September 13, 2016
Janine Scheffler
Email:
Blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/janinescheffler/
English 301
Technical Writing
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC
Dear Classmates,
My name is Janine Scheffler and I am writing this application letter to introduce myself for the position of a writing group member for English 301 Technical Writing. I am a fourth year student in the Bachelor of Science Food, Nutrition, and Health major at the University of British Columbia (UBC). The degree is broad in scope which allows me to focus on areas of interest such as public health and education in addition to nutritional sciences. Contributing to my community, I was a volunteer for two years with a student-run UBC organization called Nutrikids which provides elementary students with fun, interactive workshops regarding healthy food choices. I also have a previous diploma as a Pharmacy Technician where I specialized in compounding. Compounding is the art and science of preparing customized prescriptions for pharmacy patients conducted in a laboratory. The following paragraphs outline how my academic, volunteer and work experience has provided me with technical writing skills to effectively contribute as a group member.
Throughout my undergraduate degree, I have worked collaboratively with small and large groups of students. For example, Improving Public Health: An Inter-professional Approach to Designing and Implementing Effective Interventions, is a self-directed studies course where students work in interdisciplinary teams that resemble workplace experiences similar to English 301. I was the team leader twice a month and conducted focused discussions, maintained a positive atmosphere and recorded meeting minutes. From the analysis of health issues to the report and final PowerPoint presentation, I honed transferable skills including respectfully communicating opinions, problem solving and utilizing the group’s resources to successfully complete assignments. In addition, I recently completed a Directed Studies course which included creating a Food Literacy Handbook accompanied by a 4000-word literature review. The purpose of the Food Literacy Handbook provides detailed instructions to create food literacy discussions intended for educators working with elementary students in a kitchen setting. I learned practical communication and report writing skills from the above experiences which will be an asset to the writing team.
In my last year with UBC Nutrikids, I was hired as a Finance and Media Coordinator working alongside two other coordinators. It was my responsibly to create a sponsorship package and a business proposal to obtain funding for the program. We were successful in achieving an annual donation from the Faculty of Land and Food Systems and building a professional relationship with the faculty Dean. I wrote to various audiences as a liaison between students, teachers, and sponsors, with consideration to tone and professionalism. To ensure readability, all documents that were sent out by Nutrikids were peer reviewed by all the coordinators. Thus, I am experienced to edit and receive constructive criticism on assignments as part of the writing group in English 301.
Lastly, as the Lead Compounding Technician at a pharmacy, I was responsible for motivating and training co-workers in the laboratory. Transitioning to a career in nutrition, I translated scientific research findings into straightforward dietary information pamphlets for the lay public. Further, as a result of my ability to multi-task in concert with maintaining accuracy in the laboratory, patients were able to receive their customized prescriptions in less than 24 hours opposed to a previous wait time of 48 hours. In the role of a writing partner, my commitment to meeting deadlines will be invaluable to the group’s success.
Based on my previous experiences, I am well augmented to perform the group writing assignments and tasks. I am looking forward to working in a supportive team to develop and master technical writing skills. If you are interested in working with me, please feel free to contact me at the email address provided above.
Warm Regards,
Janine Scheffler