Alumni
Profiles of Success
Suzanne Millar
Technical Writer
B.S. Interdisciplinary Sciences 1999, Purdue
While a student at Purdue, Suzanne Millar was very active outside of the classroom.
A member of Tri Delta sorority, she served as Academic Development Chairman
for a term, and filled her days by working on campus, first as a lifeguard
at the Co-Rec, and later as a research assistant in Dr. Herb Ohm's lab in
the Agronomy department. During the summer of 1998, she gained professional
work experience while serving as an intern with Pioneer Hi-Bred International
in Illinois.
Today Suzanne is employed as a technical writer with Virtual Financial Services (VIFI). Located in Indianapolis, Indiana, VIFI provides the programming for Internet-based financial services for banks and credit unions throughout the country. As the only technical writer at VIFI, Suzanne is responsible for nearly all of the documentation, from document definition to creation to maintenance.
While working as a technical writer for VIFI, Suzanne has performed other functions for the company, as well. For a period of time she worked as a Quality Control Analyst, developing test scripts and performing testing to ensure that the company's sites were error-free. She has also worked as a Trainer, traveling to client sites across the country to train personnel on the use and support of VIFI's products. Recently, she has been moved to a newly-created Technology Group, where her focus will now be on high-level documentation needs for the company.
Suzanne's experience at Purdue proved to be of great value in the training of life's lessons. She states, "My experiences at Purdue taught me a great deal both about how the ‘real world' worked, and how to survive in it…I learned how to work autonomously to solve problems, but also how to ask for help when needed." She learned not only how to ask questions, but how to ask the right questions to get the answers she was looking for. This is a skill that has proven useful in her work today. "Working in a technical field, I am constantly asking questions. Knowing how to ask them has cut down tremendously on my frustration of not getting the right answers." Furthermore, Suzanne believes most employers are looking for people who possess strong analytical and reasoning skills, along with a willingness to work hard. Such skills are what her education at Purdue allowed her to develop.
Purdue also taught Suzanne how to learn from and to overcome failure. "There were many tests that I walked out of feeling like I had been beaten up…Coming back in the next day and working hard again made it much easier to accept and learn from mistakes I've made professionally, and to handle criticism offered by my boss or my peers. In a way, my entire Purdue experience was like breaking me down and building me back up." Suzanne believes that it is important that incoming biology students realize that failing plays a major part in personal fulfillment and success. "These kinds of experiences help you figure out what you like and what you don't like, and where your talents and challenges are. To me, that's 90% of college."
Suzanne further stresses to students that a Biology degree is very worthwhile, but maybe not in the way that they think. "Don't be afraid to deviate from the life sciences," she states. "The real world is not as academically segregated as college. What you have is an excellent, highly respected base of information and learning. What will prove your success will be your ability to convert that into a marketable skill in any discipline!"