NYU SCHOOL OF PROFESSIONAL STUDIES CENTER FOR PUBLISHING, WRITING, AND MEDIA CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAMS (pwmce)

Continuing Education Programs in Publishing, Writing, and Media

mspw

2020 Website Prototype Projects by MS in Professional Writing Students

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In Principles of Information Architecture, a core course taught by Steven Goss, Ed.D., MS in Professional Writing (MSPW) students learn about information architecture and user experience through the study and practice of techniques used to develop websites and apps. For their final projects this past spring, students were asked to develop a website prototype based on a mock request for proposal (RFP). In response to the mock RFP, students sought ways to match content presentation methods with the specific needs of their target audiences– which varied across projects. After submitting their prototypes, the class took on the role of RFP reviewers and voted for the strongest prototypes. The following student website prototypes were ranked the highest in the Spring 2020 course (in no order):

Virginia Waterbird Rescue
Creator: Raven van den Bosch

Virginia is home to four major flyways for waterbirds migrating from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Every year, people find waterbirds in distress. Due to lack of information and resources to help, hundreds of these waterbirds perish, collectively adding to declining numbers in waterbirds in the United States. The Virginia Waterbird Rescue website was created as a resource for people in Virginia to identify, rescue, and transport trapped, injured, sick, or orphaned waterbirds.

Travel to Hawaii
Creator: Sarah Etinas

Travel to Hawaii aims to show visitors how to experience the Hawaiian Islands like a local. Every year, 10 million visitors come to Hawaii. Many times, these visitors remain in the tourist hubs like Waikiki, where they do not experience any of Hawaii’s local culture or natural beauty. Travel to Hawaii aims to introduce visitors to the many cultural activities and natural sights that are known and enjoyed by locals. The website utilizes a chatbot feature, an interactive map of the islands, and attraction information pages written by Hawaii locals.

The Art Suite
Creator: Theresa Marino

One of the main problems facing professional artists today is the challenge of gaining exposure and finding consistent income. There is no singular online location for artists to connect and sell their work. The Art Suite offers this and more. On this site, artists can find helpful information to perfect their craft, as well as a space to reach consumers by advertising and selling their work on a consistent basis. The Art Suite fulfills the needs of both artists and art consumers by providing a singular location for connection and conversation, as well as creative and financial advancement.

Congratulations to Raven, Sarah, and Theresa! 

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To learn more about the fully online MS in Professional Writing, visit sps.nyu.edu/mspw or email sps.mspw@nyu.edu.

Two MS in Professional Writing students selected for 2020-2021 Dean’s Graduate Scholars Program, each receiving $10,000 award scholarship

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We are happy to announce that TWO students from the MS in Professional Writing (MSPW) have been awarded the NYUSPS Dean’s Graduate Scholars Program for the upcoming academic year. Congratulations to Raven van den Bosch and Christinne Govereau!

The NYUSPS Dean’s Graduate Scholars Program brings together high-performing students from across the school who exemplify academic excellence and service to the community. Following a competitive selection process, students were chosen for the 2020–2021 cohort, each receiving a $10,000 scholarship for the academic year. Throughout the school year, Dean’s Scholars serve as exceptional school ambassadors, participating in admissions events and community-building activities. Perhaps the most important aspect of being a Dean’s Scholar is serving as a mentor to high school students from underrepresented communities in the New York metro area who will be the first in their family to attend college. During the summer and throughout the academic year, the Dean’s Scholars form meaningful relationships with their mentees through a series of social activities, college knowledge workshops, and virtual touch points. Ultimately, Dean’s Scholars serve as advocates, coaches, and role models, assisting their mentees in achieving their college goals and aspirations.

Join us in congratulating Raven and Christinne—we look forward to hearing more about this meaningful Dean’s Scholars work in the year ahead.

Tony Davis, MS in Professional Writing graduate, selected as 2020 Flag Bearer

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MS in Professional Writing (MSPW) graduate Tony Davis was selected to represent the program as 2020 Flag Bearer. Tony received this honor in recognition of his outstanding academic performance and active participation in the MSPW program.

Across his graduate coursework, Tony combined his writing skills and interests in international relations, history, politics, and theology to create compelling narratives across a variety of documents and media. A retired Army officer and published author, he has also served as a civil servant and country director for a congressionally-chartered nonprofit organization in South Korea. Prior to this degree, Tony earned an MA in international relations and a BA in political science. He is a graduate of both the US Army Command and General Staff College and the Joint Forces Staff College.

Please join us in congratulating Tony on his accomplishments!  

Ola Salem, MS in Professional Writing graduate, awarded 2020 Professional Writing Impact Award

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The MS in Professional Writing (MSPW) is pleased to announce that Ola Salem has been awarded the 2020 Professional Writing Impact Award. Every year, this award is presented to a graduating MSPW student who has demonstrated a commitment to writing and communication endeavors that seek to impact society in positive ways. 

