Melissa Howell

Describe your capstone project.

My project focuses on the federal procurement system, and specifically on various ways a source selection authority might use discretion when making best-value tradeoff decisions. An element this discretion are the biases, preferences, or triggers that influence them to consider other than the lowest-price offer. For my project, I interviewed formal acquisition officials to understand how they used their discretion and what biases might have informed their decision making. The final product of my capstone project is a white paper that provides this insight for proposal professionals along with professional tips based on what I learned.

How did you choose your specific area of study?

I am the proposal director for a small business contractor. As a proposal professional working in the federal marketplace, I am constantly seeking ways to better understand my audience—those individuals who will be evaluating my proposals, which includes the source selection authority. However, there is a significant gap in research on this topic. Existing literature suggests that this gap is the result, in part, because the complex system of rules, regulations, and statues that govern the US government procurement processes limits the public access to SSAs. One evening, in Research Methods in Rhetoric and Professional Writing, Dr. Dorpenyo asked us to problematize. The problem of not having a better understanding of the audience for which I write every day became my area of study.

How did your academic experiences in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences impact you?

My undergraduate degree was in Business Management, so the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) was a completely different intellectual, academic, and even emotional experience. My undergraduate degree adequately prepared me for my professional career, which at that time was in contract administration. When I transitioned to proposal writing, I realized that I wanted to write better. I was constantly researching and reading industry publications on persuasive proposal writing. These publications though, do not teach the theories that are foundational to persuasive writing. As it turns out, the theories that I was introduced to in CHSS not only helped my writing skills, but they also expanded my critical thinking and world view.

What accomplishment(s) during your time at Mason are you most proud of?

I was very proud to be honored with the 2020 Sven Eric Molin Award. I also had the opportunity to get a short article “Securing Your Next Win” published in the eZine for the Association for Proposal Management Professionals. Lastly, I was able to help and mentor a few of my classmates along the way, which I was very happy about.

Are there faculty or staff members who made a difference during your Mason career? Please give an example of this impact if possible.

My first semester, I took Theory and Practice of Editing with Dr. Lussos and Dr. Graham and Research Methods in Rhetoric and Professional Writing with Dr. Dorpenyo. Because editing is such a big part of my daily work, I was really looking forward to the editing class. What I did not expect was the personal growth that I experienced in that class. At the end of the semester, I physically felt the change in my self-confidence. I think this is the reason I felt comfortable reaching out to classmates when I thought I might be able to help them. My life lesson from Dr. Lussos – get real comfortable with what you do know, and look up the rest. Oh, and think about the grammar hills that you are willing to die for. They may not be as important as the relationship on the other side of your edit. In Dr. Dorpenyo’s class, he said something along the lines of, “You will never look at the world the same after you take a Graduate research class. You will learn to wonder about and problematize everything.” He was right. Coincidentally, I have a note taken in Dr. Eyeman’s class that says, “I hope to teach you to be better listeners.” About a year or so before I started the MA program, I got a little coaching from our company president about making quick decisions when I think I have all of the facts, but I actually don’t. Thank you Dr. Dorpenyo and Dr. Eyeman for lessons on wondering and listening. I think I get it. Dr. Malouf and Dr. LaFrance—I wish that I had taken a literary theory course in undergrad! I am amused and humbled at how much my worldview grew with your classes. It really was like waking up the day after Lasik. I see so many things differently now. And Dr. LaFrance, I will be forever grateful for Emergent Pedagogies. I finally understand the connection of my mind and my body to my writing! How that was not obvious, I do not know. My work desk is now in my home gym, and I am enjoying my job so much more. Dr. Lawrence, you made an incredible impact on me personally and professionally. Thank you for bringing real-life opportunities to the classroom. I can only imagine how challenging that is and all the extra time and coordination it takes. I never would have reached out to APMP to have an article published, but with your support several of your students were able to do this. Your efforts also resulted in students getting new jobs, which is amazing. The biggest impact you had on me, though, was watching your leadership when we had to change course and start classes remotely. I remember how everyone in the proposal writing class enjoyed getting together and seeing each other for the virtual classes. You kept things going, but we could all feel your concern through your demeanor and thoughtful emails.

What advice would you give to an incoming cohort of graduate students?

• Get to know each other quickly. You will have lots more fun and someone to help you when you need it. • Get in the habit early of making a written schedule for accomplishing your reading and work on time—and stick to it! • Try to take Introduction to Professional Writing and Rhetoric (501) and Research Methods in Rhetoric and Professional Writing (503) in your first or second semester. Take the opportunity in 503 to think about a project that you are really interested in or a project that can help you professionally. • Research the professors that you have the opportunity to learn from before you go to their class. Not only will you understand better what they are teaching you and why, you will be amazed and proud of who they are, and you will value your time in their classes even more.

What are your current career plans following graduation? What are your long-term career goals?

I plan to continue working as a proposal professional and perhaps as consultant at some point. I plan on looking for opportunities to write more articles and I am looking forward to studying graphics design, which I fell in love with during Document Design (505).