Welcome to the Atypical Professional's blog, where I delve into professional communication, experiences, development, and reflection. My unique perspective, stemming from a non-traditional background, sets me apart. This blog is crafted for fellow students and professionals alike, aiming to foster growth and insightful reflection.

Standardized Communications 12/7/2025

In this week's assignment, we will review a chapter about language, both written and spoken, and its complicated and nuanced relationship with the world, cultures, and people who use it. While Rosina Lippi Green wrote the chapter in 1997, and the ways we communicate have significantly changed since then, some important points in the reading are even more relevant today. As we look at these statements, we will examine them through the lens of how language is used in our current political climate, what "Standard White English" might look like, and whether it is something I believe will be adopted in our society.

• "So that the statement all living languages change is not a matter of faith or opinion or aesthetics, but observable fact".

While the point is expanded on in great detail in the chapter, I had not really considered it before the reading. But of course, language changes; it has to change. As we grow as a society and the world around us changes, our language must change too. In our current political climate, focusing on the "again" portion, it does feel like there's now a push to undo much of the language that's become part of everyday speech over the last 20 years, with any terms related to gender immediately heading towards the proverbial chopping block.

• "All spoken languages are equally capable of conveying a full range of ideas and experiences, and of developing to meet new needs as they arise. This claim by linguists is usually countered by non-linguists with examples of languages which have been deemed less sophisticated."

The next step in our discussion of the reading is from the above statement, which is a stark reminder that English is not some grand arbiter of the best and most reliable language. Every language on the planet can convey the same ideas and concepts in its own way. The concept that languages are not created equal gives a place for racism and discrimination to take hold. A cold, brutal reminder for anyone who thinks English is the superior language is that its widespread use is only because of the power the United Kingdom and the United States of America have been able to project upon the world for the last 300 or so years. This is going to be a good reminder, as the world is a "shrinking" place. It is becoming easier and more common for people of different languages to come into contact with each other, and we should be leaning into refining and developing ways to understand each other.

• "The demands made on written language are considerable: we want it to span time and space, and we want it to do that in a social vacuum, without the aid of paralinguistic features and often without shared context of any kind. Thus, the argument goes, written language needs to be free of variation: it must be consistent in every way, from spelling to sentence structure."

This statement from the reading relates most to the workplace. I believe much of the friction in the workplace between the traditional "Standard White English" stems from frustrations with communicating effectively. Of course, it would make life much easier if communication were simple and set in stone, like two plus two. With the world shrinking at an ever-increasing rate, I don't think we will see the United States Government pushing for Standard White English. However, we will see corporations pushing for standardized language across the company in the name of efficiency. Translating and the time spent deciphering communications will be a driving force.

• "Variation is not a frivolous or sloppy or useless feature of language. Quite the contrary, the variants available to the speaker to choose from are not neutral, and while the choice between them may not be conscious, it is often purposeful."

This statement reminds us that it is okay for language to be different, and that it should be. Could you imagine a world where all of our communications were 100% standardized? It sounds terrible and would also be a significant violation of the First Amendment (which is ironic because the people advocating for standard English the most are also the ones who "care" most about the First Amendment). We should be adding variation to our communication; it's where tone and personality come from, and it cultivates interest in language.

• "Spoken language is taken for granted. As a result of this constant emphasis on written language, there is an understandable tendency for people to believe that writing is somehow more complicated and difficult (and more important) than speech."

I cannot express how much I agree with this statement. I wish there were greater emphasis on the spoken word. You can see it now in our current political environment that the skill has been lost. A politician's speech consists almost solely of standardized speech. They will drop a quote from a famous politician from the past, then say some politically correct terms, rinse and repeat. If they are feeling really spicy, they might attack their political opponent. I wish we lived in a time where a politician would give a speech as powerful as President Abraham Lincoln's "Lost Speech" or the "Gettysburg Address." I can't imagine that 100 years from now, a politician will be quoting a President Trump speech to inspire a crowd.

Accesibility 11/30/2025

I will be up front and honest from the onset of this assignment. I have had very little interaction with accessibility communications in my current position, as it pertains to someone with a disability or disorder. However, my University will do everything in its power to make the University accessible to all. To do so, we have strict policies in place. Once I find out that a student has accessibility needs, I must refer them to a special department at the University that helps ensure those needs are met. Once the student has been referred to this department, they will work with a specialist to ensure that all their accessibility needs are being met. Once their accessibility plan is finalized, this information is considered confidential and shared only with those within the organization who need to know.

