Oh, the places you can go: Meet Chad Bishop ’06 (Alumni Interview)
Welcome back!
On today’s blog, we’re hearing from a 2006 alum, Chad Bishop, who remarks “being a graduate…with an English degree allows you to create your own path.”
Want to learn more about Chad’s paths? Check out his interview!
Hi, Chad! Thanks so much for this interview. Talk to us. What are you doing now? What paths led you to this point?
I am the Senior Editor of Athletic Communications for Vanderbilt University.
I started a career in sports journalism as an intern at the Statesboro Herald in 2004. I began a full-time position there in 2006 and remained at the Herald until taking a position with the Bowling Green Daily News (BGDN) in Kentucky in 2009. I worked for the BGDN for six years before joining WBKO-TV in Bowling Green, Kentucky as a digital sports journalist in 2015. In 2018, I moved to Nashville, Tennessee to cover Vanderbilt for 247Sports.com, and I was hired by Vanderbilt in September of 2019.
Were you an English major or minor, and how did your English education shape you?
I have a Bachelor’s degree in English with a minor in journalism.
My English degree has greatly influenced my career in journalism because of the wide array of literature courses I took at GSU. That allowed me to absorb a varied range of authors and writing styles which have somewhat shaped my own writing style to this day.
What advice would you give to current English students or students considering English as a major or minor?
I would offer the same advice to both groups: understand that being a graduate of Georgia Southern with an English degree allows you to create your own path. Use the knowledge you will develop as a creative reader, writer, and thinker to make your future. I knew I loved sports, and I knew I loved to read and write – voila! I became a sports writer.
We really enjoyed Chad’s advice, and we were curious about what was on his bookshelf. His varied responses did not disappoint.
My wife was also an English major so we proudly display our entire library in our living room. That includes almost every book we read in college as well as the ones we’ve devoured along the way.
Some that stand out to me include, but are certainly not limited to, the following: Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited (1945), Sinclair Lewis’ Kingsblood Royal (1947), Pat Conroy’s The Lords of Discipline (1980), Rick Bragg’s All Over but the Shoutin (1997), Chuck Klosterman’s But What if We’re Wrong (2016), Keith Law’s Smart Baseball (2017), and Daniel Keyes’ Flowers for Algernon (1966).
We asked Chad if there was anything else he’d like to share, and he happily obliged.
I love Georgia Southern, and I am thankful for my experiences there. I try to return to campus at least once a year. Actually, I rigorously follow GSU athletics and attempt to attend as many Georgia Southern football games as possible. In fact, I was in Minnesota for this year’s game between the Eagles and Golden Gophers.
Many thanks to Chad for a great interview!
Are you an alum with an English degree? Would you like to be featured on our blog for the 2020-2021 academic year? Email us! gsuenglish@georgiasouthern.edu. We would love to hear from you!
Posted in Department of Literature Blog
