A Little More Context…
Before my journey into technical writing and visual design, my career path took an eclectic winding tour of varied interests and professions.
As a teenager, I wanted to be an airline transport pilot. I took lessons as part of a professional flight program, earned my solo, completed some cross country flights, logged over sixty hours, and then passed the written exam.
But alas, I never finished that crucial step of licensing. It just wasn’t a good fit.
Despite never completing the program, aviation is still one of my greatest passions. (You may notice the air and space themes employed throughout these pages.)
In my early twenties, I worked as a ground agent for two different United Express feeder airlines. (I very much enjoyed traveling via company benefits.)
I was able to travel all across America to most of the major cities, as well as Hawaii and London, England.
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 the world of technical writing.
At the same time as my work at UK, I earned a Bachelor’s in History and Anthropology at Eastern Kentucky University. This is where I established my writing and research skills.
Concurrently, I also briefly worked as a Google Quality Rater – which provided 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.
I then returned to the corporate workforce, spending 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.
While at Payroll, I also served on our division’s web development committee. 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. I wrote trip journals and participated in trail restoration activities. I 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 to consistency, accuracy, and branding.
While at Ohio University, 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) is a rabbit hole of significant interests. This collection of events, discoveries, interests, education, and processes is critical to my personal gestalt – informing all of my creative decisions.
In the links below, you’ll find curated examples from the roles and interests described — each example was carefully chosen to demonstrate my acumen.
Please enjoy your visit!
– Scott Dills
