In this series, “T&T Student Stories,” current students share what brought them to the interdisciplinary Texts & Technology PhD program. Interested in learning more? Join us for an upcoming info session virtually or in-person on November 7th!
My name is Amanda Altamirano and I am a first-year student in the Texts & Technology (T&T) Ph.D. program at UCF. I understand that the decision to join a Ph.D. program is not one to be taken lightly, so as a current student, I’d like share details about my background and experience to explain why I fit in the T&T program.
As a writer with over 20 years of professional experience, I decided to pursue my Ph.D. after earning my M.S. in Technical Communication from Arizona State University (ASU) in 2017. My main motivation was to conduct research and seek a career in academia as a means to help bridge technical communication gaps between practitioners and higher education course material. I believe that the academic community can prepare students beyond teaching functional and technical skills; we can empower them as practitioners with a contemporary approach to technical and professional communication.
After sharing my ambitions with my mentor, ASU Clinical Associate Professor of Technical Communication Barbara D’Angelo, she recommended the T&T program. I was attracted to T&T because of its forward-thinking approach to preparing students for their careers. I did my homework and researched other Ph.D. programs, but after searching far and wide, I couldn’t find anything else like T&T.
Even though T&T attracted me, I wanted to make sure that I was a good fit for the program. After I applied for admission, I dove right in by taking a couple of T&T core courses as a non-degree seeking student. My biggest take away from that semester was that the T&T program opened my eyes to a world of possibilities for my both my research and the impact I could make within my field. After being accepted to the T&T program, I have since continued to my next semester, feeling confident that I am right where I belong.
With its innovative dedication to humanities, you can get the best of both worlds. T&T allows you to refine scholarly knowledge in your primary field while integrating new ways of thinking through exposure to interdisciplinary studies. In my case, the key ingredients were combining an area of specialization in Scientific and Technical Communication with an interdisciplinary focus in Digital Humanities.
T&T students are diverse, and they offer a wide range of interests that will expand your mind beyond your wildest imagination. Every day you learn something new because you are surrounded by passionate people – faculty and students alike. We support one another because we truly care about our collective success.
I hope that you feel that you now have more insight into the benefits of the T&T program and the fulfillment if offers for your personal and academic life. I wish you luck in choosing what resonates best with your passion.