Christian Kowalski
Professional Writing & Rhetoric Portfolio
Context:
Through my work with the Periclean Scholars program at Elon, I was able to make a connection with Dan Baum, the executive director of The Redwoods Foundation. The Redwoods Group is a nonprofit based in Raleigh, NC that provides grants for organizations around the world focused on child sexual abuse prevention, drowning prevention and employee/participant safety. As a grant writing intern, my role within Redwoods was to review the grants submitted during the Fall cycle and score them based on how closely they met the requirements of the application and the mission of the supplier. Over the course of the cycle, I reviewed 20 grants and at the deadline was invited to sit in during the review meeting where all the reviewers would compile their scores and vote which organizations would receive full, partial or zero funding.
South Bend YMCA Review
Camp Horizon Review
Rhetorical Decisions:
One of the most difficult transitions students make when entering the professional world is adapting to the new styles of communication and independent work. A recurring topic in many of my PWR classes was learning how to be an effective, professional communicator without the assignment sheets or the planned on calendars that give us notice when deadlines are approaching. I entered this situation in many ways myself through this internship since I was working remotely from Elon. Even though the drive was only an hour away, finding time to devote a few hours at their office while respecting their schedules and my course load would have been overwhelming. I had to hold myself accountable since I didn’t have a superior in direct contact with me throughout my work. That meant I had to answer my own questions when problems occurred, find alternative solutions or maximize my time while waiting for a response. This internship and the work I produced for it, required adaptability and independence in ways academia sometimes can’t really teach us.
Another valuable lesson to come from this work was how beneficial peer-reviewing can be when maximized to its fullest potential. There’s this unfortunate trend in English classes where peer feedback is minimal, uninspired and unhelpful. “This thesis needs work” is the depth of the peer reviewing discourse one usually encounters. However; the peer reviewing sessions at the end of the fall deadline utilized many valuable methods that helped us decide how the money would be best allocated. One strategy we utilized was open discussion where any and all questions/concerns could be addressed. Everyone, even those who weren’t assigned to the specific grant, were given a voice from which they could share what they thought. To have the ability, as an undergraduate student, to bounce ideas back and forth in a professional setting was an incredible opportunity. The session challenged us to think beyond the writing itself and consider the entire ethos of the company and their mission. Many of the applicants have important missions they are trying to fulfill and it’s difficult to reject proposals that hold personal significance to myself. It is important to recognize however, that the work Redwoods and these reviews do goes way beyond any personal attachments. The Redwoods Group has a mission statement and a set of core values that serve as the foundation for everything they do. What’s important is that we provide a foundation for as many programs as possible to succeed and enrich the lives of their constituents as well as provide feedback for those who unfortunately didn’t meet all the requirements laid out.
Reflection:
The reviews I completed for Redwoods really enriched my understanding of how valuable collaboration and discourse are. Even though I reviewed my content individually, the whole process came together as a collaborative effort. Everyone approached these applications through a different lens, some considering the ethos of Redwoods, others considering the sustainability of the program, and so on. All these different perspectives blended into what became our final report in ranking the grants in terms of meeting the expectations of the proposal.
Below you'll find the links to the score sheets.
