Math and History Lead Victor Joecks to Journalism Career
Written by Lauren Smyth
It’s a long way from Hillsdale College to the Las Vegas Review-Journal—especially if you don’t consider yourself a natural-born writer. But that’s the story of Victor Joecks, a 2006 Hillsdale graduate.
Joecks, who originally hails from Washington State, was first drawn to Hillsdale because of the school’s commercials on conservative talk radio. For a kid who “lived and breathed politics,” Hillsdale sounded like the perfect fit.
“I loved politics as a kid,” Joecks said. “I was the nerd who listened to talk radio instead of music. Hillsdale was in that ecosystem.”
When it was time to declare his major, he took advantage of Hillsdale’s broad liberal arts curriculum and combined his fascination with history with his love for the concreteness and objectivity of math.
“Once you get past Calculus III, the numbers all go away, and it’s all letters. That’s good because it teaches you to think, process, and to be logical,” Joecks explained. “I’m really grateful for math.”
Lengthy proofs from the Mathematics Department were one thing—but for Joecks, the equally lengthy essay assignments from the History Department proved more difficult to master.
“I was just a terrible writer,” he admitted. “That was my weakest subject by far.”
One of Joecks’s history professors, Dr. Dave Stewart, dished out slews of essays. Joecks didn’t always appreciate it at the time, but he is now “eternally grateful” for the course requirements that forced him to work steadily on writing assignments. Now, Joecks credits his studies under Dr. Stewart with teaching him the first principles of writing, which he would put to use in his first post-graduation job.
“Dr. Stewart is really, really brilliant and his classes are an absolute delight. And he assigned you all these papers,” Joecks said. “You research, you pull quotes, you figure out ‘Oh! This is a logical structure!’ So that gave me a base.”
It was at Hillsdale that Joecks first realized writing wasn’t the mystical, subjective discipline he’d always dreaded. In fact, as repeated edits and feedback quickly taught him, there were rules—consistent rules that appealed both to the creative and mathematical sides of his brain.
“I didn’t like writing. I thought it was too subjective,” Joecks said. “And there is some truth to that, but there are also principles in writing that make writing good or bad. And you can identify those principles. Then you have a little more freedom and latitude to apply them.”
One of Joecks’s favorite memories from Hillsdale, besides the skills it taught him, was the abundance of opportunity to enjoy lively, open-minded debates on politics, history, and other areas of study.
“It was a ton of fun, and it made you think,” Joecks said. Chuckling, he added: “It’s funny looking back and thinking about all the things I didn’t know or realize and just how much more I know 20 years out. But that certainly didn’t shake my confidence then.”
Though he had enjoyed his academic experience, building a career in writing was still far from Joecks’s mind when he left Hillsdale. His first stop after graduation was the Evergreen Freedom Foundation (now known simply as the Freedom Foundation), where he drafted policy papers and commentaries.
“I had a couple of people above me who would edit my work and give me back a copy so I could see the mistakes,” Joecks said. “And after you do something for a while, you get better at it.”
Regular feedback also helped Joecks develop his personal style, which would later become his signature voice when writing political opinion articles.
“When you read some people, it’s really poetic and beautiful.You’re swept up in the emotion. That’s a real talent,” Joecks said. “My writing is much more punchy and direct.”
After a stint with the National Policy Research Institute and a deployment to Kuwait with the National Guard, Joecks received a new opportunity. A friend at the Las Vegas Review-Journal offered Joecks a full-time position as a columnist for the paper, which he gladly accepted.
Nearly eight years later, Joecks’s column appears three times weekly in the Review-Journal. He also writes editorials, tackling headline topics and presenting opinions on current political events.
For Joecks, writing is one of the most powerful ways to engage in respectful debate because the reader faces no pressure to publicly admit to a change of heart and can honestly face questions about their own positions.
“If you’re having an in-person argument with someone, I would strongly encourage people to ask questions. Make them think about their own position,” Joecks said. “That, to me, is where you’re going to see opinions shift—when people are engaging in arguments, but there’s not the pressure of oh, I’m going to lose face if I acknowledge I’m wrong.”
That type of friendly, fact-based persuasion is Joecks’s job—which some people, he added with a laugh, still can’t quite believe.
“Usually when I talk to people they ask, ‘Is it a full-time job? And do you get paid?’” Joecks explained. “It’s one of the best jobs in politics because I can say what I actually think, and I don’t have to raise money all the time!”
Lauren Smyth, ’25, is an economics major and journalism minor. Outside of starting arguments in philosophy class, she enjoys curling up on a bench outdoors (sun, rain, or snow) to write novels or articles for her blog, www.laurensmythbooks.com.
Published in August 2024