{"657921":{"#nid":"657921","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Alumni Spotlight: Patrick Zander, Writer and History Professor","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EName:\u003C\/strong\u003E Patrick G. Zander\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGraduation year:\u003C\/strong\u003E 2009\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDegrees:\u003C\/strong\u003E M.S. and Ph.D in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hsoc.gatech.edu\/graduate\/phd-program\u0022\u003EHistory and Sociology of Technology and Science\u003C\/a\u003E (HSTS)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECompany: \u003C\/strong\u003EGeorgia Gwinnett College\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003E1. What do you do?\u202f\u202f\u202f\u202f\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI am an associate professor of history.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003E2. What\u0026rsquo;s the coolest part of your job?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe coolest part of my job is teaching young students about history and its importance to our understanding. History, after all, attempts to teach us the biggest lessons\u0026nbsp;of all: What is the world like, and how did it get that way.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003E3. Why are you passionate about this work?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI am most passionate about teaching for the thrill it provides when young people (and older people) come alive to learning about their world. But, I am also very passionate about research and writing books. While so much in our lives is temporary, publishing a book about history is a kind of permanent addition to the world\u0026rsquo;s knowledge, or at least your own take on that particular subject.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003E4. How did you find your job\/what\u0026rsquo;s the best resource for jobs or networking you\u0026rsquo;ve found?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EI was incredibly lucky in that in the year I went on the market, there were only two jobs across the country that were appropriate for me (and that I would have been willing to take). One was here in Atlanta at Georgia Gwinnett College, and I got it. I simply used H-net for the jobs site, and there it was. Again, I was very fortunate.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003E5. What\u0026rsquo;s the most surprising detour you\u0026rsquo;ve taken from your career path? What did you learn from it?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe most surprising detour is the one I\u0026rsquo;ve only JUST taken, which is that I\u0026rsquo;ve published a work of historical fiction \u0026mdash;\u0026nbsp;a novel. What I\u0026rsquo;ve learned is, first, how much I love the process of writing a novel, and second, how incredibly difficult it is to break into the world of mainstream fiction \u0026mdash;\u0026nbsp;It is not for the faint of heart! HA!!\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003E6. What\u0026rsquo;s the greatest challenge you\u0026rsquo;ve faced since graduating, and how did you overcome it?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe greatest challenge was surviving without benefits while I was looking for a \u0026ldquo;permanent\u0026rdquo; tenure track job. I overcame it by teaching at multiple institutions as an adjunct professor \u0026mdash;\u0026nbsp;enough classes so that I could make my way financially. This meant six to eight classes per semester and was quite difficult. It meant a great deal of work, but it also piled up a great deal of teaching experience which helped me when it came to applying for permanent positions.\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003E7. What\u0026rsquo;s your #1 tip for students and alumni interested in your field?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMy number one tip is a simple one, but I would simply say that if you are going to pursue this career path \u0026mdash;\u0026nbsp;academic history \u0026mdash;\u0026nbsp;make certain you are passionate about it. The job market is, of course, extremely tough, so you will go through difficulty to get to your destination.\u0026nbsp;So be sure you are absolutely committed before you take that on.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Ch2\u003E8. Can HSOC students and alum contact you if they\u0026rsquo;re interested in following in your footsteps?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h2\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EYes, by all means! My email address is\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:pzander@ggc.edu\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003Epzander@ggc.edu\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThank you for sharing your experience, Patrick!\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ECheck out more HSOC alumni spotlights with\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hsoc.gatech.edu\/news\/item\/656692\/meet-distinguished-alumni-award-winner-sybrina-atwaters\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ESybrina Atwaters\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hsoc.gatech.edu\/news\/item\/655954\/alumni-spotlight-jonah-taylor-historian-army-corps-engineers\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EJonah Bea-Taylor\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hsoc.gatech.edu\/news\/item\/654019\/alumni-spotlight-marcela-moreno-transit-technologist\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EMarcela Moreno\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hsoc.gatech.edu\/news\/item\/652564\/meet-hsoc-alum-epidemiologist-danielle-sharpe\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EDanielle Sharpe\u003C\/a\u003E, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hsoc.gatech.edu\/news\/item\/651594\/alumni-spotlight-emily-gibson-blevins-science-policy-analyst\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EEmily Gibson Blevins\u003C\/a\u003E, and stay tuned on\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/History-and-Sociology-at-Georgia-Tech-271067704485\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EFacebook\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/hsoc-gatech\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ELinkedIn\u003C\/a\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/techhsoc\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003EInstagram\u003C\/a\u003E, and\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/twitter.com\/techhsoc\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022\u003ETwitter\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;for new ones every month!\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Patrick Zander is an associate professor of history at Georgia Gwinnett College and has published books on history and historical fiction."}],"uid":"35766","created_gmt":"2022-05-03 18:29:28","changed_gmt":"2022-05-11 13:21:24","author":"dminardi3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2022-05-10T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2022-05-10T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"657952":{"id":"657952","type":"image","title":"Patrick Zander","body":null,"created":"1651680501","gmt_created":"2022-05-04 16:08:21","changed":"1651761495","gmt_changed":"2022-05-05 14:38:15","alt":"Patrick Zander\u0027s headshot on blue background with white text reading \u0022Alumni Spotlight Patrick Zander\u0022","file":{"fid":"249413","name":"16 x 9 Aspect Ratio (3200 x 1800 px) (39).png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/16%20x%209%20Aspect%20Ratio%20%283200%20x%201800%20px%29%20%2839%29.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/16%20x%209%20Aspect%20Ratio%20%283200%20x%201800%20px%29%20%2839%29.png","mime":"image\/png","size":2011261,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/16%20x%209%20Aspect%20Ratio%20%283200%20x%201800%20px%29%20%2839%29.png?itok=atjxF7-T"}}},"media_ids":["657952"],"groups":[{"id":"1288","name":"School of History and Sociology"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDi Minardi\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Edi.minardi@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["dminardi3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}