Hello!

Welcome to my digital portfolio!

My name is Barbara Shaddix, a graduate of University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, where I received a Professional Writing & Communication Master’s degree in May 2023. Over the past few years, I’ve benefited from a variety of practical experiences, including a graduate teaching fellowship, creating spec pieces for various fields, and an hands-on internship, where I got to put my communication skills into practice. In both my personal and professional life, I am deeply committed to causes of social justice and equality. Communication is inherently political; questions of access, power, and privilege undergird the work of the professional communicator in every field. It is this recognition which makes the work of communicating so exciting for me; I am motivated by the opportunity to work towards a more equitable future consciously and deliberately.

I am a student, a mother, and a lover of theories. I am motivated by the desire to do effective, long-lasting good in this world — for me, communication is the path which I trod to achieve this goal. The politics of communication — the need for plain language — and considerations of power and access are all things that I find fascinating to think about and to engage practically with.

I am also a writer and a lover of literature. My dream is to someday write an entire monograph about the work of Emily Dickinson, a fascinating person in her own right. Along the way, I hope to write more fiction and more poetry. There are so many stories to tell that we’ll never run out.

One day soon, I hope to return to the classroom. Teaching has been one of the greatest joys (and frustrations!) of my life.

In this portfolio, you will find a selection of previous work I’ve completed, including spec work and writing that’s both personal and professional.

Would you like to book a consult or contact me for work? Visit Let Me Help You to get in touch!

Each part of the above menu takes you to a different aspect of my work. Please feel free to examine all of them, or focus on those areas which most interest you. Below, please find a brief description of each area.

Technical Writing: I was very fortunate to land a technical writing internship at a Boston-area robotics company. Here, you’ll find a selection of the work I did while there.

Communication: Here you’ll find documents relating to usability, including a study done as part of an internship at a local public school system, as well as other communication work.

Teaching, Teamwork, & Leadership: As a graduate teaching fellow, I’ve taught both Business Communication and Technical Communication to undergraduates. This experience has been invaluable, as I’ve gained new leadership and teamwork skills in addition to a renewed appreciate of, and love for, teaching. Here, you’ll find both a rhetorical examination of teaching as well as some of the documents directly related to my time in the classroom.

Intersections: My blog examines the liminal spaces between communication and audience, thinking and theorizing about the rhetorical moves we make when we communicate. It’s a work in progress, so check back frequently.

Thank you for visiting my portfolio!