Kathryn Dougherty (2018)

I could say a lot about this major called Professional Writing and Information Design (affectionately known as PWID). I could talk all day about the editing skills, design techniques, and writing principles I have learned since becoming part of this major and about how excited I am to work in this profession someday.

But the best thing PWID has given me is the chance to know my classmates who have become my friends. We spend time together outside of classes and laugh about how we used to be awkward introverts who liked each other but hated talking in class. We all come from different states and have different plans for after graduation, and we probably wouldn’t be friends if it weren’t for PWID—and they are some of the best friends I have.

First, there’s the girl from Pittsburgh who beams with pride about her city. She wants to go into marketing and has a brilliant mind for it, and she is fiercely loyal. She was the first friend I made in PWID during freshman year. We made small talk during the Christmas brunch (an annual PWID event) and diagrammed our way through English Grammar class, and somewhere along the way she laughed at one of my jokes. It was a friendship blossoming moment.

I met a gal from Texas on my second day on campus at a meet-and-greet for our department. She is lovely and sophisticated and has a bright passion for women’s ministry. She gets excited about blogging and helping other people, whether that’s through writing quick start guides in our Documentation Design class or creating web content for a non-profit in our Content Strategy class. She brings a Southern wit and style to our major, and I’m thankful for the wisdom she shares in and out of classes.

There’s a brunette who used to be quiet but is now my favorite person to chat with about British TV shows and our favorite Adobe programs (she can basically perform magic with Photoshop). She daydreams about traveling to old castles in Europe and serves well in the Big-Little program here on campus. She is often the first to volunteer to pray for our class and speaks honestly with me about areas of growth in her life. Buddy the Elf is one of her heroes, and I may just claim her as my own professional writing hero.

The owner of hedgehogs joined PWID just last year, but she has already captured my fancy and my heart. She came from a major of bed baths and scrubs but most certainly belongs with us, the people who get excited about drawing shapes in Illustrator and selecting the perfect verb to convey an important idea. She always brings laughter to our classes with impersonations of her family members, and I can count on her to lift my spirits on a rough day. She is one of the most artistically gifted people in our major, and I hope she paints me a mural one day.

The daughter of a history professor enjoys designing documents almost as much as she enjoys debating politics. With her creative writing minor and appreciation for how words flow, she reminds me that our major is about more than writing instructions: it is about using creativity to make beautiful and lasting documents (she personally likes to use centered headings and the color pink) that help people understand information. She will probably write the next great novel and mention something about Tyler 102 in it. That’s the classroom that holds every PWID class, and it’s where she first became my friend.

I could name more, but the point would remain the same: this major is a community of friends. The people in it bond over writing, editing, and design, but the program builds relationships that are deeper than just those skills. These people are fascinating and brilliant, and I consider it an honor to learn alongside them in this wonderful major we call PWID.