Career Path of a Consultant and Publisher at Valorena Publishing
Valerie's career path, beginning with undergraduate studies in English literature at UC Berkeley and a law library job, took a "winding, circuitous path" from aspiring lawyer to journalist. After experiences including a Deloitte translation role in Madrid and a stint at the Miami Herald, the combination of "learning to read at Cal and ... to write at Columbia" ultimately led to their current position as a Consultant & Publisher, fueled by a deep understanding of "the power of writing and reading".
Communication, Career Development, International Experience, Journalism, Writing Skills
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Valerie Williams-Sanchez
Consultant & Publisher
Valorena Publishing
University of California, Berkeley
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism - MS, St. John's University - PhD
Communications
Education
Creative
None Applicable
Video Highlights
1. Valerie's career path highlights a winding but insightful journey, starting with her undergraduate studies in English literature at UC Berkeley, where she developed strong analytical skills through deep reading of diverse texts. This background unexpectedly led her to a PhD in literacy, showcasing how seemingly disparate fields can connect.
2. Her experiences working in a law library and interning at a law firm solidified her interest in social justice but ultimately steered her toward journalism, which she viewed as a more effective means of advocacy and influencing the public. This decision reflects the importance of identifying one's passions and adapting career paths accordingly.
3. Valerie's time in Spain, working as a translator and interpreter for National Geographic, emphasizes the value of international experience in building a globally-minded career. This illustrates the diverse opportunities available outside traditional career paths and the transferable skills gained in different contexts. It shows how building experience and exploring different roles can lead to career growth and self-discovery
Transcript
Could you walk me through your career path, starting with your experiences in college? Do you have any internships or jobs you've had before your current role?
That's a long time ago, but I'll keep it brief, hopefully insightful. I started in 1986 as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, a student athlete, quite frankly. I was studying English literature, focusing on emergent and multicultural texts. Back then, we called everything English literature, and the analysis was done from the same prism of deep dives into canonical texts.
That skill was what I was interested in using to pursue the career I had chosen: to become a lawyer. Cut to 2025, and I'm not a lawyer, but rather a PhD in literacy. That tells you there was a winding, circuitous path to my career. But it all started and ended with that origination story at UC Berkeley.
As a student athlete, I worked in a law library, one of my first jobs. I was a summer intern at Wilson Shear Marshall in Peterson, off of Lake Merritt in Oakland. While I enjoyed the job, I realized my true passion, as far as the law was concerned, was more aligned with social justice. It was about giving voice to people and giving them an opportunity to advocate for themselves, or being an advocate for them.
What started as an aspiring career in law quickly turned into a career in journalism. After studying literature, I had gained crucial analytical skills. I also learned that journalism is perceived as literature written quickly. I came to my original career path as a writer, hoping to harness the power of my writing in the legal fields.
However, I found it was even more crucial, useful, and effective as a journalist. I felt you could get a lot more done more quickly in persuading and influencing people through journalism. After I figured that out, I continued through my undergraduate degree and went to study at the University of Salamanca through an exchange program. It was a rich experience that helped me learn about the history, art, and culture of Spain.
Why Spain? At the time, it was a great way to get to Europe while learning Spanish, a more practical language. It made sense to me, while my colleagues went to France. I thought Paris was great, but I wanted to go to Spain to learn Spanish, which I could use more in my day-to-day life.
After Spain, I had a magnificent time and fell in love with the country. I returned upon my graduation and was lucky enough to get a job at Deloitte in Madrid. I worked as an apprentice translator for a few years. I also had the good fortune to meet a photographer from National Geographic, for whom I was an interpreter.
These were pickup jobs a young person out of college in a foreign country might find. But they provided wonderful experiences in travel, learning about the world and people, and how to move through the world. These experiences were ideal. They were what I envisioned a life as a journalist would be.
I had gone with the intent of getting experience to build my resume for grad school, which I did upon my return. I applied to Columbia Journalism School and got in. After my graduation, I worked as a journalist at the Miami Herald.
I like to say I learned to read at Cal and learned to write at Columbia. Both of those experiences paved the way to where I am now, a PhD in literacy. Through those experiences, I truly learned the power of writing and reading, and how much those skills can afford someone in terms of both a career and worldly exposure.