Volunteer of the Month
June 2000
Sandra Medlock
by Ralph Cherry

Alamo PC Organization: HOME > About Us > Awards > Volunteers Of The Month
 
 
Sandra Medlock is one of those people who quietly goes around, efficiently doing the job she has taken on, but without a lot of fanfare. I knew she had writing skills (I have read her column for several years in the Express News) and I assumed she had teaching skills — she's the leader of two SIGs. But I had to twist her arm a bit to get her to agree to an interview where the talk was focused on her.

We talked about the SIGs she leads, first of all. She was not heavily involved in Alamo PC when she started. She had used the software (CorelDRAW) and had a good understanding of it, but had not thought about leading a SIG in it. Then about 18 months ago Clarke Bird, a friend of hers (and also the editor of PC Alamode), asked her to consider leading the SIG on CorelDRAW. She agreed to do so for a while, then was taken by surprise by the discovery that she thoroughly enjoyed teaching. She's been there ever since.

The original SIG, meeting the 1st Saturday of each month at the Resource Center, is now called Intermediate (or tips and tricks). Members share their discoveries and tips on how to use the program to create eye-catching graphics. A spin-off SIG is CorelDRAW Basic, which meets the 4th Monday of each month at the Resource Center. This is more of an actual class, with a step-by-step curriculum.

The classes have a mixture of people and motivations. Some participants actually design brochures and signs professionally, some want to learn the program for personal use (invitation, greeting cards), and some don't own a copy, but simply want to learn how to use the software. The Resource Center lab has CorelDRAW installed, so the classes are hands-on experience.

Sandra says that the basic techniques and concepts are the same across graphics programs, but each one approaches it in a unique way. A person who is proficient in Adobe Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro or CorelDRAW, can easily adjust to one of the other graphics programs. Macintosh people generally gravitate toward Illustrator, whereas PC people tend to prefer CorelDRAW. However, both programs are available for either OS. Sandra says she has used both, and sees qualities in both OSs. There are also some less costly programs out there that will do a lot. Examples are Print House, PrintShop, Photopaint, and a few others.

What about her personal use of computers? She said her life revolves around the use of computers. She uses them for e-mail, research, volunteer work, newsletters, genealogy charts, budget, taxes, databases and recipe and food management.

When I asked Sandra about her professional life, her response was that she is mostly involved in technical writing and in technical training. Computers again!