Katie McWilliams, Author at LOGOS

LOGOS

A Journal of Undergraduate Research

Meet the New Social Marketing Editor: Kennie Knauth

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Hello, everyone!

My name is Kennie Knauth and I am the Social Marketing Editor for this year’s publication of LOGOS. I am a junior at Missouri State University (MSU) majoring in Professional Writing with a minor in Spanish. I am also getting a certificate in Advocacy Writing. Apart from being involved in the Honors College and LOGOS, I am a student worker for the College of Health and Human Services in their technology department, the secretary of the American Association of University Women, and a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma. These organizations have made MSU feel like home these past two years, and I am excited to have found my niche within LOGOS.

What’s your background?

I am from Liberty, Missouri, which is a suburb right outside of Kansas City. I have a big family with seven siblings. Having so many people in one house definitely made me grow accustomed to chaos, which is a skill that now helps me navigate my busy schedule. I have always had a deep love for writing. In my childhood, I would hoard all the paper, pencils, and binders I could find and tuck them away in my office (which was really just my closet). I continued to cultivate my talent for English throughout my years of schooling. As I did this, my love for writing continued to grow, and I knew right away my major had to include some form of my passion when it was time for me to go to college. This is when I decided that Professional Writing was the right move for me.

Many people ask me what Professional Writing is and what I plan on doing with it. This is a somewhat difficult question since this major qualifies me for endless employment opportunities, many of which I still have yet to explore thoroughly. Right now, I plan on eventually working for a non-profit organization as a writer that creates any and all documentation needed.

 

Here is a picture of my seven siblings and me.

 

Why did you join LOGOS?

I first heard about LOGOS my freshman year when I was living in Scholars House. I knew immediately that it was an organization I wanted to join, but I put it off for a year while I got settled into college life. I joined my sophomore year as a Peer Reviewer. Being able to work in a tight-knit group reviewing the work of other students was an amazing experience. I learned that it is important to first edit for content and to leave the grammatical errors for a different editing process. This was exactly the type of learning I hoped to grow in with LOGOS. Overall, the talented people within this organization and the chance to gain skills within my career path are the reasons I decided to join.

 

What do you plan on doing with this position?

There is a lot I hope to accomplish in my position of Social Marketing Editor, but there are specifically two big goals that stick out. My first main goal this year is to develop a uniform look for our Instagram account. Within the last year, I have become acquainted with creating presets in the Lightroom app. This is an application that allows you to make certain colors in a picture pop. Once a preset is created, you are able to apply it to any photograph with just one click. Last spring, I created a preset that I now use for my personal Instagram account. This preset makes red colors stand out, and makes the green colors appear more muted. Prior to my creation and use of this preset, my personal Instagram account looked chaotic. My account now looks very put together as each of my pictures contain a unifying color scheme. This kind of consistent look is what I am striving to achieve with the LOGOS Instagram. After hours of trying to make the perfect preset, I have created one that I absolutely love for our account. This preset makes red colors pop while making blues and greens less vibrant. Other than creating a more uniform look, I intend to introduce the majority of the LOGOS staff on our platforms. To do this, I am hoping to provide a picture and a brief introduction of a staff member each week on Instagram and Facebook. This will help our followers feel more connected and engaged to the people in our organization.

Before my preset was applied.

 

After my preset was applied.

Closing

LOGOS continues to provide me with several ways to develop skills in my professional field. I am extremely excited to continue to develop our social media platforms, especially as reviewing season kicks into full swing. While the way LOGOS functions this year is a little bit different due to COVID-19, we are making the best of the opportunities we still have. We can’t wait for everyone to see our hard work.

Women’s History Month: Meet Cassidy Farrar

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To wrap up Women’s History Month, we are thrilled to feature one of our outstanding members of the LOGOS leadership team: Cassidy Farrar! She was a Peer Reviewer for LOGOS: Volume 12, and she is currently one of our newest Associate Editors for Volume 13. Check out the interview below!

Cassidy designed this eye-popping flyer for LOGOS, and she is always eager to promote the organization on campus and in the community.

Why did you decide to join LOGOS? What has been your most memorable experience with the organization so far?

I decided to join LOGOS because it seemed like a great opportunity and learning experience. It was my first real activity I stuck with here at Missouri State, and I’m excited to keep participating in it. My favorite memory so far has been the LOGOS Volume 12 reception. I got to hear published students read their work, eat good food, and take time to appreciate the work that I had done throughout the year.

