Acquisitions Editor for SAGE Publishing
By Lauren Keller, English Intern
A graduate from Camarillo High School, Zachary Valladon started at California State University Channel Islands in 2012. Zachary described himself as an average student in high school, who was not interested in community college and was attracted to attending Channel Islands because he fell in-love with the natural beauty and tranquility of the campus. From the very beginning of his college career, Zachary knew that he wanted to pursue a degree in English. He credits his tumultuous childhood for his love of literature, saying that his “greatest escape was being able to read and seek out other worlds.” Naturally, one of Zachary’s favorite classes that he took at Channel Islands was ENGL 360: Literary Theory with Dr. Julie Barmazel-Stiebritz. He says that learning about different literary theories “rocked his world” by prompting him to ponder on profound existential questions, and that over time, that class has stuck with him the most.
During his time at Channel Islands, Zachary worked as a writing tutor in the Channel Islands Writing and Multiliteracy Center, a tutoring service that offers students help with writing and communication. He also served as the Editor-in-Chief of the CI View, a student-run newspaper that provides Channel Islands students with news regarding their campus and community. Zachary’s work on the CI View earned him a Silver Dolphin Award, which is presented to student leaders who significantly contribute to the Channel Islands community and who represent the university’s core values. After spending four years at Channel Islands, Zachary received a Bachelor of Arts in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing and following graduation, he immediately began his career.
Zachary currently lives in Oklahoma and works for SAGE Publishing, where he was promptly hired as an editorial assistant after graduating in 2016. SAGE Publishing is a global academic publisher that publishes over 1,000 journals and 900 books annually, known mainly for producing textbooks and social science materials. Since starting at as an editorial assistant, Zachary has moved on to become a sales representative for SAGE Publishing. As a sales representative, Zachary manages a territory between Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Kansas and travels throughout that territory to meet with professors about the materials being used in their courses and how their students are engaging with the materials. The goal of these meetings is to convince the professors that SAGE Publishing can provide the best, most cost-effective materials needed for their courses. One thing Zachary loves about his job is that he is able to provide instructors with the support and materials they need to facilitate their courses. He also loves how active the job is, saying that pre-COVID-19, the majority of his job was spent travelling. Although most of his interactions are now done via computer, Zachary still appreciates getting to meet with professors because he gets “to talk to brilliant people all of the time.”
Despite having a variety of different jobs, Zachary believes that studying English has been useful for every one of them. Zachary says that reading, writing, and communication are integral to everything we do and that pursuing an English degree can teach the necessary skills that one needs to be a leader, such as being able to wrestle with complex ideas and find the words to communicate them: “Everything you ever do revolves around the careful regard and mastery of words,” he says. He reiterates that all industry revolves around communication, so, “do not limit yourself and be anything you want to be”. When asked what his advice to current and potential English students is, Zachary said that he encourages students to take advantage of the community that Channel Islands has to offer to make professional connections and lifelong friends.
He also now has MBA from Pittsburg State University in Kansas, and notes "so it’s important for English majors to note that their undergraduate education is portable and it is possible to be a strong multidisciplinary student. Hopefully, this further reinforces my point that communication and mastery of the written word can take you further than what an English major might be concerned that the humanities will “limit” themselves to."
Email: zachary.valladon@sagepub.com