Jennifer Fryer on Placement

So Jen, where are you doing your placement?
I am working at Rural Ottawa South Support Services (ROSSS), under the guidance of Courtney Rock, the Community Manager. I am specifically working on their quarterly publication and the development of an online blog, media outreach work.

What has working with ROSSS taught you?
In three weeks? Quite a lot. I have had a chance to be the writer, project manager, co-editor, designer and coordinator of two very specific objectives. And throughout each role, I have been able to get my hands clicking across the keyboard often enough to feel I have earned my title as writer. They have trusted me to work independently, managing my own hours and tasks, and they have offered me the opportunity to test out my skills. In working with ROSSS, I have quickly gained confidence in my own abilities. What I once thought I could do, I now know I can do.

What do you wish the Professional Writing program had prepared you for before going out in the real world?
To be honest, I haven’t come across anything that I was not introduced to in our program. It has been a crazy few weeks of introduction into the workforce, but it has also been incredibly fun. Everything from a social awareness of the issues around us, to the grammatical construction of the content we write, to even the tables, charts, and resources supplied by our instructors. I have used it all. Just today, I created and signed my first independent work contract as a writer and everything I have done to earn that contract, I learned through our program.