Handouts for the Leadership Program at the STC Summit 2015.

1. Sigma Tau Delta Outreach
Joint initiative by Orlando Central Florida Chapter, Willamette Valley Chapter, and
Academic SIG that led to an organizational alliance between STC and ΣT∆.
2013 Pacesetter Award.

2. STC Was Invited to the 2013 ΣT∆ Conference
 STC received an invitation to present at the 2013 conference of Sigma Tau
Delta, the international scholastic English Honor Society, in Portland, Oregon.
We were asked to describe the technical communication profession, focusing
on career possibilities it offers for English majors.

3. STC Sent Two Representatives
Bethany Aguad Rachel Houghton
 Representing the Society at the ΣT∆ conference were Bethany Bowles (now
Aguad), from the Orlando Central Florida Chapter and also president of the
Zeta Xi chapter of ΣT∆ at the University of Central Florida, and Rachel
Houghton, from the Willamette Valley Chapter. The two communities and the
Academic SIG co-sponsored the initiative, pooling their resources to cover
travel costs. ΣT∆ provided free lodging and conference registration.
ΣT∆ΣT∆

4. They Presented on Careers in Technical
Communication for English Majors
 The presentation explained the basics of the technical communication
profession, including the various disciplines it spans and the diverse career
paths t it offers. It stressed the commonality of core skills between English
majors and technical communication majors and suggested ways English
majors could move into our field.

5. When $$$ Count …
 The presentation included a salary comparison chart showing how favorably
salaries in technical communication stack up against those in other
professions that draw upon the same core skills in writing and
communication.

6. When $$$ Count … Cont.
 The only writers with higher mean salaries than technical communicators
were writers and authors in California, but as evidenced by the much lower
median salary in this group, this statistic was skewed by a small portion of the
population—the Hollywood writers who “made it.” At the end of the day,
technical communication was clearly the most stable and well-paying option.

7. The Beginnings of a Partnership …
 STC staffed a table at the conference, offering literature about the technical
communication profession and recruiting ΣT∆ members as STC student
members at a steep conference discount that was extended through the year.
One chair is empty because Rachel was taking the photo! 

8. Our Overarching Message in Portland …
 Bethany and Rachel enjoyed a very warm reception in Portland, and the
information they shared at the conference paved the way to a mutually
beneficial organizational alliance between STC and ΣT∆.

9. The Two Organizations then Formed an
Official Alliance
 STC Executive Director Chris Lyons and his ΣT∆ counterpart signed an agreement
which included discounts on memberships and conference registrations as well
as maintaining STC and ΣT∆ informational tables at conferences. Chris is shown
here chatting with ΣT∆ Director of Communications Elfrida Gabriel at ΣT∆’s 2014
conference in Savannah, GA, to which he and STC Director of Communications
Liz Pohland were invited.

10. How the STC/ΣT∆ Alliance Can Benefit
Student Communities
 Members of STC student chapters can reach out to the ΣT∆ chapter on their
campus and conduct joint on-campus activities such as fund-raising book
sales, educational activities, and the like.
 STC student chapters can increase their membership by encouraging ΣT∆
members to join under the discounted membership agreement between STC
and ΣT∆.
 Conversely, STC student members can benefit from a discounted membership
in ΣT∆.
 In universities where the technical communication program falls under the
English Department, the tech com faculty and department administration are
particularly likely to encourage synergy between STC and ΣT∆, although the
alliance would be seen as mutually beneficial under any circumstances.

11. How the STC/ΣT∆ Alliance Can Benefit
Geographic Communities
 STC geographic communities who are partnering with an STC student
community at a nearby university can encourage the students to engage the
ΣT∆ chapter on campus.
 STC geographic communities who are not close to a university with an STC
student chapter can work through the English Department and engage the
ΣT∆ chapter directly (as well as tech com students if there is a tech com
program), encouraging them to join STC as student members of the
geographic community.
 This, in turn, supports the formation of student mentoring programs, with the
many mutual benefits those bring on both sides.
 The presentation “Careers in Technical Communication for English Majors” is
turnkey-ready (it’s even scripted!) for presentation at a ΣT∆ chapter meeting.

12. How the STC/ΣT∆ Alliance Can Benefit
STC Virtual Communities
 The Academic SIG has already assumed “oversight” of STC’s overall student
member population—including “at-large” student members such as ΣT∆
“recruits” on campuses lacking an STC student chapter with which to affiliate—a
natural outgrowth of the Board’s decision to provide student members with free
membership in the Academic SIG as well as one other SIG.
 Leveraging STC’s new online MentorBoard tool, the Academic SIG can facilitate
self-pairings of student members with SMEs in the other SIGs for virtual
mentorships.
 This concept has already been demonstrated with successful virtual mentoring
pairings between students working on research/writing projects relating to STC’s
Technical Communication Body of Knowledge (TC-BoK) and SMEs in the SIGs. This
is a win-win situation where the SME provides “quality assurance” to maintain
the high professional standards of the TC-BoK, and the student earns a valuable,
resume-enhancing professional pubs credit (as well as academic credit).