Sara Altenhoff

Name:

Sara Altenhoff

MSU Degrees:

BA in English, 2011

Other degrees:

MA in English, University of Mississippi, 2015

Favorite memories of being an undergraduate English major:

Some of my favorite memories are (of course!) the literature courses, in particular the upper-level courses. Many of the novels, plays, and poems I read as an undergrad have had a lifelong impact on me, and I look back very fondly on all the time I got to spend reading and discussing those works.

Some of my favorite classes were the Jane Austen course taught by Dr. Claggett (which may have sparked a lifelong Austen obsession), Southern lit classes taught by Dr. Atkinson (where I read my first Faulkner novel), and all the women’s lit classes taught by Dr. Marsh (I took as many as I could!). I still think and talk about many of the books I read in these courses, and I like to believe they helped me become a more empathetic, open-minded, and well-rounded person. 

Current Position:

Marketing and Communications Manager

Organization:

Sourcetoad, a technology consulting and software development firm

When you graduated with a degree in English from MSU, what were your plans for your future?  Has your career path mostly realized those early plans, or have you discovered new plans and goals along the way?

After graduation, I knew I wanted to go to grad school, and maybe go on to be an English professor. However, grad school gave me a more realistic idea of what it’s like working in academia, and I decided it wasn’t for me. So after finishing my MA in English, I worked at Rowan Oak in Oxford, MS, which was incredible because I got to nerd out about literature and history while picking up some skills that helped me develop a career in marketing. I loved working in the museum atmosphere, but after three years I accepted a marketing job because it had better pay and more opportunities. While I would have loved to continue working in museums for my career, one marketing job led to another, and now I’ve been in marketing/communications for 8 years. 

What is your current occupation, and what does your work mostly consist of?

I’m currently the Marketing and Communications Manager at Sourcetoad, a custom software and technology consulting firm. I’m a one-woman marketing department, so I wear many hats.

I actually do a lot of writing and editing in my job, including client communications, blog posts, newsletters, white papers, case studies, website content, press releases, and social media posts. I also manage multiple websites, create graphics and visuals, plan and run webinars, edit videos, attend conferences and events, and manage budgets. 

Which skills that you learned as an English major do you use most in your job?

Critical thinking, writing, editing, research, and communication. 

What additional skills did you need to learn in order to do your job, and how did you learn them?

I picked up some graphic design skills over the years (InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator). I’ve also learned how to create websites in Wordpress, and how to edit video and audio. I’ve had no formal education in any of these, I just learned them on my own via Youtube tutorials and playing around with the tools. Knowing CRM software and project management have also been required for my job, and I learned these via online courses (Hubspot Academy and Udemy).

Are there common misconceptions about your career field, which current English majors might share, that you have learned the truth about?

When I was an undergrad, I thought marketing and business sounded super boring! But it turns out you can do a lot of creative things in marketing, including a lot of writing. My English degrees have been a huge asset in my career. I never thought I’d be working in tech, but a background in the humanities is a great foundation. I offer a perspective that no one else at my organization has. 

What advice do you have for undergraduate English majors right now who might want to follow the career path you did?

For English majors who may want to get into marketing and communications, I’d encourage you to stay curious and be a lifelong learner. No matter what you major in, you’re going to have to learn a lot of things on the job or on your own. Push yourself outside of your comfort zone, even if that means applying for jobs you may not feel 100% qualified for. An English degree is a fantastic foundation to have for working in all kinds of industries. If you can make a good impression in an interview, employers will be willing to take you on. Be sure to advocate for yourself, and get good at communicating your strengths. And don’t be too worried about AI taking your potential jobs, with all the AI slop out in the world, people with writing and critical thinking skills are needed now more than ever! 

[Updated August 2025]