Abigail DrakeWriter | Researcher | Editor
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Welcome to my online portfolio! I am a professional writer and Auburn University alum!
After beginning my college career at Auburn University, I found a passion for writing and began studying Professional and Public Writing. During my Sophomore year, I declared a minor in Political Science and interned in Washington, D.C. at the Family Research Council over the Summer of 2023. I then expanded my work experience by working for Nucor Building Systems in Waterloo, Indiana, during the Summer of 2024 as a technical writing intern. After graduating with my Bachelor's degree in May of 2025, I began working as a technical writer for Three Notch Group, Inc. in Dothan, Alabama. I will be relocating to Birmingham, Alabama, in February of 2026 and excited for the new opportunities that this move will bring! |
Explore My Work as a...
Auburn StudentAs a student majoring in English and minoring Political Science, I have worked on many different types of writing projects. Explore some of my academic work.
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FRC InternI spent the summer of 2023 in Washington, DC working for the Family Research Center. Explore here for some examples and explanations of the work I did.
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Technical WriterExplore my summer 2024 internship at Nucor Building Systems and my work experience with Three Notch Group as a technical writer.
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Lead ConsultantDuring the school year, I work as a lead consultant at Auburn University's Miller Writing Center. Explore this page to learn more about how I give back to Auburn students.
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Looking back at my time at Auburn. . .
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As a graduating senior, I have found myself in a place of reflection on not only where I am going after graduation but also what I have gained during my academic career. During freshman year, I had to take time to decide what type of career I wanted to pursue. I decided on a liberal arts major because of the flexibility that a liberal arts degree guaranteed me. No matter what career I chose, I would learn fundamental professional skills that would promote me in any work environment. It was here that I discovered a love for writing, but not just any writing. I found I had a passion to use writing as a tool to enact change. Thus, I began pursuing technical writing. Technical writing is a broad category of writing. Essentially, technical writers take complex information from subject matter experts and translate that information into language that a broad, diverse audience can understand and use. Technical writing is not about writing and sharing your own interests, but instead, it is about writing and sharing the passions of others so that through you, they can share the intricacies and expertise of their profession in a way that they may otherwise not have the skill or opportunity to do. My passion in writing lies in becoming the liaison between the specialist and the audience.
As I worked through the Professional and Public Writing (PPW) curriculum, I found that this major taught me many hard to quantify skills. The most important being a love for learning. The professors that I had for my PPW courses consistently challenged me to learn new skills that would make me become a better writer in ways I had not particularly foreseen. For example, I took a Topics in Writing class, where the coursework consistent of composing and recording multiple podcast episodes. At first, I was frustrated at the change in medium for a class that I had anticipated to be a writing-centered class. But I soon found that learning to edit audio showed me a whole new method of communicating that deepened my knowledge of rhetoric, writing with new purposes, and with a specific audience in mind. I found that as a writer, I needed to let go of my tendency towards structured writing and learn to embrace new principles. |
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Ultimately, learning is a lifelong commitment that extends far beyond academia. I chose the technical writing field because at the heart of every good technical writer is an individual who wants to continually learn new things. As a technical writer, I will be repeatedly pushed into new environments and fields to learn for the sake of sharing what I learn. My job will be to understand new subjects, the intricacies, challenges, advantages, and every small detail, and reiterate that knowledge to new audiences. So, not only am I learning and growing but I am writing so that others may also learn and grow. During my time at the Miller Writing Center (MWC), I worked as a consultant for students learning to write. The MWC is open to students working on “any writing project, at any point in the writing process.” This broad jurisdiction meant that you never really knew what your next student was going to need help with. As a consultant, I learned to quickly assess and adapt in order to accommodate a student’s needs and meet them where they are in their learning process. This work gave me an understanding of how fulfilling it was to use my work and time to allow others to learn and flourish—a rewarding experience I hope to continue doing in my future in the writing field.
Beyond learning and sharing, this profession gives me a platform to enact real change. Last summer, I worked for Nucor Corporations, a Fortune 500 steel building manufacturer. My role was to learn the day-to-day operations of the design engineering and software developing teams to develop a complete documentation of the processes that must be followed to ensure that the code they program is updated and tested consistently, completely, and without error because this code would determine the structural integrity of the buildings they produce. When knowledge is written down, it can be standardized, and standardized procedures are reproducible, making them more efficient and reliable. The writing that I did for Nucor made the company and its products safer, and these safer products impact real people. Ultimately, the most important component of writing is people—the people who write it, the people who read it, and the society that benefits from it.
As a lead consultant at the Miller Writing Center, I worked with writers every day. I have learned that the best writers arise from collaborating together, learning together, and growing together. Technical writing is highly interpersonal and produces work that illustrates that collaboration for the benefit of future readers. After graduation, I plan to pursue positions in the writing field with companies who value writers as communicators that can promote the wellbeing of others, using my writing to influence and shape a better future. I am confident that I am prepared to tackle these goals because of the educational and professional experiences that I was provided during my time as a student, and I am so excited to begin the next steps of this journey.
Beyond learning and sharing, this profession gives me a platform to enact real change. Last summer, I worked for Nucor Corporations, a Fortune 500 steel building manufacturer. My role was to learn the day-to-day operations of the design engineering and software developing teams to develop a complete documentation of the processes that must be followed to ensure that the code they program is updated and tested consistently, completely, and without error because this code would determine the structural integrity of the buildings they produce. When knowledge is written down, it can be standardized, and standardized procedures are reproducible, making them more efficient and reliable. The writing that I did for Nucor made the company and its products safer, and these safer products impact real people. Ultimately, the most important component of writing is people—the people who write it, the people who read it, and the society that benefits from it.
As a lead consultant at the Miller Writing Center, I worked with writers every day. I have learned that the best writers arise from collaborating together, learning together, and growing together. Technical writing is highly interpersonal and produces work that illustrates that collaboration for the benefit of future readers. After graduation, I plan to pursue positions in the writing field with companies who value writers as communicators that can promote the wellbeing of others, using my writing to influence and shape a better future. I am confident that I am prepared to tackle these goals because of the educational and professional experiences that I was provided during my time as a student, and I am so excited to begin the next steps of this journey.
Explore My Passions...
CONTACT
CURRENT
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I am currently seeking full time employment opportunities in Birmingham, AL in anticipation for relocation to the area. My work experience makes me a qualified professional writer and editor, and I am excited to explore new opportunities. I am available to work in-person or hybrid in the Birmingham area or work remotely. Please contact me below!
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phone |
334.695.3058
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Social |
Instagram: @abi.odom
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/abigailadrake/ |