In a more general sense, one of my core responsibilities in my job position is a "walk to class" with my students on their first day. This walk to class is me walking students (via Zoom) through their first class. Their first class is all about accessibility for online students (much like our first class here at Syracuse University), and it teaches them how to be an online student. This class teaches anyone, regardless of age, class, or experience, how to navigate and use the University's resources. Opening with a class focused on accessibility helps build students' confidence and shows them just how attainable their degree can be. I have interacted with many students who had experiences very different from those at other Universities that do not offer such a class, and those students often felt unprepared to deal with the college experience. Which, in my mind, reflects what accessibility is really about: building an individual's confidence and removing barriers so that everyone can be successful.

Outside of my career, I notice accessibility everywhere. As a society, I feel like we have made significant progress in accessibility for everyone. Whether it is captions in multiple languages on Netflix or sign language at concerts or speeches, accessibility is now a standard part of society. Even on most major websites, there are sections addressing accessibility and policies to help those in need. While the progress we have made is significant, I would love to hear about areas that still need improvement in accessibility.

Career Enjoyment 11/23/2035

When we look at our day-to-day work life, it is often easy to point out the negative. Meetings that run too long or have unmanageable workloads, with just a little more always being added on. But it is important to focus on the good parts of our work, because while we may not be able to change the situations we find ourselves in, we can change how we react to them. By doing so, we often create an infectious positivity that permeates our professional and personal lives. In my professional life, I am incredibly fortunate to have found the career I am in. I work as a Military University Development Counselor for Grand Canyon University. In this role, I specifically provide Active Duty, Veterans, and their families with resources to navigate the Veterans Affairs Office and find the right degree programs that meet their professional and educational goals. The best part of this job is that it allows me to give back to a community that is near and dear to my heart, and seeing these individuals bettering themselves is infectious and motivates me to be better every day. By far the best

While there are countless other things I enjoy about working for the University, like working from home and 35 paid days off a year (two of which are to volunteer at a charity of my choosing), I would ike to highlight how it invests heavily in its culture and training. The culture of positivity and support cannot be understated. For example, in my first 60 days at the University, I identified that active-duty Soldiers were struggling to find a program that checked all the boxes for acceptance into the military's Physician Assistant program. Within a week of bringing it up with my manager, she had arranged a meeting with my division's Vice President to discuss setting up a degree path for these Soldiers. While the results of the meeting are still unknown (sounds promising though), the fact that such a junior employee had a face-to-face with someone so high up in the organization shows that they do care about what their employee think. Continuing the investment in employees' initial training, all staff in the organization receive a minimum of 5 weeks of training, with a maximum of 120 days, depending on the job. Even after your training is complete, it is mandated that every team complete at least 3 hours of training per week. I have yet to meet someone at the University who isn't willing to teach others and be a mentor.

While I could keep going on other aspects of the job I enjoy, it goes far beyond the scope of this assignment. My experiences at the job can inspire you to find joy in your own career or serve as a reminder about the importance of being positive in the workplace. If your workplace culture is lacking, try making small, positive changes; hopefully, they will become the catalyst for a better culture.

Professional Communication- Peer Review 11/16/2025

First and foremost, thank you to Greg and Rachel for letting me look at their professional communications.

In his email exchange with Major Sturick (https://www.gpbaird.com/post/week-2-real-life-examples), we can clearly see both the good and the bad aspects of communication. Looking at the initial email from Major Sturick, I feel like he broke the first guideline from chapter six: "include everything your reader needs and nothing else." He includes extra information in the email, primarily listing all the aircraft parts at DRMO. That statement doesn't add anything to the communication. Obviously, they thought of it because they emailed someone at DRMO about aircraft parts. He didn't include the bottom line up front. Was the primary purpose of the email to put Greg in contact with someone or to procure aircraft parts? Even though I am nitpicking the email, overall, it has a great tone and accomplishes its goals of introducing Greg to someone new and of starting the process of procuring old aircraft parts. I really liked how Greg responded to the original email. You could tell from his response and his offer to get pictures of the aircraft parts that Greg understood his reader and was tailoring his response to what he thought the reader wanted to hear, while maintaining a friendly, professional tone. My only critique of Greg's portion of the email was the lack of a signature.

The next is Rachel's text message to a customer https://rachelmcoleman2016.wixsite.com/island-soul-chronicl/post/examples-of-professional-communication. Her message was clear and precise, and she grouped similar items as recommended by Anderson (2020). The bottom disclaimer in the text did catch me off guard, though. While I understand that such disclaimers are essential, they distract from the overall picture. She uses a friendly, professional tone in the text. 

Evaluating Digital Portfolios 11/09/2025

I want to thank Seth for letting me review his website for this week's assignment. His website's biggest strength is its navigability and intuitive links embedded in the home page. 

Artificial Intelligence in Professional Communication 11/02/2025

Geography of Professional Communication 10/26/2025