Hello everyone!
For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Alexa Dysch and I’m so excited to be back for my second semester as a CUPID Associate. I am a senior (ahhh) pursuing an English major, with a double concentration in Professional Writing & Rhetoric (PWR) and Literature, as well as a double minor in Psychology and French. I hope that as a CUPID Associate, I can share my experiences and impart some of skills that I have gathered in my time at Elon and within our program. I will be in Alamance 318 (CUPID) and would love to help you with anything from resume building to portfolio design! Please stop by!
After discovering my love for editorial work with my high school’s literary magazine, I was eager to find a university-level program that would provide the next step toward my dreams. Once I stepped into the CUPID studio, I could feel that there was no turning back. Yet, I underestimated how much I could have learned from the program. I perceived rhetoric as an outdated concept, until I took Understanding Rhetoric and was proven extremely wrong. What I thought I knew about professional writing was quickly adapted and altered, and I found myself applying the knowledge to workplace settings and seeing results in a newfound manner. Even my poor technological skills were enhanced by taking Writing Technologies. Most importantly, I was coming to understand how to analyze and shape my own online and professional identity. As a result of experiences within classes and client projects, I’ve even noticed a change in my professional aspirations: a desire to become a professional brander and document designer.
Rather than a means to an end, I discovered that PWR was going to teach me much more than what I would need for a single editorial or branding career. Between client projects with LIFESPAN, the Elon Challenge Course and the Association for Business Communication, I learned how important one’s audience is and the extent to which one must collaborate with others to complete a truly successful project. Being able to apply such skills at an internship with Alamance Magazine was a rewarding demonstration of how much I learned through the PWR program. Further, I’ve seen through our program that being a professional writer, a collaborator, an intellectual, etc., is a role that never ceases to grow, as we are constantly studying our audience at hand and the world around us that never stops changing. As a PWR major, I’ve learned that we never stop growing, as students, as rhetors, or as people.
I can’t wait to see you all in the CUPID lab, whether in classes, during open hours or at workshops!
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