Office Hours

Giselle (00:03):
Hi everybody, my name's Giselle, and I'm the digital marketing strategist here at Texas State University. You're listening to Office Hours, and today we're talking to Eddie Sanchez and I'm here with my intern Sam. Sam. How's it going?

Sam (00:13):
It's going all right. Yeah, it's going good.

Giselle (00:15):
Yeah. Awesome. So how was that conversation with you and Eddie? I know you guys know each other, but you got to learn some things that you didn't know about him. So?

Sam (00:21):
I did. He really went in depth to like his career and his journey, and it was really remarkable. It was really cool stuff that he told me, but very exciting.

Giselle (00:31):
Cool. So what was like your biggest takeaway?

Sam (00:33):
When he went into like, how he was like rapping, like at three or four, it was just like a really cool, you know path that he took.

Giselle (00:41):
Definitely. It's definitely very unique for sure. So yeah, we hope you guys enjoy this conversation with Sam and Eddie.

Sam (00:54):
Eddie, we're no strangers, but for the people who don't know you, can you please introduce yourself, your name, and what you teach here at Texas State University?

Eddie Sanchez (01:00):
So thank you for having me, Sam. My name is Eddie Sanchez, and I'm a team member of the Division of Marketing and Communications, and I also teach US 1100 courses here at Texas State University.

Sam (01:11):
All right. Interesting. Interesting. You know, we always gotta do an ice breaker. Who would you want to play you in a movie about your life?

Eddie Sanchez (01:19):
Ooh, man, that's a very good question. You know, I've thought about this a little bit before. I don't even know what his name is. Wiler Valderrama?

Sam (01:28):
Wilmer Valderrama.

Eddie Sanchez (01:29):
Wilmer Valderrama. Yeah. I think he could play me well, and I think we have some similarity. You know, I think we look somewhat, somewhat similar. He's not super big, you know, I'm not a big guy. , I think, you know, he does have a mustache. I can't grow a mustache.

Sam (01:43):
It's okay. It's okay. That's cool. That's a good one. That's a deep cut. Like, I haven't heard of his name in a while.

Eddie Sanchez (01:49):
Believe me. I have thought about this before.

Sam (01:50):
Okay, look. All right. So you teach here, you teach US 1100, but I wanna start at the beginning of your journey. What was your first job like? I want to know how your journey started as, you know, just working.

Eddie Sanchez (02:01):
So, the very first actual job that I had was at Kmart. It was in college. I was 17 years old, and I was working as a cashier. I kind of had jobs like that throughout my college life. Worked at a lot of different stores, worked on building houses for a summer. A lot of outside work. Worked at H-E-B, pushing carts and bagging groceries. So I had the chance to kind of go through that little rollercoaster of those types of jobs, you know, were kind of minimum wage, they're a little bit more hands-on, but I mean, honestly, some of those experiences that I had there, I look back at them with a certain fondness just because it's like, okay, I can appreciate now where I'm at. So my first professional job was, uh, working at the Sylvan Learning Center down in the Rio Grande Valley. And that's really what got me interested in education and working in education. But I was a project manager there for about seven, eight years. And, um, my responsibilities were wide and varied.

Sam (02:50):
I wanna know. So what college did you go to?

Eddie Sanchez (02:52):
The school that I went to at the time was called University of Texas, Pan-American. So it was UTPA, but it's transitioned to UTRGV. So now it's UT Rio Grande Valley. I got my undergraduate and both my graduate degree there and I studied English with a minor in history. That was my undergraduate. And then, uh, I went back a couple of years afterwards, maybe about like four or five years after I had first graduated, and I worked on my graduate degree. And that was in like literary studies.

Sam (03:20):
So college experience, what would you really label it as?

Eddie Sanchez (03:23):
I got married very early. I was in college when I got married. I had my first child when I was in college. I was 20, I think 21, something like that. A lot of my college career was basically working, going to school, and being a dad. So I didn't really get the opportunity to experience the extracurricular stuff, you know, I just didn't really have time for all that. But at the same time, I mean, it was a good experience in that I got to meet people that are still my friends still this day, talking with the faculty members. My teachers at the time, my professors at the time, a lot of them were very willing to help me and you know, they kind of understood my situation and they helped to guide me through that. It wasn't the traditional path, but I mean, I got it done and I went back and got my graduate degree as a dad.

