Maren Archibald Named Student of the Year for Technical Communication and Rhetoric

The English Department has named Maren Archibald the Technical Communication and Rhetoric Student of the Year for 2023-2024. The TCR committee said, “Ms. Archibald has completed a number of research projects across multiple artifacts and methods, and she has an established record of presenting the results of her research projects in local, regional, and national venues.” 

Originally, Maren wasn’t going to pursue TCR because she thought it would just involve writing grant proposals or instructions. “But as I took more English courses, including Elements of Grammar, I found myself drawn to specific language choices and how much of a difference they made. That nitty-gritty focus led me to reconsider technical communication and the opportunities there to analyze messages and then make edits that increase usability or inclusivity. I’m passionate about helping people make smarter, clearer language choices, and the TCR program taught me how to apply that,” Maren reflected. 

During her undergraduate work, Maren took advantage of research opportunities. She participated in an analysis of the USU’s Writing Center website as her first team research project in TCR. Maren’s junior year led her to present two different research projects — one on authorship and post-publication criticism, and the other on disability rhetoric and surveillance — at the USU Fall Student Research Symposium, as well as at the Utah Conference on Undergraduate Research (UCUR) and the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR). 

After two years working at The Utah Statesman as the copy editor, Maren is looking to continue her career in editing and technical writing. She said, “The TCR program has given me the opportunity to learn lots of different skills — editing, technical writing, grant writing, project management and usability testing, to name a few — so I can go in a lot of different directions career-wise.”