Describe some of the skills you have gained as an Associate Editor. In what ways have you applied them to your academic career and/or professional goals?

As an Associate Editor, I feel much more connected with the work that goes into LOGOS. Not only do I get to continue my work as a reviewer, but I also get to act as a leader and facilitate discussion between my group members. Directing conversation and collaborating ideas with my group members is very rewarding.

How have your college experiences as a whole shaped the ways in which you view yourself as a woman? Provide a specific example.

My college experiences have really changed my perception of myself as a woman. Coming into academia, I found myself marginalizing who I was. I tended to speak up less because I was intimidated, and I felt inadequate about my thoughts. However, there are places where I can feel like a leader and make my voice heard, such as LOGOS and especially MSU’s Generation Action. I feel like I can claim space again, and in small ways, I know my voice is important.

 

Does the work that you do in your academic field relate to themes that are relevant to Women’s History Month, such as gender roles within the community? If so, provide a specific example.

I have been focused on gender issues in literature courses since I started here. Now, I am currently shifting to an Intercultural Communication major. I want to work more closely with organizations that fight for justice for the marginalized members of our system. I will further my pursuits by getting a certificate in Advocacy Writing and continuing to work with organizations like Planned Parenthood.

 

 

Women’s History Month: Meet Kathleen Sanders

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LOGOS is proud to present Kathleen Sanders as the second feature for the Women’s History Month blog series. Her powerful short story, “Picking,” was published in LOGOS Volume 6 in Fall 2013. She was also an Associate Editor for LOGOS Volumes 7 and 8 and the Copy Editor for LOGOS Volume 8. Sanders provided lots of thought-provoking insight into how the intricate components of her piece continue to influence her own growth as a woman. She also discussed the ways in which her roles on the LOGOS team have closely connected with her professional career and beyond. Check out the interview below!

Bio

After graduating with her Masters in Writing in 2016, Kathleen Sanders joined Cerner Corporation in Kansas City as a Technical Writer. Now, she is a Solution Designer for pharmacy software. Sanders also volunteers with the Marketing Committee at Kansas City Young Audiences. Outside of her professional career, she fits creative writing into crevices of free time. Currently, she is dragging herself through the first round of edits for a novel. As she likes to describe the process, “It will only get better.”

 

Briefly describe the inspiration for “Picking” and the steps you took to create the piece.

You’re driving through western Kansas. The clock says time has passed, but everything more or less looks the same. Each hour seems to draw in the walls of the car. You look over as a sedan passes you. Two women are visibly arguing as the sedan speeds up. What are they so angry about? How must they feel? How are they communicating?

These were my questions while driving to Colorado, and I felt their tension snake from their car into my own. This feeling of tension, of pursuing a destination but feeling eternally far away, of emotional claustrophobia, guided “Picking.” This was the experience I chose when working on a literature assignment with Dr. Shannon Wooden. Side note: homework can make its way outside of the classroom walls!

 

Do you see relationships between women differently now than when you initially created the piece? If so, describe how.

I think girls are trained — whether openly or, more commonly, through subversive societal influences — to strive for the appearance of perfection, which can be threatened if others surpass you. This is how I used to view other women as well as myself. If they gained, I lost. If they succeeded, it meant I had failed. I see this fear in “Picking.” The concept terrified me, just as it terrifies Jody. She sees Meg’s engagement as a threat to her thin connection with her son, and she channels that fear into competition. This piece still resonates with me today because I know that feeling.

When I consider Jody and Meg now, it strikes me as tragic that they fail to use this time to understand each other, to build trust and empathy, and to offer the support each of them need to embrace their imperfections. Maybe the failure of Jody and Meg prompts us to ask questions. How could they have navigated this conflict differently? How would I navigate it? Moving beyond competition to meaningful communication takes having the resolution to be brave, honest, and kind. This is something both Jody and Meg lack, and at the time I wrote the piece, I lacked it in many ways myself. But we all evolve.

So, seven years later, how do I see relationships between women differently today? More and more, I see them as opportunities to mutually thrive. Our journeys, conflicts, successes, and failures are enriched — not threatened — by the women in our lives. I’ve practiced honesty, bravery, and kindness more and more because of the women in my life. I strive to emulate them. I hope to be like them for others. We learn from each other. We support each other. We must be brave, kind, and honest for each other.

