Meet Richard Gaffin, a 2001 Biola English Alum who is now a copywriter and creative strategist at a digital ad agency called Common Thread Collective.
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR POST-BIOLA WORK AND LIFE JOURNEY.
It’s been a typically eclectic millennial post-college experience. I worked writing internet listicles for a while, then started working as a church organ builder at a small shop in Santa Fe Springs. For the past five years, I’ve been a copywriter and creative strategist at a digital ad agency called Common Thread Collective.
As far as my life journey goes — I think of it as being primarily a journey toward understanding what I truly value as it contrasts to what I was raised to value.
Now that I’m in my thirties, I’m starting to see the truth of Rilke’s advice: “Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.” WHAT'S YOUR CURRENT OCCUPATION/CAREER, AND IN WHAT WAYS HAS YOUR ENGLISH DEGREE PREPARED YOU FOR THE JOB?
My current role is Senior Copywriter — so I’m essentially the guy in charge of writing at the agency. I’m lucky to have a consistent job where I’m paid to write and to think about writing and language all the time. WHAT WAS A FAVORITE CLASS OR EXPERIENCE YOU HAD WHILE A BIOLA ENGLISH MAJOR?
All my writing classes were great. Poetry, playwriting, advanced comp, etc.
My favorite was ENGL 410 – Vision, Voice, and Practice. The interdisciplinary aspect provided a welcome perspective on my work, and its core lesson, “restrictions breed creativity,” still plays a huge role in my life. WHAT ABOUT LIFE AFTER COLLEGE WAS MOST SURPRISING TO YOU?
You start feeling the effects of aging WAY faster than I thought you did. As in, 25 felt much worse than 21.
Also — and I’m not really sure how to phrase this — money is both a lot more and a lot less important than I thought it would be. I’m not sure which one you need to hear, but they’re both true. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A CURRENT BIOLAN MAJORING IN ENGLISH?
Give yourself permission to go out and make some money. The systems that control the world may be horribly broken, and the stock market is fake or whatever… but you can’t really opt out of them, and you definitely won’t destroy them with the power of your fiction.
Writing and art-making are not magic, they’re work. The more time you spend writing while feeling uninspired, the more likely you are to create something inspired.
Your mind is your body, and your body is your mind. Being physically fit will make you more of who you want to be, not less:
Eat unprocessed foods and lots of vegetables.
If the above sounds kind of meh to you, just add more salt to your food and get a meat thermometer.
Walking is REALLY GOOD exercise. Like, better for you than doing whatever horrible Crossfit-like thing you think you have to do to stay in shape.
WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN READING LATELY?
Lots more nonfiction than in the past, which may be a sign that I’m going to slowly evolve into a World War II dad. Recent reads include:
Jesus and John Wayne by Kristin Kobes du Mez
Dominion by Tom Holland
Trick Mirror by Jia Tolentino
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
Based on a True Story by Norm Macdonald
Open Book by Jessica Simpson