Sam (04:07):
You went back for, you said literary studies. I mean, I know you've been a writer for a while, you know, that's your thing. Why did you want to become a writer?

Eddie Sanchez (04:14):
The reason I got into writing was because I've loved hip-hop since I've been a baby. I have a tape I think of where I'm about three or four, I'm rapping along to, there's a song called "La Mentirosa" from Mellow Man Ace. For whatever reason, I was just always drawn to the words of the rappers. I think I wanted to be like the rappers essentially, right? I wanted to write, I wanted to write rhymes. So I started off with writing rhymes, and then little by little I would kind of start writing poetry. And then my brother saw that I kind of had a little bit of a skill. So they would ask me to help them with their homework, and people at school would ask me to help them with their writing. So it was just little by little, I just kept going at it, kept going at it, and it became this thing, what it is now.

Sam (04:49):
Wow, that's so awesome. You teach University Seminar here at Texas State. When you were in college, as you just said, did you think that you were going to be a professor?

Eddie Sanchez (04:58):
In all honesty, no. I didn't. But when I got out of college, uh, I remember at the interview that I was having the interviewer, she was like, well, where do you see yourself? And I think she must have said like five or 10 years. And I was like, you know what? I'd like to go back and try to get my graduate degree and potentially, you know, teach at a college, university. You know, my mind was, I'll teach at a college, you know, community college.

Sam (05:18):
I mean you, when you first started teaching US 1100, what's something that you, you know, had to learn, you know, or is there something that you had just had to pick up?

Eddie Sanchez (05:25):
I'll be honest and say, it's still a learning process, right? It's just like trying to learn as much as I can and so that way I can be a better teacher every time I show up to class.

Sam (05:35):
You're teaching freshmen exclusively. I mean, is there anything that you've learned from, you know, teaching? I mean, a more younger crowd of the university?

Eddie Sanchez (05:42):
Oh, I learned that they think Post Malone is the GOAT.

Sam (05:46):
My god. Oh my God.

Eddie Sanchez (05:46):
Oh

Sam (05:47):
Gosh. Yeah. That would've sent me insane. That would've, oh my God.

Eddie Sanchez (05:50):
That hurt me deeply when I heard that.

Sam (05:53):
Yeah. You know? Yeah. You probably hear so many like takes that are so like outta line. Yeah. Like...

Eddie Sanchez (05:57):
Like I said, I mean, I always, I always had my little introductory class and the first thing is like, look guys, I love hip-hop, so y'all ever wanna talk about hip-hop? You know? Yeah.

Sam (06:04):
But don't slander it. Come on, come, Come on.

Eddie Sanchez (06:07):
I'll further along in the semester, I always ask like, who do you guys like, you know? And so sometimes they'll throw out some names and I'll be like, mm, I don't know about that person, you know, but, but yeah, that's something that I learned, that some of the students think Post Malone's the GOAT. But no, honestly, um, that was, this was something I was touching on earlier that there's a commonality amongst all students, you know, even though they might not see it, even though they might not realize it, even though they come from different parts of the state, of the nation, different neighborhoods, you know, different cultural backgrounds, there's something that we can always all relate to. You know, even me being a little bit older than them, there's still experiences that I've had that I know that I can relate to them in. You know? And I, that's something that I see, you know, it's something that I've learned, and it's something that I see.

Sam (06:49):
Is there anything that, when you first started, or I mean even now, is just things that, you know, kinda get you nervous, is anything that, you know, you're still a little, not afraid of, but just more as a professor, you know, teaching these students?

Eddie Sanchez (07:03):
Oh yeah, man, like, students just make me nervous in general. Cuz they're always so, everyone always seems so cool and laid back, you know what I mean? And I'm here trying to make sure that I'm giving them the right information that they need, the right guidance, while also being, not gonna say entertaining, but engaging enough that they want to come to class and that they want to, you know, learn from me. So it's kind of scary every class period. I'm always a little nervous, you know? And it's kind of like a big game. It's kind of like a big, you know. Yeah. It's kind of like, you know, you're about to play in the championship game every class. Yeah. It's like tipoff, you got the little bit of butterflies and then...

