics. I also enjoyed developing my analysis reports in a clear and concise language. I tried to write so anyone could understand the problem and my recommended solution. My professor, a computer software professional at a local suburban Philadelphia software company, told me how clear, accurate, and readable these analyses were. (Evidently, my more technical peers in class were not doing what I was doing.) He mentioned that there were many positions writing something called software documentation. I can make a living explaining things simply and clearly? My course was set.
With my writing background from my BA in journalism from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and my MIS certificate providing enough rudimentary technical skills, I stepped out into this new world. I landed my first job as a documentation specialist for a company with a Japanese computer company as a client. This client charged our firm to clean up the translations of software manuals performed by translators whose first language was not English. I learned how culture impacted these translations as I read line after line of English words in Japanese sentence structure in passive voice. For example, I read, “The Enter key was pressed” time and again. In Japan, due to the various levels of politeness in Japanese culture, you never tell someone what to do. Active voice? “Press the Enter key”? Never! I reviewed and updated these translations into concise and accurate English. I also confirmed the technical accuracy of the computer hardware and software manuals with on-site subject matter experts.
I wanted to broaden my fledgling technical communicator toolkit. I pursued a MS in technical and science communication from Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, at night. While this was a period of intense work during the day and intense study at night, I was energized by what I was learning. I was meeting people in my class who were in the technical communication field. Then, somebody mentioned that an upcoming meeting of the local STC chapter, the Philadelphia Metro Chapter (STC-PMC), would take place on the Drexel campus.
It was an interesting meeting. At that time, STC-PMC was the place in the Philadelphia area to connect with area software companies as well as the area technical communication community. I enjoyed the people I met at STC-PMC, their friendliness, and approachability. I joined STC in October 1986. I enjoyed talking with technical communicators in software documentation to share ideas and discuss their path into the field. In addition, there were communicators from other stripes and industries. I was amazed how broad and diverse the spectrum of technical communications. I considered attending STC- PMC meeting an investment in my fledging career. It became like physical exercise—building up skills and relationships—with genuinely nice people.
I took an opportunity to step up my involvement in PMC. I served two terms as chapter Secretary (1993-1995), which involved attending each meeting and writing articles for the newsletter. I also wrote articles for the chapter newsletter until about 2005. During this time, I worked for a variety of local companies, from small start-ups to medium-size companies to large organizations. Sometimes I was the lone writer, other times I was part of a larger writing team. I was learning, growing my technical communication skills, and bringing them to my employer.
In 1994, I became one of the first members of the new Information Development department at Vertex, Inc., Berwyn, PA, a tax technology company. Vertex develops corporate tax compliance software for a variety of global tax types. I became an early and vocal advocate for STC. In 1995, we became involved in the STC competitions to gather feedback on our content. We also wanted to illustrate how clear, concise content added value to Vertex products. Vertex has been competing and winning awards almost annually until 2010. Our award-wining content is now a selling point for Vertex products.
During this time, I added Instructional Design to my toolkit with a MEd from Penn State Great Valley. This helped me understand the performance support aspects of content for user tasks. I copublished my thesis on the organic architecture of hypertext in a journal in London.
I have served the local competitions as a submitter, judge, and Team Lead judge since 1998. For three years, I was a competitions co-coordinator with two other PMC members (2002-2005). I have submitted award-winning entries and acted as a judge on the local level for about 17 years and have been a judge on the international level for the last four years. I was recognized by PMC with the 2006 Distinguished Chapter Service along with Marc Green for “dedicated leadership in leading many years of successful print and online competitions for the Philadelphia Metro Chapter.” The competitions are also a great tool to expose new Information Developers to “Best-in-Class” content.
I took another step in my involvement with STC. I have been a speaker at the Mid-Atlantic Technical Communication conference since 2003. My presentations include a variety of topics concerning content creation and delivery, as well as user experience. My drive for continuous learning fuels my desire for knowledge sharing. And I’m participating in my second year as a chapter advocate on the Community Affairs Committee (CAC). It is great to be an advocate for other chapters.
Currently, I am a senior information developer at Vertex, Inc. I have developed content delivered on a variety of media for a many technology platforms, from main frames to client-server to web-based platforms. I am also a member of the Information Architecture Institute (IAI), User Experience Professionals Association (UxPA), and the Interaction Design Association (IxDA).
I was humbled, honored, and thrilled to be nominated for Associate Fellow in 2011. STC-PMC has a rich legacy of Associate Fellows. I was honored to be included in such elite company on both the local and international level.
I am grateful to STC for the learning opportunities it has presented to me and for the people I have met through volunteering. I’m looking forward taking more steps to grow both personally and professionally through my involvement in STC as the technical communication industry evolves. I believe clear, concise communication as a conduit for connection and community
I am also grateful to my lovely wife Sue and our daughter, Sarah, now a freshman at Temple, for their unwavering support of my many STC activities over the years. STC, for me, is a year-round learning opportunity. I enjoy it all—competitions, conference planning, researching a presentation, informally mentoring peers, and, soon, probably something totally new.