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| Dr. Bryan Butler |
Taking several journalism classes and serving as sports editor of The Ranger in the spring of 1995 was a game-changer, Butler discovered.
“I remember covering a basketball tournament on campus as one of my first stories,” Butler said. “It was a bit intimidating walking into a gym for the first time and asking questions to people I didn’t know. The story wasn't going to win any awards, but seeing my byline in print got me hooked.”
Butler also recalls writing a feature about the Budweiser Clydesdales during the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo and a feature on a SAC professor emeritus who was on the list for a Nobel Peace Prize.
“I worked both of those assignments with Kin Man Hui, a great photographer who has been with the San Antonio Express-News for years now. He was representative of the talent level of the students at SAC.”
Butler transferred to Texas A&M University, and that’s when he really came to appreciate what SAC has to offer, he said.
“The professors I had at SAC were very knowledgeable and helpful, and I felt I was way ahead of many of my classmates when I arrived at A&M. I had some good professors at A&M, but the difference in class sizes meant I didn’t get the same individual attention I received at SAC. That really makes a big difference — one I see now as I teach newswriting (COMM 2310) at the University of Houston.”
Butler worked in the newspaper business for 17 years, working at The Bryan-College Station Eagle, Houston Community Newspapers, San Antonio Express-News and the Houston Chronicle.
“I was offered a job at The Eagle right out of college. After I was hired, the news editor at the time — Dan Balcar, who was from San Antonio and had worked at a San Antonio newspaper — said he hired me in part because there were plenty of A&M graduates around, but he saw SAC on my résumé and knew the program had a great reputation.”
“I really feel the education I received at SAC helped me move forward in my schooling and my career. The professional environment, the training and experience working at The Ranger and the individual attention make SAC a great place to learn.”