Sam (07:42):
First quarter. Second quarter. Half time.

Eddie Sanchez (07:43):
You warm up. Yeah. And then by the time you know it, the class is over and you're like, oh man, I didn't even, you know, I was just getting warmed up. But yeah, I mean it's, uh...

Sam (07:51):
Yeah, we managed to get a sports reference and that somehow we somehow did, we told ourselves we weren't gonna do that.

Eddie Sanchez (07:57):
Yeah. So it's, it's a little nerve-wracking, but it's always a lot of fun.

Sam (08:00):
Yeah. We talk about your teaching career or just in career in general. There's a lot of moments that stick out. Is there ever something that I think you've been most proud about? You know, something or just something you hold up a little higher than the others?

Eddie Sanchez (08:12):
I've had a chance to have some of my coworkers come in and talk to students about their experiences. Yeah. These are coworkers who are alums as well. So they come in and they talk about their experiences to the students. And the students actually get like super engaged with that. You know, this last time I think we had a couple of students that stayed back and were talking to the presenters. Like I said, it wasn't a thing for me or about me, something that I was proud of. It was just, it was really great, just really cool to see that the students were learning from, you know, from the presenters. And that again, that they realized that there are people out there who have gone through the same things that they're going through, and that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And just kind of building that hope. Look at these people, they've done it. You can do it too. And so it's cool just to see the students get engaged with that. And I like, if I'm gonna have a proud moment, I'd say, like, that's always really cool to see. Like, even though I really have nothing to do with that , besides bringing in the presenters, you know.

Sam (09:02):
I feel like you're doing your job. You know, that's what you're there for. You just to help these people, you know, like, hey, this is what you can do. You know? Awesome. That's awesome. Let's go back in time. Not too long. What would a college Eddie not believe about your life today?

Eddie Sanchez (09:17):
I wrote out a script for a commercial that Texas State University filmed, and it played on ESPN. Right. So I was like, this is so dope. So I recorded it and I sent it to all my friends. All my friends are like, this is the dopest thing in the world. Like, wow, you know, you've done something, you've done something. You know what I mean? And I've had some opportunities, especially here at the university, to create writing that has been, you know, I got pieces that were published in Texas Monthly, even though, you know, I've had some of my writing make its way into broader media. And so it's hard for me to sit back and say like, yeah, 20, I knew I was gonna be doing that. I don't wanna be overly confident, you know, arrogant. I mean, definitely have that belief in yourself. Yeah. But it's hard for me to sit here and say like, yeah, I saw all this. Cuz the truth of the matter is, like, all I knew was I want to be a writer continuing on. Hopefully I continue to reach more of the goals and milestones that I wanna reach in life.

Sam (10:13):
And finally, I have one question. I am a junior in college. You know, explain like all this experience that you have and all these things that you've done. Do you have any advice for me?

Eddie Sanchez (10:24):
Yeah, for sure. I mean, I think for you specifically, because I know that you're interested in getting in the creative fields, always make sure that you know, you're working on the creativity, on that creativity. Because if you're not, if you're not working on a project, if you're not working on ideas, somebody else is right? Somebody else is grinding that out. And that's a part of the scary thing of the creative industry. And it's a part of the beautiful thing, right? Because if you put in that work, a lot of times it will come through, but also you have to put in that work, you know? And whatever it is that you're trying to do with your career, especially now that you're still young, start putting in that time, start putting in that effort because everything takes time. It's taken me a lifetime to get to where I'm at right now, to be able to say, oh yeah, I get paid to write. It's taken me all my life literally to get to this point. And so you never know how long it will take you, but if you're putting in that effort, you're putting in that time, you'll get that opportunity to shine. You just need to make sure that you prepared for that moment. So I would say for sure, just keep grinding away at it and figuring out different ways to express yourself and to build your creativity and just, yeah, try to be the best Sam that you can be.

Sam (11:36):
Will do. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Thank you, Eddie, for joining me today.

Eddie Sanchez (11:40):
Oh, thank you for having me, man. It was a blast. Just having a chance to talk with you and laugh.

Sam (11:46):
laugh. Fun day. All right. Well, thank you. All right. Thank you all so much for listening to Office Hours. My name is Sam, and we'll see you next time.