Former Student Contributes Essay to Published Anthology

Former Northern Michigan University business marketing and management student Katarzyna (Kasia) Lech of Wrocław, Poland, is among 69 women who contributed essays to a new international anthology that chronicles the evolution of technical communication through first-hand accounts from professionals who helped shape the field.

The book, edited by Sharon Burton, is titled Women in Technical Communication: From typewriters to touchscreens: A history by the women who did the work. Lech became involved in the project after seeing a call for papers on one of the LinkedIn groups she follows. Her career path has crossed multiple disciplines, countries and industries. She has worked more than a decade in technical writing and more than 25 years in technical communication-oriented fields that have included urban planning, architecture, graphic design and marketing.

Lech's essay in the anthology is titled "Tomorrow's Tech Comm: Variety Meets Vision." Its theme is the role of being open to various opportunities in shaping both personal and professional growth.

"I believe that there are no coincidences in life," her essay states. "Rather, we are given opportunities to make decisions, which then result in reshaping our future paths."

She explained how challenging it was for her to recognize those opportunities at the right moment, especially because many of them did not seem relevant to her at the time.

"It truly required persistence and patience, as well as trust in my intuition, to keep walking my off-the-mainstream path without being given a single promise of success."

Ultimately, Lech recognized that every one of her experiences contributed something valuable and resulted in a successful career. As a person who holds engineering, artistic and business degrees, she speaks from her experience when comparing fields of urban planning and technical communication. Lech points out that both of those require a unique combination of expertise that cannot simply be taught. They can be built only through lived experience, curiosity and a willingness to engage with emerging opportunities.

In the main part of the essay, Lech wrote about the future of technical communication and the rapid technological changes reshaping industries around the world. She addressed knowledge gaps surfacing across industries, alarming changes in workplace culture and entirely new challenges related to the dynamically changing data analysis and data interpretation fields, machine learning, large language models training and building algorithms for artificial intelligence.

Lech claims that as a society, we have no prior experience to guide us through these transformations, but rather than view them as obstacles, she sees them as opportunities for innovation-particularly among technical communicators.

"There were times when specialists in the technical communication field worked together on the standards that paved the way for the next generations," she wrote. "Now it is time for the next generation to reveal navigation tips to the still-unknown methods of activating the dynamism initiated by technical documentation."

In the essay's conclusion, Lech relays advice for future readers: embrace learning opportunities; nurture creativity; and always commit to producing high-quality work.

Lech's connection to Northern began while studying in Finland, where she met now-retired business professor Sandra Poindexter, who encouraged her to apply to NMU and then introduced her to the university and broader community. Lech attended NMU from 2010-2011, and credits the experience with broadening her perspectives and encouraging her to pursue various opportunities. She said she treats living in Marquette as a big part of her life experience.

At Northern, Lech participated in numerous campus and community activities. She helped to organize the UNITED Conference and NMU sport and charity events, designed graphics for university publications and contributed to activities of NMU's Marketing and Communications Department. Outside of the classroom, she explored Michigan's Upper Peninsula, visiting landmarks such as Lake Superior, Pictured Rocks, the Porcupine Mountains, area mines and ice caves.

While majoring in engineering and business, Lech pursued a minor in art with her interests in graphic design, artistic fiber and photography. One of her photographs earned first prize in an NMU contest. She also joined the Marquette Photography Club and showcased her work in an exhibition by the organization at Peter White Public Library. Lech rediscovered her passion for working with artistic fiber, fueled by the encouragement of people she met in Marquette. Ever since, she has been creative in her art studio, now located in Wroclaw, Poland.

"After all these years, I can see the true value in opening myself to various opportunities," Lech said in reflecting on the essay. "I now understand that not everything has to happen exactly when I want it to happen. It is worth taking the time to build something you care about and allowing it to grow into beautiful results. I appreciate my unique way of discovering my own path, and how it has become the foundation that allows me to create solutions for future challenges. While my focus in the essay is technical communication, the message applies far beyond that field. It is relevant to the world we live in today and the world we are creating for tomorrow."

The Women in Technical Communication anthology is available in both print and e-book formats from online bookstores. Lech's LinkedIn is https://www.linkedin.com/in/klech7.