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Michael LaRocca
----E-Mail: michaellarocca@yawweb.org ----I was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, USA in 1963. I moved to Tampa, Florida, USA in 1977. I returned to North Carolina in 1990 and bought a home. In December 1999, I sold my home and moved to Hong Kong SAR, China. In February 2002 I moved to Hangzhou. EMPLOYMENT HISTORY ----I taught at the Zhejiang Institute of Science & Technology from February 2002 to February 2003. Courses I taught included Advanced English Writing, Advanced Audio-Visual, Free Selection, VAO/Family Album USA, CET Band 4 Preparation, English Corner, and Spoken English. My students have included both English Majors and non-English Majors, Freshman through Junior. I wrote an educational website for the students of ZIST (http://michaeljan.topcities.com/), and I helped start student-run English Corners on both the old campus and the new Xia Sha campus. ----I began editing and proofreading fiction for Books Unbound (http://www.booksunbound.com), a U.S. publisher, in November 2001, via the Internet. My supervisor is Leigh Walker, lmwalker@eclipse.net. ----In November 2001, I was a judge for the 2001 Dream Realm Awards, an annual award to recognize outstanding works of fiction. I did some preliminary judging for the 2002 Dream Realm Awards in March 2003 and judged the final rounds in June 2003. ----I began working for WordWave (http://www.wordwave.com), a Hong Kong company, as a legal transcriptionist in January 2002 via the Internet. They hired me based on an English grammar test, an IQ test, a typing speed of 120 words per minute, and my ability to understand spoken English with a "Hong Kong accent." In September 2001 I was promoted to Quality Control. My job includes listening to audio from court hearings and comparing it with what the transcriptionist has typed. I also correct all grammar and spelling mistakes. In December 2001 I was given the authority to evaluate potential employees. ----I worked as a fiction editor for Hard Shell Word Factory (http://www.hardshell.com), a US publisher, from November 2001 to August 2003. I edited approximately fifty books for them. My supervisor was Michele Bardsley, thebardsleys@lvcm.com ----I worked as an editor and Author Development Specialist for CrossroadsPub from December 2000 through November 2001, and edited fifty books. A large part of my job was teaching authors how to write and self-edit, a skill I use in the classroom and in my current editorial positions. My supervisor was Samandi Adams, samandi@earthlink.net. ----My career as a fiction writer began in 1981. I won second prize for short story at the National Honor Society's 1981 Florida State Convention, leading to my inclusion in the 1982 Who's Who In American Writing. To date I have published six novel-length manuscripts. One was a finalist for the 2002 EPPIE Awards, an annual award to recognize outstanding works of fiction. ----I worked as a journalist, editor and proofreader for The English Channel, an English-language educational magazine published in Hong Kong, from September 2000 through May 2001. The magazine aimed to educate Chinese secondary students in the use of English, to help them with their college entrance exams. I was the last person to see the magazine before it went to the printer, to ensure that it was error-free. ----I was employed at Eastern Instruments in Wilmington, North Carolina from August 1991 through December 1999. As Administrative Assistant to the President, I proofread all correspondence and typed over half of it. As Technical Writer, I took engineering data from several sources and created cohesive literature that could be easily understood by the layman (specification sheets, engineering manuals, etc.). I also wrote and proofread sales literature, and I wrote the website (http://www.easterninstruments.com). I became a North Carolina Notary Public in the course of this job, and notarized many of the owner's 13 patent applications, all approved. My supervisors were Millie Brandt, President, mbrandt@easterninstruments.com, and Tim Bodemann, V.P., Sales and Marketing, bodemann@mindspring.com. ----When business was slow at Eastern Instruments, I left for six months at a time to manage a hog farm with 3500 sows, 98 boars, roughly 10000 piglets, and 12 employees. This happened three times. The first time, I was the only English speaker and my crew only spoke Spanish. I taught them my language and they taught me theirs. After that, I assisted Eastern Instruments in its transition from research and development to manufacturing so there would be no slowdowns in business. Eastern Instruments' customer base includes Uncle Ben's in Beijing. EDUCATION ----ICAL (http://www.teacher-training.net/)
July 2002 - August 2003 Final Grade 93% ----Rockhurst College Continuing Education
Center - Completed October 1999 ----United Electronics Institute, Tampa
Florida USA - Graduated September 1983 ----Chamberlain High School - Graduated
June 1981 |