A recent MSPW graduate, Ola writes in-depth political analyses in ways that seek to foster global understanding and empathy. In addition to her outstanding coursework, Ola covered US news and events for Al Jazeera English from the capital while interning as a Freelance Producer. She has also contributed to a podcast for The Guardian and written for the Washington Post, Foreign Policy, and the New York Daily News. Ola’s articles have consistently made their way into “top read” lists, with two of her articles named in the ten “most read stories” of 2018 and 2019 in Foreign Policy. Prior to her graduate studies, Ola earned a BS in Journalism and Mass Communication at UAE University.

Please join us in congratulating Ola on her accomplishments! 

MS in Professional Writing alum, Laila E. Dreidame, publishes “Bringing your whole self to work: Arab or Muslim Welcome” in Medium

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Laila E. Dreidame, an alum of the MS in Professional Writing (MSPW) program, recently published “Bringing your whole self to work: Arab or Muslim Welcome” in Medium. Exploring multiple experiences of what it means to be Arab or Muslim in workplaces across the U.S., Laila was inspired to write on this topic by the timing of the beginning of Ramadan in April, designated as National Arab American Heritage Month (NAAHM). “I wanted to share the important distinction between the Muslim religion and the Arab people,” Laila explains. “There are so many people from these communities who feel their identity is invisible or misconstrued. With the overlap of NAAHM and the start of Ramadan, I was compelled to share my understanding of these two different groups with my family and friends.”  

Laila hopes that her piece will increase awareness of Muslim and Arab identities and experiences and will create opportunities for discussion across professional networks and workplaces. In 2019, Laila was awarded the Professional Writing Impact Award, presented to a graduating student in the MSPW who has demonstrated a commitment to writing and communication endeavors that seek to impact society in positive ways. 

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To learn more about the MS in Professional Writing, visit sps.nyu.edu/mspw or email sps.mspw@nyu.edu.

Dr. Kristine Rodriguez Kerr receives 2020 Teaching Excellence Award

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Congratulations to Dr. Kristine Rodriguez Kerr, Academic Director & Clinical Assistant Professor of the MS in Professional Writing (MSPW) program, for receiving the 2020 Teaching Excellence Award. This is an NYUSPS school-wide award that recognizes faculty members for their exceptional dedication to student engagement and innovative pedagogy.


In a virtual award ceremony on Monday evening, Kristine was described by colleagues as a “dedicated, multifaceted, and generous leader” and an “inspirational advocate for students and online learning.” Teaching Excellence Awardees are faculty who challenge, inspire, and support students with an unwavering commitment to educating the industry practitioners and leaders of tomorrow. Fully online since 2013, the MSPW program offers an applied, workshop-model curriculum that prepares students to craft strategic copy and shape important stories for target audiences across industries.

Please join us in congratulating Kristine for this well-deserved honor! 

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For more information about the fully online MS in Professional Writing program, please visit sps.nyu.edu/mspw

Professional Writer at Work: Interview with Katherine McCabe, Head of Content and Digital Marketing, beqom

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Katherine McCabe, an experienced professional writer, has worked in Marketing for nearly two decades, assuming progressively more senior leadership roles. Katherine is currently the Head of Content & Digital Marketing at beqom, a global provider of compensation management software delivered via cloud computing. Her role involves extensive strategic and management responsibilities, but Katherine still carves out the time to take on writing projects. 

Q:   Describe your current role and your daily professional tasks and responsibilities.

A:   In my 17+ years of marketing, I’ve stepped into many roles, some widely different from where I set out. Along the way I’ve gotten to do everything from technical writing to writing content for social media, recruitment, events, content strategy, and digital marketing transformation. Whatever I’m focused on in the world of marketing, I’ve never abandoned my writing roots, so you’ll still find me churning out everything from ad headlines to in-depth industry reports.

Today I am the Head of Content & Digital Marketing at beqom, a B2B software company headquartered in Switzerland with a US base in Connecticut. Along with my team, I create and have overall responsibility for the breadth of content used by Marketing and Sales, including theme development, editorial calendar, collateral, videos, press, social media, webcasts, emailing, ad copy, and web copy. On the digital marketing side, I oversee the company’s global digital marketing strategy and efforts, including web development, SEM/SEO, paid social media campaigns, and third-party lead generation. To round things out, I also manage our PR agency relationships, our department’s global budget, and our reporting, analytics, and dashboards.

Q:   What made you realize that writing was something you wanted to pursue professionally?

A:   It’s been so long since I knew I wanted to be some kind of writer, I can hardly remember. By sixth or seventh grade, I was leaning heavily into writing as my favorite activity, which mostly took the form of student journalism. That continued all through high school, where I eventually became editor of our school newspaper, and I first entered college as a Communications major intending to pursue print journalism. After a semester, my mother suggested that English majors could be journalists, but journalism majors may not have as many options, so I switched to English. 

