Alysoun Taylor is in this issue's member spotlight. By the luck of the draw, she was the SWO-STC recipient selected to attend the international STC conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, May, 2006. She was excited to have the privilege to attend.

Alysoun is presently a Program Coordinator at Wright State University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science. She is responsible for maintaining a policies and procedures manual, website and marketing materials for the Ph.D. program.

In June 2006, she completed writing the commercialization and economic impact sections of an $8 million proposal. Wright State University received a glowing review from the National Research Council. They are eagerly awaiting the news of the award. Spring 2006, she edited an engineering textbook.

She enjoys writing and editing proposals, using her persuasive writing skills. She is dedicated to writing proposals and sometimes waits several months to discover the outcome.

She also enjoys editing scientific writing. Researchers, spend a lot of time studying and writing their area of concentration, often produce complicated text reading to another type audience or general audience. She helps bridge the gap between a general audience and scientific audience.

Her father, an engineer, encouraged her in math and science but her desire was studying English, French and writing. She always gravitated toward writing tasks at any position that she held. Journalists are in her family tree. She decided to pursue Technical Writing to prepare for a viable career. She majored in English at Wright State University with a concentration in Professional Writing and French. She earned a certificate in Technical Writing, graduating Summa Cum Laude in 2004.

During her senior year, she was looking for an internship. One of her engineering professors was looking for a Technical Writer/Editor. She started editing student presentations, journal articles, proposals, theses and nomination packets. After graduation, she was hired by Wright State as the Program Coordinator for the Ph.D. Engineering program. She still works for the same professor since that internship, assisting in technical writing, editing and administrative duties. She also supervises a student worker, who helps with the editing.

SWO-STC would have been hard pressed to find a more appreciative recipient of the conference registration. Obviously, in the diverse duties of her position at Wright State University, Taylor is putting to use the knowledge she gained at the conference.