UCF Future Technical Communicators (FTC)

Some of our club attendees recently returned from the 2024 Society for Technical Communication Summit in Bloomington, Minnesota. Our attendees - Chantal Cyrier, Priscilla Allen, Joy C., Dominick Chiovari, John Clement, Delaney Gunnell, Henry Keating, Marilyn Nguyen, Cassandra Ortega, Leela Smith, and Jonathan Williams - had an amazing time attending educational sessions, volunteering, participating in social events, and exploring the Mall of America. We also all enjoyed the opportunity to run into old friends, including many people from the Florida Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), and meet new academics, other students, and professionals. A huge thanks to our advisors, donors, and friends of the club who supported us in a myriad of ways! It wouldn’t have been a successful trip without your support.

Two weeks ago, FTC members exhibited at the 2025 Spark STEM Fest hosted by the Orlando Science Center and sponsored by the UCF Office of Research. Among the other community partners at the event, we introduced participants to technical communication through an interactive origami activity. Many thanks to the volunteers who exhibited and the volunteers who created the materials, including the origami instructions!

Join us tomorrow!

As a #techcomm professional, mentor, and teacher, I get asked all the time about portfolios and how to use them in your job search. That's why, in partnership with RIT Certified, I created the Preparing Your Technical Communication Portfolio course. My hands-on course is designed to help you build, refine, and showcase a portfolio that gets you hired! ? Understanding portfolios—how they differ from resumes & why they’re a must-have. ? Selecting and analyzing the best portfolio samples to include. ? Creating impactful writing samples—even if you have none to start with! ? Designing and structuring your portfolio for maximum impact. By the end of this course, you’ll have a polished, job-ready portfolio and a strategic approach to showcasing your skills. ?? Who is this for? * Career switchers moving into technical writing * New grads looking for their first writing role * Freelancers and contractors needing a strong online presence Enrollment is open now—secure your spot! ?? https://bit.ly/3QcFN9O #TechnicalWriting #PortfolioBuilding #CareerGrowth #JobSearch

Join us for our February general body meeting on February 19th at 7:00 PM ET! Guest speaker John Hedtke will join us to give a presentation on the topic Captive vs. Freelance. Ever thought that you might be cut out for the glamorous, high-paying, and rather bohemian lifestyle possible with a freelance existence? Not everyone is suited for freelance work... but neither is everyone suited for captivity. This one-hour presentation will identify the pros and cons for captivity (AKA “fulltime” or “permanent” employment) and freelance work, then shows the audience members how to identify their personal employment goals and how to fit these into the pros for each career path. There will also be suggestions for those who haven't tried freelance work yet on how to get started freelancing on the side, something that could be of great value. John Hedtke has over 30 years as a writer and documentation manager. John has developed and written documentation and books for many leading software products. He has published 27 books and 200 magazine articles on technical subjects. Lists of books, articles, projects, and awards can be found online at his website, www.hedtke.com. John also does numerous radio and magazine interviews and frequently travels to do keynotes, lectures, and guest appearances at conferences and seminars. John is a Fellow of the Society for Technical Communication. When not otherwise occupied, John plays banjo and guitar. John lives near Tacoma, WA, with his wife Marilyn. The meeting will be held on Zoom (https://linktr.ee/ucf.ftc), and it is free and open to all.

So, where do we go from here? That's the main question following the closing of STC. Here are some suggestions that I've gathered: #techcomm

An update from past president Julia Southwick on the closing of the Society for Technical Communication and our partner the Florida Chapter. Give it a read it you'd like to stay connected informally with our local technical communicators or be part of updates and discussion on what's next. The Future Technical Communicators club itself, as an independent organization affiliated with UCF, is unaffected outside of partnered programs we held with STC such as the Summit trip and certain events. Nevertheless, this partnership which has lasted since 2002 gets hit with much change, and we wish our community members from STC, including FTC @ UCF alumni, the best.

Join us tomorrow! There is still time to RSVP here: https://linktr.ee/ucf.ftc

We at FTC are looking forward to partnering with the Florida Chapter of the Society for Technical Communication (STC) to host our annual STC-FTC joint meeting. This year, we're exploring technical communication roles with a panel of experts through the panel topic "Tech Comm Across Industries". Through this topic, you'll hear from panelists who took their tech comm career to different industries. From software to academia, you'll have the opportunity to ask questions and learn about our panelists' varied experiences and insights into these industries. In addition, you'll have the opportunity to network with professionals and students alike. You must complete the RSVP form to receive the Zoom link, but anyone is welcome to attend, whether or not they are an FTC or STC member, and the meeting is free. The RSVP link can be found on our LinkTree (https://linktr.ee/ucf.ftc). The meeting will be on January 23rd. The networking section will begin at 6:30 EDT, with the panel beginning at 7:00 pm.

Welcome back for a new semester! We at FTC hope you had a joyful and relaxing winter break. Our first GBM of the new semester is this Wednesday, January 8. The start time has been changed to 7:00 PM. We will be discussing volunteering at the 2024 Spark STEM Fest at the Orlando Science Center and?attending this year's STC Summit. While the 2025 STC Summit hasn't been announced yet, we'll discuss what prior conferences were like and discuss steps for joining the trip when the conference is announced. For both events, prior participants will share their experiences from both events, and we encourage you to bring your questions, as sign ups for both events will be ending soon. The Zoom link can be found here: https://linktr.ee/ucf.ftc, and the meeting is free and open to all!