Communication Portfolio
06/18/2022
Showcase #1
First Piece of Work: Cover Letter
Cherish Nwabor
Brampton, ON
647-915-9698
05/23/2022
Magna Toronto, ON
Dear Recruiters,
My name is Cherish Nwabor and I am a student at York University studying mechanical engineering. I am currently in my third year of the program. The description outlined for the “Product Development Intern” is of full interest to me and fully matches my skills and qualifications, especially in being able to collect, organize, and analyze data. In addition, I have a reasonable amount of experience using Microsoft Office products such as Excel, Word, and Powerpoint. I’m intrigued to go through this learning experience to not only enhance my data collection skills but to gain some experience in the entrepreneurial field as well. As such, I am highly interested in joining your team. Thank you for taking the time to review my application and for your consideration. I would appreciate the opportunity to get in contact with the department for an interview. I look forward to hearing back from you as soon as possible. Thank you once again for your time.
Sincerely, Cherish Nwabor
Reflection on Work
I chose this piece of work because this work really shows my development as an effective communicator. Writing cover letters is generally something I struggle with because cover letters can't be very lengthy, therefore they must be concise. This can make it difficult to communicate because one must be careful about what to include and what not to include. This piece of work definitely shows my development as a communicator compared to previous cover letters I've written. For example, my previous cover letter was over 2 pages as I focused more on quantity than quality. This explains why I was not hearing back from the jobs I kept applying to. However, I am now fully aware that cover letters should be kept concise and should generally not be more than a page. This piece of work definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone because generally, I'm not a concise writer. My writing tends to be lengthy which usually discourages my audience from reading. This cover letter pushed me to ensure that my writing is kept concise and straight to the point. This piece is not my best work as I still believe there's room for improvement. In addition, I didn't spend the amount of time I would have loved to spend working on it due to a lack of proper planning. However, I feel that this is a solid piece of work that shows big improvements from my previous cover letters.
Date: 05/23/2022
Showcase #2
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
June 7, 2022
Professor Reza Rizvi
6 Thompson Rd
North York, ON M3J 1L3
416-736-2100
Subject: Restoring and Improving Urban Infrastructure
Dear Professor Rizvi,
This technical report aims to discuss and analyze the critical issue with urban infrastructures. This has been an ongoing issue in urban areas due to the rise in the population in these areas. This causes the maintenance of the infrastructure to be quite difficult and costly. Unfortunately, if the infrastructure of the country is not functioning properly, this creates a major setback for the development of the economy. As a result, the living standards in the country are deteriorating which further illustrates the significance of improving these urban infrastructures. However, this issue can be addressed through the use of emerging technologies such as Building Information Modeling software (BIM) programs. These BIM programs are typically used by engineers to design, plan, and complete various design projects. Specifically, this report will be focusing on Autodesk Revit. This is a BIM software commonly used by engineers from different fields including architects for design projects. This report will emphasize the need for these software programs when dealing with the improvement of urban infrastructures.
Sincerely,
Cherish Nwabor
Date: 06/07/2022
Reflection on Work
I chose this piece of work because it's another piece of work that illustrates my development as a communicator. This was my first time writing a letter of transmittal and I never even heard of it before taking this course. I had to take a look at a few examples before understanding how one should be written. The format had to be a certain way which made it a bit challenging initially but after understanding the purpose of a letter of transmittal, this made the job a lot easier. This piece of work is another work that shows how effective concise writing can be. The letter of transmittal basically describes what the technical report is all about in a brief way. This piece of work pushed me out of my comfort zone simply because it was my first time writing both the letter of transmittal and the technical report as a whole. I wouldn't say this is my best work because this was my first time writing in this style, I believe that the more I get used to writing like this, the better improvement I will begin to see.
Showcase #3
Engineering Concept Video
This is a video explaining the engineering concept of problem-solving in a "Back of the Napkin" method.
Reflection on Work
I chose this piece of work because it showcases my development as a communicator. This was a video on an engineering concept, problem-solving. This was a "Back of a Napkin" presentation which I have never done before this course. However, it was fun brainstorming ideas on how I could present this concept in the most creative way. I also kept the video as short as possible. This piece of work shows that as a communicator, I can present information in multiple ways including video presentations. This wasn't the first video presentation I've had to make as I've had video assignments from other courses in previous years. However, this is my first time doing a "Back of a Napkin" presentation. I'm still learning how to maximize my video presentations but I would say this piece pushed me out of my comfort zone due to the fact that is was a "Back of a Napkin" presentation. Also, this isn't my best work as I believe the information could've been presented in a more creative way instead of a paper. For example, I could have created an animated video writing as I explain the concept. However, time was not on my side. All in all, I believe there's still room for improvement on this piece of work.
Showcase #4
Informational Interview Reflection
INFORMATIONAL INTERVIEW #1
Cherish Nwabor
217043043
March 15, 2022
I had an excellent conversation with Ayo. He seems to be very experienced with the job with about six years of experience. He’s involved in the mechanism design and analysis activities such as tolerance analysis, and performance analysis. He stated that the workload of the job can get heavy at times, especially during busy times in the company. The company tends to be busier in the first few months of the year such as currently. The job requires experience in 3d CAD using Solidworks, which he has been constantly working to be proficient in. However, he said that being an expert in Solidworks is just half of it, as you must also be able to analyze the designs, and understand their feasibility, which is where your brainpower comes in. When asked what he disliked the most about the job, he said he enjoys all aspects of the job including the different teams he has worked with over time. They helped him enhance the skills that he wasn’t the greatest at, such as communication and presentation skills, problem-solving skills, critical thinking, etc. In addition, he mentioned that he looks forward to working in the same field in the future, as he doesn’t see himself enjoying any other field as much as he enjoys this job. When asked why he chose this field of work, he stated that initially, he was just trying to find a well-paid job so he can take care of his family, but over time, he found himself loving every part of the job like the environment, his co-workers, supervisors, etc.
