Meghalee Das is no stranger to higher education. After Meghalee completed a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees, she decided to pursue a PhD in Technical Communication at Texas Tech University. One of her educational stops on her academic journey was the MATC program at Texas State. As an international student, Meghalee is now an emerging academic whose research interests include intercultural communication, user experience (UX), and usability testing. Her experience and education have contributed to her professional accomplishments as a published author and an insightful researcher.
Originally from India, Meghalee worked as a feature writer and newspaper editor in New Delhi, India before she enrolled at Texas State. Initially, she chose to continue her education to build on her existing skills and knowledge as a business journalist through an MBA program. Meghalee notes that she wanted to use her time in the United States constructively and gain valuable life experiences. Therefore, Meghalee opted to complete the MBA program at Texas State because it was the right fit for her, “After visiting some universities and applying there, I was selected by the MBA program at Texas State, which was favorable in terms of location, tuition, and curriculum.” Following her MBA, Meghalee wanted to continue her education. She says, “A master’s degree in Technical Communication was the perfect choice because I have a background in English, journalism, and business communication. And after such a great experience with Texas State for my MBA, it was a natural choice for me to do my MATC [at Texas State] too, which has a great Technical Communication program.”
Currently, Meghalee immerses herself in the world of academia as a researcher, graduate part-time instructor, and PhD student of Technical Communication at Texas Tech University. While Meghalee finishes her PhD, she co-authors books; researches intercultural technical communication, UX, usability testing, and remote collaboration and instruction; advocates for students as a member of the First-Year Writing Program Committee and a Teaching Effectiveness And Career enHancement (TEACH) fellow; and manages an introduction to technical communication course as a graduate instructor. Meghalee’s ongoing research often explores the intersection between technology and education. A few of Meghalee’s projects investigate cultural diversity in teaching multimodal assignments, user-centered approach to teaching international students online, remote UX research during COVID-19, and usability testing websites like the library and the International Office at Texas Tech University. Meghalee credits her research skills to her work experience as a journalist in India, “Researching for a news story was my favorite part of being a journalist, and although academic research uses different sources, the spirit is the same, and I leverage those experiences in my current projects.” To learn more about Meghalee’s work, you can find some of her most recent publications in prestigious technical communication magazines such as Intercom by the Society for Technical Communication and professional books such as Professionalizing Multimodal Composition: Faculty and Institutional Initiatives.
– Delainey Alexander, MATC student