By the time I graduated in 2001, the prospects of print journalism did not seem so bright. I had always enjoyed fact-based writing more than fiction, and from working as a writing tutor at the campus Writing Center for a few years I had discovered the field of technical writing. That’s when I decided to pursue the Master’s in Professional Writing.

Q:   Talk about a mentor, book, or experience that helped shape who you are as a writing professional.

A:   Far and away the most significant experience in my career was my Master’s program. It’s been 18 years (yikes!) and I still use the principles of those classes daily. One of my professors was Dr. Erwin Steinberg, who helped found and pioneer the field of technical writing in the late 1950s. I find myself repeating his lessons to every new writer I onboard. 

Q:   In your role and industry, how important is collaboration? With whom do you collaborate?

A:   I’ve led teams of writers for 10 years, and in anything we create, at least one other writer is called in to be an editor or proofreader. The adage about a second set of eyes exists for a reason. 

This morning I worked on creating a new page for our website, which was only about 400-words long and minor in our scope of work. This simple page involved a team writer to work with an SME to create the draft, me as the editor, our creative lead to design the graphic elements, our SEO specialist to optimize the page, an outside translation agency, and two colleagues in Europe to validate the translations of text.

I also collaborate with our PR agencies, our website development agency, my boss and CMO, company executives, sales and pre-sales, other marketing departments, advertising vendors and partners . . . more groups that I can probably remember. Collaboration is all day, every day.

Q:   What do you look for in assessing potential new hires?

A:   My outlook has always been to look for writer talent first. Finding new hires who can see the spark of a story in a technical product release, turn it into something compelling, then write cleanly and to our style guide is the most important piece. After that, I look for people who have experience with reporting and technology.

Q:   Is there anything else you would like to share?

A:   I often review resumes for both interns and full-time hires, including resumes from recent graduates. When I’m assessing these candidates, I appreciate that they may not have had direct experience with, say, marketing for a B2B software company. Here’s what I look for when determining whether to progress:

  • Relevant degrees, coursework and  major projects
  • Leadership experience, whether it’s as part of a sports team, student organization, or volunteer group
  • A strong work ethic, as evidenced by consistent employment, extracurriculars, and/or GPA
  • Technical certifications, such as HubSpot or Google AdWords. These courses are free, and when I see one on a resume I know the candidate has initiative and the capacity to pick up our technology and systems.

A: Connect with me! https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherinemccabe/

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Thank you to Katherine McCabe for sharing her professional writing journey with us. 

To learn more about the MS in Professional Writing program at NYU School of Professional Studies, visit sps.nyu.edu/mspw

Professional Writer at Work: Interview with Sandra Darkwah, Technical Writer, DoubleVerify

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Sandra Darkwah is a technical writer at DoubleVerify, a company that authenticates the quality and effectiveness of digital media for its client businesses. After graduating pre-med with a degree in English, Sandra ultimately chose to apply her skills to a career in technical writing. Her ability to grasp technical information and convey it to a non-specialist audience is an asset in her current role. In her interview below, Sandra comments on the significance of mentors in professional development, and the positive outcomes that can result from taking a chance on a career that resonates with your interests.

Q:     Describe your current role and your daily professional tasks and responsibilities.

A:     I currently work as a technical writer for DoubleVerify, a digital media authentication company. Authentication is a process enabling the validation of user identities or of the origin and integrity of data in order to reduce fraud. My role involves writing product glossaries, how-to guides, and other client-facing documentation for the products and features that our company  creates. This means working closely with the Product Department to understand any new updates or product releases. 

Q:     Talk about a mentor, book, or experience that helped shape who you are as a writing professional.

A:      I’ve been lucky enough to have three great mentors in my professional writing journey. Two were wonderful professors that I had in college, Dr. Paula Marantz Cohen & Dr. Miriam Kotzin. Both women were published authors who not only encouraged my love of literature and writing, but were also great resources in navigating the possibilities of writing professionally. The third mentor was Geri Outwater, who was the outgoing technical writer at my first job at Rockwell Collins. I had absolutely no idea how to write about trains or which resources to use to craft the massive engineering manuals that were needed.  Geri patiently gave me a crash course on how to do this work. My biggest thanks to these three amazing women!

Q:     In your role and industry, how important is collaboration? With whom do you collaborate?

A:     Technical writing is an interesting mix of collaboration and solo work. My process always begins with a collaboration between myself, project managers, and engineers. They provide the bulk of the information that I usually need to craft documentation by explaining the more technical aspects of a new product or release. Depending on the documentation, I may also work with account managers, client services, or the marketing department to get a better understanding of tone or client concerns.