 

Were there any challenges you encountered while creating this piece? If so, describe how you overcame them.

Plenty! I didn’t want it to be “hero vs. villain” because that’s not true to life. Trying to balance the sympathetic qualities of both Meg and Jody was challenging. Neither woman is perfect. Both make digs at the other. Both love Zach. Both are figuring out how to navigate the change this engagement presents. How do you make abstract conflict and emotions concrete? For me, I used the metaphor of the driving route to make the interpersonal conflict more tangible.

Also, this was the first short story I workshopped and shared with others. Just that was challenging. It’s always going to feel personal, and sharing it always comes with some degree of vulnerability. I had to focus on what I ultimately wanted more than approval — to learn and to improve. On that note, I found it oddly helpful to remind myself: “This is the worst it’s going to be. It will only get better.”

 

Describe some of the skills you gained as an Associate Editor for LOGOS. In what ways have you applied them to your current professional role?

Supporting LOGOS as an editor was one of my favorite endeavors during my time at Missouri State University. Notably, it taught me a great deal about collaboration that I still leverage in my career today. As an editor, you help coordinate the creation and publication of the journal. Each issue of LOGOS doesn’t just get slapped together in a matter of weeks. It’s an endeavor spanning over multiple months and organized by the efforts of many individuals. Initiating conversations, guiding discussions, and following up as needed are valuable skills in which LOGOS helped me develop.

Another crucial element of collaboration is asking questions, which I think is an underappreciated skill in the workplace. Knowing what questions to ask and how to ask them moves projects forward, clarifies communication, and facilitates teamwork. I often work with unfamiliar subject matter in my career, which requires me to ask questions…a lot of questions. My work as a LOGOS editor helped me learn how to evaluate content and to be comfortable with reaching out to others.

 

Does the work that you do in your career field relate to themes that are relevant to Women’s History Month, such as gender roles within the community? If so, provide a specific example.

I work at a large healthcare IT company, and I am so proud to be a woman in STEM! I’m not nearly as technical as many of my team members (so no, I’m not a software engineer), but I started as a technical writer. I documented the software and programs used by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. Now, I work as a Solution Designer. I support engineers by defining how our programs should function. Working in this field has been both challenging and fulfilling in ways I never expected, and I am so excited to be a part of it.

Check out Sanders’ full piece, “Picking,” in LOGOS Volume 6! https://www.missouristate.edu/assets/honorslogos/logos_vol6_full.pdf

Women’s History Month: Meet Janeshae Henderson

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I am excited to feature Janeshae Henderson for our Women’s History Month blog series. Her photographic masterpiece, “Permanent Fear,” was published in LOGOS Volume 9 in Fall 2016, and it was featured as the artwork for the journal’s cover. It was a pleasure to talk to Janeshae about how she created the piece, and she provided lots of insight into the ways in which scars (the focus of her piece) continue to influence her work today. Check out the interview below!

Janeshae Henderson was born and raised in St. Louis, MO. She discovered her passion for photography in 2010 when she took her first photography class in high school. She completed her BFA in Photography in Spring 2016, and she is now a Missouri State University alumnus. She is considering furthering her education as she plans to pursue film production and business. Eventually, she would love to travel and become a successful photographer.

 

Briefly describe the inspiration for “Permanent Fear” and the steps you took to create the piece.

“Permanent Fear” began with just a fascination of skin, how it heals, and the ways in which it bounces back from the unthinkable. The project started with just images of moles, small scars, and stretch marks. About a year into it, I felt like I didn’t have enough. I wanted to go bigger.

 

I was intrigued by the captions for the pictures of the diverse range of women you represented. Tell me about a couple of the ones that stood out to you the most.

There were two women who stood out the most as I was shooting this project. Both of them had breast cancer and double mastectomies. Even though they had been through similar situations, their experiences were completely different. One of them had decided to get a breast reconstruction surgery, and the other had not. The woman without the reconstruction seemed to be very confident. She even told me she mows her lawn without a shirt on. On the other hand, the woman with the reconstruction surgery was not as confident. She did not like her new breast because of the scars and folds on her skin. Both women were beautiful!

