The Lowdown

2020 Holiday Party

It is time to pause and have some fun, so join us for our virtual Holiday Party!

On December 8, 6p - 7p Central, we will confirm the officers and hold an award ceremony to celebrate the achievements of our leadership.

Afterwards, join your fellow technical communicators as we play some fun Jackbox games. Come test your drawing abilities in Drawful, make up silly answers in Quiplash, and brave the spooky trivia in Trivia Murder Party. These are browser-based games, so all you will need to bring is your smartphone or another browser-enabled device to play!

Click here to register for the event and join us for the virtual awards and fun!

2021 NTLSC Elections

Link to the election ballot: https://forms.gle/n8XE7aW4C9xcu8jx9

I am Zohra Mutabanna running for President of the North Texas Lone Star Chapter for the year 2021. I currently work as a Senior Documentation Specialist for a private company in the DFW area.

I joined STC as a student member almost 19 years ago. I volunteered to manage the membership list that I had to manually update back in the day each month. But that opportunity revealed to me the fascinating field of technical communications through the members I got to know. Ever since then, I have come back to STC in many volunteer roles, and I am grateful for each one of them.

In recent years, as a member of the North Texas Lone Star chapter, I have served as the treasurer, social media chair, and first vice president. I have found friends and mentors in this tribe of mine, and I am honored to serve our STC community in the coming year.

Outside of my profession, I am an avid runner with a few half marathons under my belt. I aspire to run a full marathon someday in the future. I am thankful to my personal and professional family for all your support and encouragement. Looking forward to a brighter 2021.
 

Faith Peralta - First Vice President

Hi, I’m Faith Peralta!  I’m a Technical Writer at a software technology company in the healthcare industry.  I’ve been a tech writer for almost six years.  Thus, my journey into tech comm was round about.  However, once I started on this tech writing path, I felt I’d finally found my career!

I graduated in 2003 with a B.A. in English from the University of North Texas and have worked in some form of health care ever since.  I’ve been an STC (Society for Technical Communication) member for two years.  Additionally, I joined my local Lone Star chapter and have met some wonderful people in the tech comm industry! 

In my personal life, I love to cook!  I like challenging myself to make new dishes!  I’m also a portrait photographer.  I love telling stories through art.
 

Addison Kliewer - Second Vice President

Hi, I’m Addison, and I currently work as software technical writer for a pest control company called PestRoutes. In my free time, I enjoy playing basketball, video games, and visiting beautiful places in nature and local history museums.
 

Jennifer Prior Schledorn - Secretary

Dear STC North Texas Lone Star members and friends,

I am Jennifer Prior Schledorn running for Secretary of the North Texas Lone Star Chapter for the year 2021. I currently work as a Senior Technical Writer for an international telecommunications company in the DFW area. I have served as the chapter secretary since 2018. I again look forward to serving and expanding our STC community in the coming year. Outside of my profession, I enjoy classic movies, interior design, cooking, investing, and photography.

As a first-generation American, I aspire to compile a collection of short stories, based on my parents' experiences prior to coming to America. I am thankful for the opportunities that STC has afforded me, both professionally as well as personally. I look forward to shining the technical communicator's light into the next year.

With best regards.

Lacey Corbin - Treasurer

Lacey Corbin is the Lead Technical Writer at TransNation Translations in Dallas, TX, and has a bachelor's degree in English from Texas Woman’s University and a master's degree in Technical Communication from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She has been a member of the North Texas Lone Star Chapter of STC since 2014 and has held various positions such as board member, Hospitality Chair, Vice President, and even President in 2019.

I'm running for the position of Treasurer.  I've served in positions of leadership with STC and know how essential the role of treasurer is for the community. I enjoy learning the ins and outs of a process, product, and organization as all tech writers must, and that's why the role of Treasurer appeals to me. I would be honored to serve in this capacity with the guidance of the incredible women who have served before me.

Call for Mentors

Written by Agnes Crentsil

For seven years, I worked in technical support helping customers resolve issues. The days were long, the calls were incessant, and the pace was rapid. My work experience spanned many industry sectors: Communication, Retail, Hospital, Government, and Auto. After seven years, I needed a change.

