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Name:
Jim Sacco
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Residence:
Waynesboro, Virginia
Graduation Year:
1997
Majors:
History and Political Science
Why did you choose SJC?
I thought it was great that I could start my major
in my freshman year. I didn't want to be bogged down with English, Math,
and Science courses before I could get started on my major. Also, I thought
the Core classes were excellent and fun to be in. They made me think, allowed
me to doubt, and really encouraged discussion and free thought. As a student, what were you involved in?
I co-hosted some talk shows on the campus's radio
station, which helped me out when I started hosting a once-a-week spot on
the ESPN radio station in Staunton, Virginia, talking about high school
sports. I was a Features Editor for Stuff (SJC's student-produced
newspaper, currently known as The Observer) during my freshman year,
and for the years that followed I wrote a humor column. Writing always came
very naturally to me. When I was a boy, I used to write fiction books and
make the covers for them (my mom probably still has them). What are you doing now?
I am the News and Design Editor and Humor Columnist
for the Waynesboro News Virginian in Virginia. I'm also a Sports
Writer, and I've received 10 awards from the Virginia Press Association
awards since 1997, including two first-place awards for sports-column writing.
For 2003, I placed second for sport-column writing, third for event/"games"
stories, and received an Honorable Mention for the sports-writing portfolio
I submitted. I've also been writing fiction. In April 2003, I finished a
book that revolves around the Civil War and a drafted Union soldier from
Delaware who wrestles with the emotional conflict of having to kill other
human beings. I'm currently shopping for a publisher for that one; in the
meantime, I've begun work on a second book. It's an adventure story about
two cats and two dogs who journey together to find "the glyph," which can
ensure a long life of one of the pets' owners.
How did SJC prepare you for the "real world"?
History Professor Bill White pushed me like I'd
never been pushed before. His deadlines were strictly enforced - you received
a "0" if your paper was one minute late - and even though I grumbled about
it, I might not have been able to meet my newspaper deadlines at my job
if I hadn't had him. In my industry, if my pages aren't done by midnight,
I don't get a "0" - I get fired. Professors Sister Pat Robinson and Peter
Watkins encouraged me to be myself and to put my own brand on my work. When
I wrote a paper, they told me to make sure people knew it was from Jim Sacco.
