School of Journalism

Baby’s passion for journalism began when he was six years old. He started taking news writing classes in middle school and gained three years of experience writing for his high school newspaper. Baby’s college choices after graduation were the University of Texas at Austin or the University of North Texas. He chose the Mayborn School at UNT because of the broad range of programs and its experienced faculty.

Baby graduated in the spring of 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in news/editorial. At UNT, he polished his news writing working for the North Texas Daily, Denton Record-Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News. He now works as a staff writer for The Dallas Morning News. He was greatly influenced by faculty and advisors of the North Texas Daily – including professors Neil Foote and Dr. Tracy Everbach – who continually provided feedback on his writing.

Baby believes that his experiences at the Mayborn prepared him well for the professional world. “What I got out of my education was pretty practical,” he said. “Just the building blocks of how to write solid news stories. I felt like almost every class really did shape me. It was really a forward way of thinking because the Mayborn at that time in ’09 was ahead of the curve about getting all their kids trained in multiple different aspects.”

He appreciated the school’s effort to ensure that students were not only capable of doing things related to news/editorial, but were also familiar with photojournalism, advertising, public relations and other aspects of journalism. “People that go to Mayborn are going to be well-rounded journalists and that is exactly what news organizations are looking for now,” he said. “Being close to Dallas means an opportunity to work in one of the top media markets in the country or to build connections that can take you elsewhere.”

What keeps Baby motivated is knowing that he’s replaceable. “The first year of your job is to figure everything out: your sources, schedules and just learning how life works in the industry. Then, the second year is when you get to flourish in your own beats,” said Baby, who praises his success so far on having a great team to work with.

But it all started at the Mayborn, he said. “Overall, I’m very humbled and proud to be a graduate of the Mayborn School,” said Baby, confidently referring to the program as “the best in Texas.”