Deanna Gonzalez is a current student in the BA in WRD program. Here, she shares her experiences as an intern at the software company kCura.
Give us a brief summary of your internship.
I am a technical writer at a software company called kCura. I work on a team of eight writers documenting how to use the company’s product, Relativity, a widely used legal software.
I’ve had opportunities to create written content and also explore other areas of technical writing, like web design. As a WRD major with an IT minor, I appreciate how this internship has allowed me to learn skills and work with professionals in both writing and technology.
As an intern, what is a typical “day on the job” for you?
I work on a lot of projects at a time, so I bounce between editing tech support articles, making style changes to the documentation site and helping with the new internal website. I’ve also created “recipes” or short how-to articles that make a complicated concept easier to understand. We have team meetings to keep everyone updated on goals and changes in the software or the website. I definitely collaborate with every team member most days, and I often reach out to other teams such as the developers or project managers.
How does your education from DePaul influence what you’re doing?
I have to mention all the help I’ve received from Professor Dunham, both as an internship advisor and in the classroom. She’s been such a positive influence on my college career, and I know I’m not the only student who is incredibly grateful for the work she does in the department. She’s a superhero!
What are the most helpful skills from WRD courses that you see being implemented in your internship?
WRD courses are full of workshops and feedback, and that culture prepared me for the constant collaboration of working on a team of writers. Keeping the audience in mind is also an invaluable skill, and I’ve been learning that since my very first semester at DePaul. When I write a tech support article, I need to think about how every word and phrase will be understood or potentially misunderstood.