One of the best things the Department of Journalism and Photography at San Antonio College did for me was to not let me give in to my own insecurities. The professors and staff of the department helped me build self-esteem and confidence in my writing.
My first assignment for The Ranger came from an introduction to news writing class. I was so nervous over the fact that something I was about to write would be scrutinized by not only The Ranger's staff, but by the paper's readership as well, that I almost quit.
Before I could bolt, Chairman Chet Hunt and Professor Irene Abrego stepped in and immediately went to work on me, just a simple, newbie news writing student with a massive case of reporter anxiety.
Their calming words come to me still today when, instead of a weeklong deadline for a 3-inch brief, I am facing two hours to produce a 25-inch column. Needless to say, their instructions against procrastination were the ones I should have paid more attention to.
In short, SAC's journalism department will never quit on you, even after you have tried to quit on yourself.
Christopher Quinn
former editor of The Ranger
San Antonio Express-News
I've been lucky enough to learn journalism in various environments.
None, however, was more fulfilling than my time spent at The Ranger.
I learned how to become a better writer and editor, and was given the freedom to dabble in other areas of the field that interested me, like newspaper and web design. I also learned the importance of paying attention to detail and respecting deadlines. Many, and I do mean many, of the skills I use in my everyday workload I can attribute to The Ranger.
If it hadn't been for my time at The Ranger, I might have never gotten my foot in the San Antonio Express-News door, except maybe for a tour.
Ben Olivo
San Antonio Express-News
MySanAntonio.com
Besides preparing me for the newspaper environment, I am especially grateful to the Ranger staff for giving me an outlet for my cartoons and teaching me design.
Ranger cartoons in my portfolio got me hired at the Express-News. The fact I had my work published put me ahead of my competition, I believe.
Things like typography and the use of dingbats I learned in Magazine Design have been most valuable. That class taught me how to direct the reader. I have relied on that knowledge now for the past 21 years. Thanks again.
Felipe Soto
designer and illustrator
San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio College's journalism program and The Ranger provided me with the necessary skills and experiences needed to succeed in the field of photojournalism. Upon leaving the program and entering the career field, my experiences from SAC allowed me to quickly prove my abilities as a photojournalist at the San Antonio Express-News.
From the classes I took in reporting, page design and layout and news photography, my supervisors were impressed by my skill set and ability to perform with little training at the paper. I believe that these skills I acquired at SAC Ð along with some hard work Ð is what led to my eventually being hired full-time to the staff.
Nearly 10 years later, I still find myself relying on the writing and photojournalism methods I learned in the Journalism Department. I continually recommend to students interested in the field of journalism or photojournalism to seek San Antonio College as their choice for higher education.
Thanks to Mr. Hunt and to all the faculty for their devotion and support to the profession of journalism and photojournalism.
Kin Man Hui
Staff Photographer
San Antonio Express-News
San Antonio College's Journalism Department prepares you for the real world. The cornerstone of the department, The Ranger, is run like a major daily newspaper and provides students a strong foundation in reporting, editing and other skills needed to make it as a working journalist.
When the San Antonio Express-News hired me as a reporter in 1985, it was apparent after a few days on the job that life as a professional journalist wasn't much different than what I was exposed to at SAC. The fundamentals are stressed at SAC. That means accuracy, tight writing and dogged reporting are stressed, the same as they are at any major daily.
Tom Orsborn
sports reporter
San Antonio Express-News
I realized I wanted to be a journalist when I was 23, having decided against law school after getting a degree in political science from St. Mary's University in San Antonio. I ran into an ex-roommate who mentioned the SAC Ranger as a reputable, cheaper and local alternative to the University of Texas at Austin, especially since my goal was to get my foot in the door as a newspaper reporter, not to get another degree.
I spent two very newsy semesters at SAC, taking journalism and photography courses and working on the Ranger as if my life depended on it. In a sense, it did.
A week after I left SAC, I got a reporting internship at a nearby city, which turned into a job. I have been a reporter a total of nine years at three newspapers, including the Austin American-Statesman. I have taught and advised aspiring journalists in some form at three universities, including UT Austin. I have been an editor with direct supervision of reporters since 1996, starting at the Brownsville Herald.
I learned things at SAC that I still use and practice today, things I have taught my own reporters and students. I've been to graduate school, but SAC remains, I believe, the best single academic investment I ever made.
Henry Krausse
San Antonio Express-News
How has the Department of Journalism-Photography helped prepare me for newspaper work? Aside from the skills and trade tricks I learned, the professionals to whom I was introduced, the hands-on work I was given and the accumulated experience to which I was exposed, what has stuck with me the most is how I was taught about the importance of what I was learning and doing. While a student at the department and in the years since, I have been shown that newspaper work is vital and those participating have a responsibility to their communities Ð readers and otherwise. More than anything, that ongoing lesson has guided me throughout my newspaper career.
Adrian Zamarron
Austin American-Statesman
Page 1 designer
Last week my co-worker had a great news tip that required him to look up some court records, including a divorce case. But he didn't know where to look on the Internet or at the courthouse. So I had to guide him through the process of finding the various records and I was able to do this because it was something I learned early on in my studies in the Journalism Program at San Antonio College.
Studying journalism at SAC prepared me for my job as a City Hall beat reporter not just because we toured the courthouse and learned how to look up court documents, but because of the myriad practical experiences I had working on The Ranger.
Covering the Alamo Community College District Board of Trustees couldn't have been a more perfect beginning to covering the inner workings of the San Antonio mayor and City Council. Students at the senior level of a university have to fight for this kind of experience. At The Ranger, it is a requirement to have this kind of skill set, not an option.
When I graduated from Southwest Texas State University in 2003, I knew I was better prepared than my classmates to enter a career at a newspaper, but only because of my education at SAC. I simply had more published articles and opportunities to cover everything from arts and entertainment events to a botched land deal for a new college campus. My success at the Express-News is evidence of the excellent preparation I had in the journalism program.
Laura Jesse
Press Spokesperson, former reporter at the San Antonio Express-News.
Cynthia Esparza
Kin Man Hui
Tom Orsborn
