A Little More Context…

Before my journey into technical writing and visual design, my career took an eclectic winding tour of interests and professions.

In my late teens, I wanted to become an airline transport pilot. I took lessons as part of a professional flight program at Indiana State University, earned my solo, completed some cross country flights, logged over sixty hours, and then passed the written exam – but – never finished that crucial first step of licensing.

Aviation is still one of my greatest passions – you may notice the air and space themes throughout these pages.

In my early twenties, I worked as a ground agent for two different United Express feeder airlines (and enjoyed traveling via company benefits).

During college I joined the corporate cubicle army, serving as a technical proofreader for the University of Kentucky’s (UK) annual financial statements. That work was my first glimpse into technical writing.

Concurrently, I earned a degree in history and anthropology at Eastern Kentucky University, where I honed my writing and research skills. I also briefly worked as a Google Quality Rater – providing me with an introduction to web SEO.

After graduation I took a brief respite working two summers for the National Park Service.

The first year I wrote and conducted historical tours at Abraham Lincoln’s Birthplace. The second year I served as an archaeology technician, documenting prehistoric indigenous sites in the Big South Fork.

Thereafter, I spent eleven years as a payroll analyst at UK. During this time, I wrote numerous emails to university employees explaining the technical nuances of payroll taxes.

I also served on the web development committee for the division websites. After hours, I studied Adobe tools such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, Acrobat, etc. – which is where I learned to love visual design.

In my spare time, I hiked across Kentucky via the Sheltowee Trace National Recreation Trail in 2016, 2017, and 2020, writing trips journals and participating in trail restoration – made a lot of friends and even met my wife!

In 2021, I completed a graduate level certification in Technical and Professional Writing and was soon hired by Ohio University’s Office of Information Technology. I was the primary editor and compiler of Ohio University’s IT Weekly Newsletter. This work instilled in me a strong dedication consistency, accuracy, and branding.

Aside from managing the IT Weekly, I also wrote news articles, conducted end-user surveys, created project proposals, and wrote various procedural documents. I have since dabbled in AI ideation and creation, podcasting, video production, and script writing (hence the film reel reference in this website’s name)!

My experience goes far beyond a simple resume – everything you will find in this website (and my personal site GingerBaer.com) represents a rabbit hole of interests. This significant collection of events, discoveries, interests, education, and processes have played a critical role in my personal gestalt – which serves as the foundation of all my creative decisions.

In the links below, you’ll find curated examples from the roles and interests described here — each chosen to show both craft and context.

I hope you enjoy your visit.
– Scott Dills