From that point, the solo part of technical writing begins, which involves me essentially translating what they’ve told me into plain speech while still maintaining the essence of a product’s function or process. At DoubleVerify, we have an established review process where all involved parties give notes or request changes. Once these have all been incorporated or addressed, then the documentation is published.

Q:     What advice would you give to a professional writer interested in a career like yours?

A:       I would encourage them to give technical writing a chance! It may not be the most well known career path,  but it’s a great way to learn more about different technologies. I’m constantly researching or sitting in meetings with people who are so knowledgeable of systems and processes that I would probably never learn about otherwise. So if you are someone who enjoys tech and always learning new things, this is a great career.

Q:    What do you look for in assessing potential new hires?

A:      I look for someone who is organized (time management is so important!) and can work independently, but can also be a team player when it’s needed. As mentioned above, technical writing is both a collaborative and solo job so the ideal candidate would be someone who can navigate both. I would also look for someone who is genuinely curious and asks a lot of questions. You have to be interested in the things you write about in order to convey information in a way that offers solutions or answers questions, instead of raising them.

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Thank you to Sandra Darkwah for sharing her professional writing journey with us. 

To learn more about the MS in Professional Writing program at NYU School of Professional Studies, visit sps.nyu.edu/mspw

Professional Writer at Work: Interview with Kathleen Fischer, Assistant Director of Communications & Engagement for the Americas Financial Services Organization, EY

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Kathleen Fischer is a communications professional with over 15 years of experience. Fischer graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with undergraduate and graduate degrees in Professional Writing, honing her skills as a communications strategist. In her current role at the professional services firm EY, Fischer is a manager of an executive communications and employee engagement team. She also contributes to the development of new workflows. Her responses to our interview questions, below, highlight the importance of well-rounded communication skills and social media engagement.   

Q: Describe your current role and your daily professional tasks and responsibilities

A: I’m an Assistant Director of Communications & Engagement for the Americas Financial Services Organization within EY. I oversee two communications professionals and report to the Communications & Engagement Leader, who reports to the Chief Communications Officer for EY Americas.

I provide executive communications support for the managing partners, ranging from writing and editing emails to drafting and producing video webcasts. I’m constantly looking for ways to leverage metrics to influence change and form best practices in how we communicate. At EY, change happens quickly, creating new opportunities for communications professionals. For example, with the recent announcement of EY’s commitment to be carbon neutral by the end of 2020, I  joined a workstream focused on the change management and communications to help our people support sustainability.

In addition, I am in constant communication with my direct reports, providing them guidance and coaching as needed (I learn plenty from them too!).

Q:       What made you realize that writing was something you wanted to pursue professionally?

A: I always wanted to write. I never wanted to do anything else. I just didn’t realize how many possible career paths exist for someone who’s passionate about communications until I got into college.

Q:       Talk about a book, mentor, or experience that helps shape who you are as a writing professional.

A: I had a lot of jobs and internships in college and graduate school that exposed me to the wide variety of potential career paths for someone interested in writing. In particular, the summer before I graduated I had a pretty informal internship at a marketing company that gave me exposure to leadership. I was very challenged by the project, which required me to do research and create a report that would be submitted to the FCC. It was energizing (and a little scary!) to work on something real – that the CEO would eventually review my report and it could really impact the company’s future. I also realized that the key to effective communication in the workplace is getting a message across clearly and concisely – and that’s actually paramount to perfect grammar!

Q:       In your role/industry, how important is collaboration? With whom do you collaborate?

A: Throughout my writing career, I have had great teammates who help my creative juices flow. But I also work closely with subject matter experts and stakeholders, where our knowledge and strengths are completely different. It’s a great feeling when we can collaborate on a project and produce a piece of work that neither party could’ve done on our own.

Q:       What advice would you give to a professional writer interested in a career like yours?

A: Get real-world work experience! It’s eye-opening to take what you’ve learned in the classroom and apply it. You will probably also be very surprised at the wide variety of career possibilities for professional writers! 

On a related note, LinkedIn is a great tool, no matter where you are in your career. Connect with friends and colleagues, but also follow thought leaders, companies that interest you, communications experts, etc. Start your day by spending a couple of minutes on LinkedIn to help you stay on top of the latest news that’s influencing your professional life. (By the way, I got my current job and my previous job through LinkedIn!)

Q:       What do you look for when assessing potential new hires?

A: First, do your homework. Come with thoughtful questions. Bring samples of your work and be able to explain why you picked these samples. Beyond the interview, we want a well-rounded communicator, not just someone who’s awesome at writing. I want to see someone who’s passionate and excited about writing for sure, but a candidate who can also show a comfort with or interest in technology and metrics is important to this field.

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Thank you to Kathleen Fischer for sharing her professional writing journey with us. 

To learn more about the MS in Professional Writing program at NYU School of Professional Studies, visit sps.nyu.edu/mspw