JADE

MONROE
1315 8th Avenue North, Fargo, North Dakota 58102 | (605) 377-0055 | jade.monroe@ndsu.edu

Sunday, May 03, 2015

Jessica Jorgenson
Instructor
English 459: Researching and Writing Grants and Proposals
Tuesdays and Thursdays 3:30-4:45PM
Spring 2015
North Dakota State University

Dear Jessica Jorgenson:

Throughout the progression of this spring semester, I have challenged myself in

a number of courses, while focusing on graduating this May. While other
courses have challenged my aptitude in the sciences, Researching and Writing
Grants and Proposals has helped me become a more professional and aware
student, especially in the field of nonprofit work. I look forward to utilizing
these developed skills as I continue on to graduate school, as well as in the
professional arena. This portfolio can provide a glimpse into some of the genres
and skills that were developed throughout the semester.

A number of genres and document formats have been utilized throughout this
course. At the beginning of the semester, our class learned how to differentiate
between Requests for Proposals, and other grant application documents.
Professional memos and letters enabled us to write within the confines of these
genres, while still maintaining excellent prose and organization. Additionally,
our individual and group work pushed our class to consider who our audience
was, how to work with a number of deadlines, and how to communicate
professionally and persuasively.

These skills had to be integrated and applied on an individual and group setting;
within the documents we created as well as how we communicated with each
other. For example, when our group worked on the proposal for The Arts
Partnership, most of us were not aware of the services and mission of the
organization we were consulting for. We chose to delegate and conquer our
proposal, meeting frequently to discuss our individual progress and respective
challenges within the group. For the TAP project, we worked incredibly well
together, understanding what each of us could succeed in, and what we could
possibly improve on. Our success on this project was directly related to our

attention to detail, editing skills and collaboration, and empathy to each group
member. Additionally, we approached our proposal with a theme of pragmatism
and understanding, realizing that TAP is a smaller nonprofit agency, and the Art
Marathon is a newer event to the Fargo/Moorhead area. All in all, we were
pleased with working with each other and continued to do so for Unit 2, which is
not always the case with academic group work.

For the final project, our group chose to work together again to produce a
meaningful and substantive document for FirstLink, a nonprofit agency in
Fargo/Moorhead dedicated to linking volunteers with organizations that need
their services. After speaking with officials at FirstLink, we decided the best
project we could produce for them would be compiling a survey and needs
assessment for their organization to reach out to students on the NDSU campus.
Our group continued to work efficiently together, as we did during Unit 1, but we
did feel that this units deadlines moved a lot quicker than the previous. To
combat this, we kept our strong line of communication and empathy as most of
us are graduating this semester. We look forward to editing and completing
these documents, producing a product that we can be proud to handover to
FirstLink.

Within this portfolio, there are a variety of genres and audiences, illustrating our
efforts throughout the course of this semester. First, the executive summary
highlights our groups ability to professionally communicate and summarize key
ideas. Next, our TAP proposal demonstrates our ability to work collaboratively
to produce a substantive document with the focus on expanding a mindfulness
of the arts within the Fargo/Moorhead community. Our letter of intent
highlights our goals for our final project, and, finally, my interview memo
exemplifies my skills as an individual on a professional writing level. All in all,
this class was a wonderful addition to my challenging course load, and I am
thankful for the skills and attributes gained throughout the course of the
semester.

Sincerely,
JADE MONROE

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