Leah Sadoian: Age 6
If you would have asked little Leah what she wanted to be when she grew up, she’d have looked you straight in the eye and confidently said, “I want to be an artist.”
My name is Leah Sadoian, and I’m a writer, storyteller, and digital creative living and working out of California’s beautiful Central Valley. I dabble in a bit of everything digital, from vector-based graphic design to directing/producing digital content, and I even attempted to stream my mediocre video gameplay on Twitch.
I received my Bachelor of Arts in Communications Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA. My undergrad years were full of deliciously difficult rhetoric courses, breakfast burritos, and a beautiful semester spent studying abroad in the Middle East. Originally pursuing a career in Student Affairs, I went on to earn my Master of Science in College Counseling and Student Development at Azusa Pacific University in the greater Los Angeles Area. Grad school was a blur of heavy papers, student engagement, and seeing a sold-out Death Cab for Cutie concert at the Hollywood Bowl (still one of my favorite live shows of all time).
During a (very) short tenure working in Higher Ed, I came to the striking realization that I didn’t just dislike my job, I definitely hated it. Deep in the trenches of burnout, paired with a massive depressive episode and newfound generalized anxiety, I threw caution to the wind and quit my job without a backup plan. At 25, I moved back home with my parents and entered the wonderful world of unemployment. In those months, I came back to what I knew best—what I had honestly known since I was six. That I wanted to be an artist.
I had a few design chops from my time at Westmont, plus basic video editing skills from school projects. I self-taught myself basic video editing skills, and began producing personal vlogs and blog content detailing how I was navigating life and discovering what my new passions were. In the journey towards a new career, I discovered a love for digital content development—the ability to create something seamless and efficient, communicating stories, lessons, and more to an audience far greater than I could ever imagine.
My first professional content design gig came with IMAGO, a Fresno-based start-up that designs digital curricula for social-emotional learning. Starting as a member of their production team, I was tasked with assisting in the direction and production of video lessons, as well as helping research and write our curriculum. I eventually transitioned to directing our marketing and partner outreach initiative, where I continued to utilize my skills as a digital content creator in a variety of projects. In January 2020, I accepted a new position as a Content Writer for Bitwise Industries. In that role, I handled the majority of our company copywriting projects, creative content development, and email marketing outreach. I currently work as a cybersecurity writer for UpGuard, where I publish industry blog content, handle email marketing, and manage other content initiatives.
I may not be a modern Armenian-Chinese Bob Ross, but I do think I’m living up to my childhood dream of being an artist. Whether I’m spending a Friday night crafting a brand new piece of contentt with a fresh NA beer in hand or building an email strategy that’s sure to stand out in a user’s inbox, I feel my inner artist at work. And I like to think I’m making little 6-year-old Leah proud.
Leah Sadoian: Age 32
I am proud to be an accomplished writer, an authentic storyteller, a hard-working creative, and above all else—the artist I always wanted to be when I grew up.