I thought perhaps I could help customers better resolve issues by empowering them upfront through the written word. Following the 80/20 rule, I knew for a fact that 80% of the calls that came into support at any of the companies I worked for was practically the same with minor variations, and 20% was new with the potential for deep complexity. That meant it would be time-consuming to resolve.

To test my theory at the time, I did research to review the incoming call types. Then I categorized the frequent calls and non-frequent calls and wrote troubleshooting procedures for my colleagues. The procedures helped us improve call response time but also helped new members onboard quickly.

I was on to something, but still didn’t know how to move forward. It was during this time when a colleague of mine told me about the profession of technical writing. She told me the procedures I wrote for the team were very helpful and I should investigate technical writing classes as she too was pursuing the same path. I did just that. I took several classes to enhance my knowledge in the field. As they say, the rest is history. I got my first job as technical writer in 1997 and I have never looked back.

If it wasn’t for a mentor like Connie Miley, who spoke to me and guided me through the process to find my path in technical writing, it probably would have taken longer than necessary. Connie and I lost touch over the years, but I always remember her, and I am forever grateful for her help.

I know I am not the only one with a story to share about mentors and how they inspire us through words or deeds. Maybe you can also share your story with a student to help them navigate their path from academia to career.

Being a mentor is the greatest gift you can give to anyone - a gift of hope. It is certainly a way to create a vital and inclusive community. Just like Robert Ingersoll wrote “We Rise by Lifting Others.” This is true about mentoring - especially in these times of COVID-19 - it is even more critical that we uplift our community.

Read more about our mentoring program here and for more information on how you can be a mentor, contact us at: mentoring_leadership@stcdfw.org

36Software Becomes Gold Sponsor

New Instagram Account

The North Texas Lone Star Chapter has joined the world of Instagram!  We look forward to using this platform to engage with this online community,so please find and follow us: @stc_lonestar

Feel free to contact me at secondvp@stcdfw.org if you have some fun Tech Comm related quotes or memes!

Faith Peralta
Second Vice President

NTLSC Corporate Sponsorship Program

• Your company's logo display in the sponsors sidebar of our website at http://stcdfw.org/
• Logo/tagline link to your corporate website
• A post about your sponsorship to all 5 of the NTLSC social media sites
• An hour-long webinar on vendor-specific services presented to NTLSC chapter and to STC members throughout the world
• Your company name included in listings and e-mail announcements for NTLSC event promotions

• Distribution of your literature and handouts at NTLSC events
• Displaying your sign at sponsored events and NTLSC awards celebrations events (excluding workshops)
• Complimentary tickets to the NTLSC awards celebration
• Recognition of your company's sponsorship in the NTLSC Awards Celebration program

NTLSC Mentoring Program

Building a diverse community to carry on the legacy of technical communicators is important to strengthen our chapter’s growth while we continue to serve our local DFW community.

The North Texas Lone Star STC chapter has launched a mentoring program to support students and new technical communication professionals easily transform their careers goals through meaningful networking and volunteering. 

Our program offers three mentoring tracks: Project-based, Non-Project based (Advisory only), and Leadership Development.

Through this program we hope to provide one-on-one mentoring support for our thriving community while embracing both structure and unstructured activities such as – gaining hands on chapter experience, reviewing resumes and projects, building an online presence (LinkedIn, website etc.), strategy for career portfolios, leadership development, and much more.

However, to ensure our success, we need more volunteers who can serve as mentors.  Any STC member can be a mentor. You don’t have to be affiliated with our chapter. If you have some time to spare, please consider joining us in this effort.  It takes a village to build a legacy.

If interested, please contact me directly at mentoring_leadership@stcdfw.org.

Learn more here!

Thank you,

Agnes Mends Crentsil
NTLSC Mentoring Coordinator
Contact email - mentoring_leadership@stcdfw.org

2020 CAA Awards

Our chapter was awarded the STC Platinum Community Award and we were also awarded the Most Improved Community of the Year Award!

Volunteers

Do you have a talent for photography? Are you a people person?
Want to get involved, but don't have a lot of time?
If so, we need your help.
Below are the areas in which we have a need for volunteers.
Contact president@stcdfw.org if you are interested in helping.

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