This is the first of a pair of articles about Villanova English alumni written by students in Prof. Jody Ross's Journalism course.
By Kyung Seo (Ashley) Park
Alex Abad-Santos, English alum from 2004, started off as a
freelancer, interned at Esquire magazine, went to graduate school, took an an
internship at Style.com while he completed his master’s degree in journalism, wrote
for Atlantic magazine, and finally worked his way up to become the senior
cultural reporter for Vox. In other words, he has enjoyed professional success
in journalism ever since he graduated from Villanova. But if you told him all that
would happen when he was sitting at Villanova’s commencement ceremonies, when
he had no job lined up, he probably would have laughed.
“I thought if I wanted a life full of money, I should just
become a lawyer,” Abad-Santos said.
Scoring high on the LSATs, Abad-Santos was under the
impression, like many English majors, that law school was his best option
post-graduation. His resume was rather weak, another sign that more schooling
was necessary, he said, laughing. He soon changed his mind, however.
“I interned at a law firm, and it was pretty horrible,”
Abad-Santos said. "Lawyers were working all day and sleeping in their
offices."
Referring to this law internship as a life-changing
experience, he said he knew whatever he ended up doing, it had to be better
than writing contracts while listening to the snores of his cubicle neighbors.
Abad-Santos joked that he originally majored in English due
to his poor math skills, but he also expressed appreciation to his
undergraduate professors at Villanova University for their enthusiasm and love
for their subjects, inspiring him to do the same thing— figure out and do what
he loved.
“I took Jody Ross’ journalism class and was like, ‘Hey, I
can do this! This is really weird and crazy, but I like it!’” he said. “Dr.
Berthold was one of my favorite professors. I took his class on American
Gothic. He has the most wicked sense of humor and is so smart. I thought I
wanted to become an English professor myself and talk about scary stories all
day long.”
Despite his love for writing, Abad-Santos said it took him a
while to put two and two together and pursue a writing career.
During an awkward period of uncertainty, he moved to New
York City and floated around, looking for internships to make up for his slacking
during undergrad. Straining to identify his skills, he decided to go back to
school for his master’s in journalism at the City University of New York. He
wanted to get into writing and learn how to write for the Internet and cut videos
for online platforms.
Abad-Santos was open to any creative opportunity, which led
him to take an unconventional route, finding himself at the start of a new
platform. He interviewed at the Washington Post with Melissa Bell during its
transition to ownership by Jeff Bezos. Towards the end of 2013, Abad-Santos
received a call from Bell, asking if he wanted to apply for a job at a new news
outlet.
Uncertain exactly what he was applying for, but nonetheless
excited, Abad-Santos sent in an application and found himself working for Vox a
week after it launched. With the company for almost five years now, he was recently
promoted to senior correspondent.
“I cover entertainment, art, and culture,” he said. “I get
to see all the “Avengers” movies a week or two early and write what I think
about them. I have a kid’s ultimate dream job.”
Though he has flexibility with his work schedule, his
workload changes depending upon current events. From having to be on call when
someone famous dies to working on weekends when something happens on his beat,
he is always expected to be on alert.
He spoke candidly about the drawbacks of his job.
“You cannot escape the news that is constantly coming at
you,” Abad-Santos said. “If I was an accountant, I could hide behind numbers.
If you work in journalism, you’re in the newsroom and exposed to all that.”
He added that journalism is an industry in which you can
never feel completely safe, as job security does not exist.
“Buzzfeed had layoffs maybe two months
ago,” he said. “Not exactly fun to think about, but something you have to be
aware of.”
For now, he is enjoying his full-time
job at Vox, half-teasing that the best part is having benefits, stock options,
and paid vacation time.
He also likes the work itself. Abad-Santos
covers everything comic-book or superhero-inspired. He refers to his beat as
the “mainstream superhero movies,” covering Marvel and DC Comics, the top two
rival superhero producers.
“I was already reading comic books
when I started at Vox,” Abad-Santos said. “They asked, ‘What’s going to be the
big news that’s going to happen in the next eight to ten years?’ I said, ‘I
think Marvel and Warner Bros. I think this is going to be the big stuff.’ I
kinda made my own beat in a sense.”
Though he gets to write on things he
loves, his passion lies in the writing itself, Abad-Santos said.
“I just love to write,” he said.
“Writing is expressing yourself. Even when you get a piece that you’re proud
of, you’re always trying to be better.”
Even after all his years in the
journalism industry, it still surprises him that people other than his parents
are reading his work.
“I
wrote a piece for the Atlantic in 2014,” Abad-Santos said. “It was something on
daylight savings time; it was a rant. Apparently, it was on Chris Hayes’ show. When
they show snippets of your article, it’s really cool. Another accomplishment
was when I had a couple scoops that went big.”
Abad-Santos is pursuing his dreams and
doing what he loves.
“People often say, ‘Doing something you love doesn’t feel
like work.’ When you’re doing something you love, you want to keep doing it,”
he said.
5 Bits of Advice from
Alex Abad-Santos
1. Get your internships!!! Don’t think you can waltz into a
job because that doesn’t happen.
2. Enjoy undergrad. You have this amazing bubble to learn
and experience life. Get good grades but remember that this is a once-in-a
lifetime chance.
3. Be realistic about journalism. It doesn’t have the
paycheck of doctors or lawyers. It’s something you want to do regardless of the
money.
4. Think about where you want to write and what you like
about those places and what excites you.
5. Keep reading. The only way to become a better writer is
to keep reading.
