Alumni Spotlight: Madeleine Hart
Published July 10, 2026
Current Job Title
College Sales Representative at W.W. Norton
Describe your current position.
I manage a territory of about 25 universities and community colleges in and around Raleigh, NC. Each day I visit a different campus and meet with professors to talk about textbooks and educational media.
To what extent does writing relate to your current position? What type of writing/design do you do for work?
My daily and weekly duties require a surprising amount of writing. Outside of face-to-face calls, email is my primary mode of communication with clients. I'm also responsible for creating quite a bit of internal communication to alert my manager and the various marketing and editorial teams to new opportunities.
Please describe your path from graduation at GVSU to your current position.
Since graduating, I've worked primarily in book publishing, with a few odd jobs in between. I also attended The Denver Publishing Institute in 2013, which is a great program for anyone considering a career in the book industry.
What parts of the writing major had the strongest impact on you as a professional?
My job requires a tremendous amount of day-to-day written communication, so having a writing degree helped me become a skillful and clear communicator. Although I took a mix of both professional and creative courses at GVSU, I'd highly recommend at least one business writing class for anyone who struggles with workplace communication or who doesn't know how to craft a formal email. One of the biggest pain points I encounter from professors across the disciplines is that students come to college with underdeveloped writing skills. It's ironic given that we live in an age where we're crafting more written communication than ever (via text, email, and social media), but many students neglect the basics, which can eventually hurt them in their professional endeavors.
What advice would you offer to current/future writing majors at Grand Valley?
Although your job title may not contain the word "writer," you shouldn't underestimate how much writing you'll likely have to do in whatever role you end up in. In the past, I've struggled with feelings of inadequacy, because I didn't feel like I had a specialized skill set. Writing felt too general, too universal. But the farther I progress in my career, the more I see how many professionals of all ages struggle with writing and lack very basic skills. Over the past few years, I've come to value my writing proficiencies, which in turn has bolstered my confidence and sense of professional self-worth.