Alpha Sigma Lambda Online - Print That!
I get up in the morning with an idea for a three-volume novel and by nightfall it's a paragraph in my column. - Don Marquis
There is an ironic humor I find writing, editing, and posting this article for the Midnight Oil. Once again I have been given the opportunity to step into an editorial position in a journalistic medium. I could blame it on Mary Wright, my high school journalism teacher. She gave me opportunities in the journalism field and then challenged me to take my interests and run with them. I never looked back.
In
high school I won several awards in the journalism area for newswriting
and investigative reporting, but my interests were in design and
layout. During my senior year, I was awarded first place for design
and layout from the Illinois Department of Public Health for a two-page
spread on AIDS and AIDS awareness. Since the Internet and web design
was not in the public arena as it is now, I continued my studies
at Eastern Illinois University in print journalism.
One might say that I was destined to be a part of ASL at some part in my life. During my freshman year at Eastern, I met Kaye Woodward. Being 17 and on my own for the first time, Kaye was a key element in helping me focus on my studies and goals (and keeping me in line when needed). Leaving EIU in 1991, I would not see Kaye again until 1998 when I returned to Eastern to finish my undergraduate studies in the Board of Governor's Bachelor's of Arts program. Technology advances allowed me to take classes and learn the techniques needed to move into the electronic world of web design and online journalism. Starting with small personal sites, I was soon building sites for small home businesses and several not-for-profit organizations and foundations.
Kaye and I had talked several times about the goal for ASL to go online with a website. In 2001, Kaye introduced me to Shirley Melton and Pam Collins and as a team we began to plan and develop the ASL site. In 2002, the site went live on the Internet at www.alphasigmalamda.org.
Having completed the National ASL site, I offered to develop or help out any ASL chapter so they could get online as well. In 2003, I worked with Ruthie Flowers at Wayne State University to develop the ASL site for their institution. Ruthie was wonderful to get to know and work with and I am still looking forward to meeting her in person.
With
each new addition, I have been able to get to know more of the ASL
family. One of the last changes was bringing the Midnight Oil online.This
allowed me to work with Judy Parr and take even more ideas and visions
and transform them into an online reality. After completing various
drafts and combinations, the final result was an outstanding addition
to the ASL site. I am always so impressed at the visions and ideas
the ASL members have for the organization and the excitement to
share these ideas with the different chapters and their members.
Bringing the Midnight Oil to the online arena was a benefit for
the organization on many levels.
Being a part the ASL family been a great joy. I’ve never been able to paint or draw on paper, but web design has allowed me to take many of the creative ideas in my mind and put them out there. Working with the ASL National site has allowed me to try and apply new ideas and techniques on a professional level that I would not be able to do with other sites. I think the ability to bring ASL – and now the Midnight Oil - online has been a benefit to the organization and its members. I am thankful for the opportunities I have had because of my association with ASL and I am excited about the additions and enhancements that are planned for the site in this next year.
As for me, I have ASL in my blood and am not planning on turning in my press pass anytime soon. This May I will be graduating from Eastern with a Master's of Science in Technology and Certification in Computer Technology. The following Fall I will be completing my Certification in Training and Development. I have worked in the Office of Civil Rights and Diversity at Eastern for five years now and have been able to pursue my interest in web accessibility - developing and teaching how to design websites for individuals with disabilities. As well, I own and operate my own webdesign business and continue to offer ASL chapters a special rate to get their chapter sites online. I may never get out of the classroom as my future includes goals of teaching and training individuals to work with disabled individuals to adapt their homes with computer systems that will allow them to live more independently. I guess someone can let Mrs. Wright know I am still running!