This interview gave me an idea of what to expect in the future. It allowed me to understand what being a mechanical designer is all about for the most part. Also, it gives me an overall idea of the skills I currently have that would be needed, and the skills that I would need to work on to be better suited for the job. For example, I currently believe my communication and presentation skills are at a good level, but my Solidworks and AutoCAD skills might need some work. I believe I can work on these skills by designing more personal projects in my leisure time, as this seems to be a mandatory skill in this field. This interview also gave me a different perspective when things don’t necessarily go your way, rather than giving up or having negative thoughts, a growth mindset helps to remain positive. In the interview, he stated that he lacked effective communication and presentation skills when he first started because he had a strong accent that individuals had a hard time hearing. However, he kept trying to improve the way he communicated instead of giving up on the job; he was forced to develop a growth mindset as it was the only way he could be successful at the job. This gave me a sense of determination that things might not work out the exact way I want them to, but giving up is not an option.
Reflection on Work
I chose this piece of work because it also demonstrates my development as a communicator. This is a piece of writing from another course about an Interview I actually conducted and reflected on. To be specific, I interviewed a group of people from different fields of work such as engineering, business, nursing, law, and more. This particular interview was with an individual in the same field I'm looking forward to going into which is mechanical engineering. The reflection is written in a concise and descriptive manner which is where it shows my development the most. This piece of work didn't necessarily push me out of my comfort zone as I've completed lots of writing assignments in the past. However, this is a piece of writing I put quite a lot of effort and time into because I gained a lot of information about my field and other fields from these interviews. I do feel like this work still has room for improvements in some areas but overall it's constructive and concise. I wouldn't say it's my best work because I do believe there's always room for improvement.
Reflection on ENG 2003
Reflection on Experience in ENG 2003
My overall experience in ENG 2003 has been quite a learning experience. It has enhanced my writing skills in numerous areas from grammar and spelling errors to structure and format. The assignments were a very helpful part of the process as they included both writing, presentations, and video assignments. The course was for the most part exactly what I expected it to be. I expected a lot of writing assignments and a lot of writing practice because it’s one of the biggest if not the biggest form of communication. Since it’s a communication class, I expected to be taught how communication can be altered for certain scenarios, which was taught in the axioms and 7 c’s of communication. In addition, the presentation assignments were to enhance the way we communicate when we speak which is another big form of communication. Overall, the majority of the course was what I expected it to be. The course content that I found to be the most useful was the cover letters and resumes. Cover letters and resumes will always play a big part in almost every field of work. Therefore, it’s extremely important that we learn what and what not to include in them, how long they should be, how they should be formatted, etc. The majority of employers receive thousands of cover letters and resumes daily so it’s essential that we learn what to do in order to stand out from others. The most interesting topic in my opinion was editing and feedback. I found this topic interesting because initially, I was surprised that it was included in the course as I always thought that editing and feedback weren’t a major part of writing and weren’t as important. However, after learning about that topic, I’ve found editing and feedback to probably be one of the most important parts of writing. There are lots of simple grammatical and spelling errors that can easily discredit our credibility as a person. This is why it’s crucial to ensure that every work we complete gets thoroughly edited and proofread multiple times.
Reflection on Growth as a Communicator
Looking back at my communication abilities before ENG 2003, I would say I’ve come a long way because my communication abilities definitely got enhanced from taking this course. This is because there were multiple writing assignments that really forced us to put in the time and effort to write in a constructive and concise way. My communication abilities in the past were not as brushed up as it is now. For example, in the past, my writing was not as descriptive and brief as it is now. It was usually lengthy and vague which made it difficult for the reader to comprehend the objective. However, now I’ve learned to keep my points short and straight to the point. The communication skill I feel like I improved the most would have to be the structure of my writing. In the past, I’ve been told that my writing doesn’t seem to flow fluently to readers. I decided to take that advice and strengthen that part of my writing by ensuring that my sentences flow and my points are in order. I started improving this by making sure I always read my work out loud after each paragraph to hear how it sounds. This definitely helped me improve my structure of writing. The communication skill I believe I still need to work on would be making sure I’m aware of my audience while I’m writing. Generally, I tend to write in a general way and sometimes tend to forget who my audience or reader might be. There are different styles of writing for different audiences so it’s essential that I’m aware of the audience before I begin to write. This is a skill I believe will be strengthened with more practice by writing on the same topic or concept for different audiences. My experience in this course will change the way I approach other engineering courses in the sense that it will change the way I communicate in my writing in future courses. All the concepts of communication I’ve learned will now be put to test in other courses, from writing constructive emails to creating effective presentations. In terms of engineering practice, my experience in this course will change the way I speak when I communicate in school or work areas. I’ve now learned that the way we speak matters as well and says a lot about our credibility. Therefore, we must always ensure that we speak with confidence and clarity as I’ve learned. All in all, this course was a significant course that I now understand the reason it needs to be taken by all engineers. Engineers have no choice but to communicate at all times in different ways, and as the ninth axiom says, “Communication is pervasive: you cannot NOT communicate”
Design Project
This project's focus revolved around designing an inclusive built environment for all, using the 17 protected grounds under the human rights code as a starting point. To be specific, we chose to design a solution to renovate the underground tunnels at York University.
Contact
Thank you for reviewing my Portfolio. Please get in touch to find out more.
4700 Keele St, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3
647-915-9698
