Written Works

Being a double major from two highly analytical fields has provided me with ample opportunity to produce works of all different lengths, genres, purposes, and perspectives. I have developed vastly in my ability to calmly approach complex and hefty assignments, largely due to the quantity I have had to produce each quarter. At the beginning of college, I was more easily overwhelmed and perfection in my writing to a fault. I still believe that everything I write is a product of my being and thus should be lovingly tended after, but now I do not doubt what I know to be true in my writing. This has promoted a greater degree of confidence and subsequently a strong voice in my writing. Especially in completing my senior project. 

Especially in completing my Senior Project, a 40-page thesis, I have seen all the ways in which my writing has developed to prepare me for the diversity of requirements featured in this project. This includes literature reviews, descriptions of methodologies, and analysis based on research I conducted myself. During freshman year I could not have completed this project, particularly because I had to be secure in my ability to “solve” the puzzle that is how to organize a paper, what evidence should or should not be included, and how to remain continuity of argument throughout. Writing, culminating in my Senior Project, has given me a means by which to creatively express ideas that are very important to me while still balancing my personal emotions with objective reporting. 

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I hope to go into either the field of Public Relations or Nonprofit Development in the international arena which will require collaborations with the communities I am serving, a deep understanding of the mission, and an extensive ability to justify why my nonprofit is choosing certain forms of implementation. These jobs demand concise argumentation and conscientious messaging, which requires the type of skills I learned through my writing in college – synthesizing varying sources, balancing opposing opinions, and sticking closely to my “prompt” or task. My persuasive writing skills will aid in projects such as grant-writing, proposals for expansion, and communication with donors/community partners. Writing is integral to both of my potential careers, which require varying forms of communication-based on the communities that I am serving. My many class assignments, which required reframing of scholarly rhetoric into more palatable or digestible material, will aid me in talking about huge issues in a way that moves the general public. Writing skills very much so transfer to public speaking as well. The ways in which I describe myself, my abilities, and my aspirations are greatly influenced by the main goal of writing — which is to put thoughts to paper in a way that is inherently beautiful and impassioned. I have always considered myself a writer, and always will, but Cal Poly has reinforced for me how much of a craft it truly is. It requires dedication, commitment to excellence, and a deep understanding of self which are also just as necessary for my future employment. I am thankful for my writing journey because it has confirmed for me that writing is one of the most important skills someone can possess because it brings permanence to our thoughts.