I was a year and a half into my education as a Technical Communicator by the time I took this course. Writing, visual design, rhetorical knowledge, research; the foundational skills were all there. The only problem was I had never used this knowledge outside of school. This assignment forced me out of my comfort zone.

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This document is a comprehensive edit of an employee handbook for Mt. Cross Ministries, a small Lutheran summer camp nestled in the Santa Cruz Mountains. This organization runs on a shoestring budget held together by donations and prayers. It was my pleasure to offer my amateur pro bono services as an editor.

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Every class I had to this point taught skills, theory, and concepts, all self-contained in a controlled academic environment. This assignment shattered that controlled environment. It required collaboration and communication with real people with real needs. This document was an employee handbook with legal ramifications. When performing the edit, I had to think about my role and jurisdiction as editor and how to go about the process in a responsible way.

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The final product reflects my efforts to make an organized, logically consistent, and easily navigable handbook that is not a complete eyesore to look at. It is the culmination of a lot of back and forth with a client and is a great representation of my skills as a technical editor.