Karen Harrington
by Karen Rokich
Twenty years ago, while exploring various vocations and corresponding college courses, Karen S. Harrington, discovered the Technical Writing and Editing (TWE) program at Cincinnati State Community College (formerly Cincinnati Technical College). She was intrigued by the curriculum which consisted of a variety of communication courses (writing, editing, document design, etc.) as well as technology courses. As one who loved reading and writing and who was also fascinated by science and technology, the TWE program seemed like a perfect fit for her. Under the visionary and strategic guidance of Pamela Ecker, the TWE Program Coordinator at that time, she fulfilled the program’s requirements and selected electives that would prepare her for a career suited to her natural abilities and interests.
Upon receiving her degree, she became a member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC). The Technical Communication profession has steadily evolved to keep pace with technological trends and people’s needs for collecting, retrieving and delivering information. Over the years, STC has been in invaluable source of guidance and support; she has attended and enjoyed multiple STC conferences and currently serves as the Employment Lead for the Southwestern Ohio chapter.
Professionally, she is a creative individual with solid writing, editing, and project administration skills. She has a strong technical aptitude and an ability to easily grasp new concepts. Her work experience includes:
- Assessing client-defined information requirements and, in conjunction with project team members, prepare objectives and specifications.
- Documenting processes and designing work products and related style guides.
- Interviewing subject matter experts and researching technical concepts and issues.
- Writing and editing software manuals, online help systems, white papers and scripting language reference guides.
- Creating document templates and style sheets.
- Performing software usability analysis and recommending functional and interface design improvements.
- Gaining familiarity with structured documentation practices, web design, HTML and XML.
- Producing simple illustrations.
In 2008, she launched The Write Thing – an independent consulting business that provides communication services aimed at helping clients achieve their goals.
Personally, she is dedicated to continuous improvement through commitment to life-long learning and empowerment of others. She is passionate about mentoring, training and inspiring others.