 

Were there any specific challenges you encountered while creating this piece? If so, describe how you overcame them.

The biggest challenge for me was probably discovering why I wanted to do this project versus understanding why I was actually doing it. For me, the “why” typically doesn’t come at the beginning of a new series of photos. I work my way up to it as I’m figuring things out. “Permanent Fear” started with a fascination, but after working with my models, it became about them. I wanted to hear their stories, assure them that their scars were beautiful, and build their confidence. The more I worked with these individuals, the more the project became about my own fear of having a scar like my models. The scar itself does not scare me; it’s the traumatic experience that causes it.

 

Do you see scars (both physical and emotional) in a different way now than when you initially created the piece? If so, describe how.

Of course! I want to photograph every large scar I see now. I definitely want to ask questions and find out what happened. I feel like I’ve always been interested in scars in a physical sense. However, after working on this project, I feel like I am more emotionally attached to them.

 

Does the work that you do in your career field relate to themes that are relevant to Women’s History Month, such as gender roles within the community? If so, provide a specific example.

Not at the moment. I want to get into more work focusing on things that are going on in my community and that I can relate to. For example, I have ideas about black women, people of color in general, and gun violence that I will hopefully be able to accomplish this year.

Wait! Don’t Click the Submit Button Just Yet…

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You’ve finally refined all your evidence in your psychology research paper. Or maybe you just wrote the final sentence of the epic conclusion to your short story. Are you ready to submit it? Here are some quick tips to help you get your piece in tip-top shape before you send it to the LOGOS staff for publishing consideration.

1. Make sure it represents YOU!

At LOGOS, we want to see unique and exciting approaches to any and all academic disciplines. Is this a piece you would be proud to have your name attached to in a journal that thousands of people will read for years to come? If you’re not passionate about your work, don’t submit it!

 

2. Give yourself TIME

You’ve heard the saying; time and money are two things that no one has (or at least, has enough of). However, if you’re reading this article right now, you still have 24 days to finalize your piece. Don’t wait until the last minute! Just like your professors, the staff at LOGOS can almost always tell when a piece has been worked on for multiple days versus just rushed through in a couple hours. If you want a shot of making it into the journal, do yourself a favor NOW and plan time in your schedule to work on your piece.

 

3. Feedback, feedback, and more feedback!

Do some rewriting on a short story piece based on the comments you received in class from your peers. Schedule a time to meet with your professor to talk about how you can strengthen the evidence you presented in a research paper from their class. The Writing Center is also a FREE tool, and a lot of the Writing Consultants are English majors. In other words, they have a knack for helping you solve your pesky writing troubles, especially if you need guidance in refining the thesis and other major aspects of your paper. The more people that look at your piece, the more ideas they might give you to make it even better!

 

4. Take a (short) break

After you’ve allowed your eyes to unglue themselves from a project for even a couple days, you may find yourself bringing fresh perspectives or even new ideas when you sit back down to work on it again. It also helps save your sanity, especially when you’re at the point when you need to cut out the clutter words or clean up your sentences.

 

5. Double-check ALL the LOGOS submission guidelines

Have you ever screwed up an assignment because you didn’t read the directions first? The LOGOS website has the guidelines laid out for you; go ahead and click on the link below! Trust me; when you’re brain-dead after midterms, you’ll thank yourself for making sure that your abstract is a quick summary of your research instead of a long page that repeats your conclusion. Making major changes close to the deadline can be a hassle!
https://www.missouristate.edu/logos/Submission-Guidelines.htm

 

6. Let it simmer if it needs to

Not sure if your piece will be ready to submit in one month? Maybe it needs extensive reworking in a couple places or perhaps a major overhaul? Don’t worry; you can always submit it to LOGOS next year. However, don’t be confined to Missouri State’s academic journal in the time between now and next March. Research other places that you can publish your work; thousands of possibilities await you! Check out the link below to see a list of journals, but make sure to do your own research or talk to your professors before submitting your work. They may even have some ideas for places you could check out!
https://library.sacredheart.edu/undergradpublishing/journals

 

7. Have fun with the process!

Your time here as an MSU undergraduate student will help you develop your knowledge in your field (or fields!), grow in the ways you communicate your ideas, establish professional connections, and much more. Submitting to LOGOS is a gateway to all of these possibilities; take advantage of it! We can’t wait to review your piece!