Arianna Tway was nervous standing in the Moody Center stadium in March for the Texas vs. Kansas State basketball game. Perhaps nervous is an understatement.

That night, working with Moody College’s Bevo Video Productions, she was serving as technical director for the game, cutting video to determine exactly what the audience saw live on the screen — and she was the first-ever student to do it for a UT athletic game.

“It was very intimidating,” Tway said. “But by believing in myself, knowing I was surrounded by others who believed in me, and keeping composure and confidence, I have learned that I am capable.”

After graduation, Tway wants to pursue a career in sports media, a passion she discovered after coming to Moody College and working with Bevo Video, a production company under the Texas Student Media umbrella that produces video content for on-campus clients such as Texas Athletics and films more than 100 live athletics events every year. Tway is passionate about her work with Bevo Video because of the once-in-a-lifetime experiences it’s given her. She encourages other Moody students to join because of the opportunities in media production, public relations and marketing.

In her time at UT, Tway has also interned with UTeach Outreach, working in marketing and public relations to document middle and high school students in STEM. She is also in the multicultural sorority Sigma Phi Omega and involved with TSTV, intramural sports, and other production projects outside of clubs. “As someone who is interested in so many things within the media world, I want to keep exploring,” she said. “I hope to secure a job in sports broadcasting, editing and video effects, a video game and media franchise, or working for a media production company.”

John Peyton has lived a full life, from his time in the Air Force to his decades working in radio and music. He frequently warns people to “watch their feet because I’m dropping names,” and he takes pride in scrolling through his Instagram to show off pictures of him with the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Darrell K Royal and, more importantly, his two grandchildren.

Peyton has a long history with UT. He began attending in 1995, studying advertising and public relations, before leaving to raise his family and work at the Texas Department of Public Safety in communications. After a nearly 30-year hiatus, Peyton returned to UT to finish what he started, graduating in May at 64 with his bachelor's degree in communication studies. He proudly called himself a “senior-senior.”

Peyton admitted sometimes he felt out of place in his classes, learning about social media algorithms and how to use an iPad. “I could have taken online courses from another university or attended any other university in Central Texas, but it wouldn’t have been the same for me,” he said. “I feel at home on the Forty Acres. We all bleed burnt orange.”

While on campus, Peyton connected with New Wave Longhorns, an organization that welcomes nontraditional students and provides personal and professional support. He also found a sense of community in the Student Veteran Association. “There’s camaraderie there,” he said. “If I didn’t have all that, if they didn’t offer those things, it would be a pretty tough haul.”

Peyton decided to finish his time at UT in the Department of Communication Studies, rather than advertising, because he will be able to use the knowledge forever, he said. “These are courses that will benefit any student, in any major, at any age,” he said. “I’ve become a better communicator and an even better listener."

Peyton returned to UT this fall to teach the class Intro to the Music Business in the Department of Radio-Television-Film. It quickly filled up!

Emily Rangel spent her first two years as a speech, language, and hearing sciences undergraduate student waking to a 4:45 a.m. alarm. She would leave her home in New Braunfels to go to classes before her newborn daughter, Bobbi, woke up and returned late after she’d fallen asleep. Rangel, who graduated in May, had responsibilities most of her fellow Moody College students did not — raising a child while working and studying. Between classes, she was often on Facetime calls with Bobbi and her family to see how they were doing. One of the biggest struggles about being a student parent is finding time to do everything, especially time for yourself, said Rangel, who had her daughter at 19. “Some days are more emotional than others, but I think, OK, I have to keep moving,” she said.

On top of being a student and a mom, Rangel, in her time at UT, worked as a research assistant, applied to graduate school and served as president of the University’s Student Parent Organization. In that role, she advocated to the Senate of College Councils to change the syllabus language to include academic accommodations for pregnant and parenting students.

Rangel graduated two days before Mother’s Day with her speech, language, and hearing sciences degree. She’ll attend grad school at Moody this year, something she knows her daughter will be proud of. “I know a lot of young women who were in college and got pregnant and faced challenges continuing their education,” she said. “I want to be a representation for parents and to empower them to achieve their personal and academic goals. Because it’s possible. I really feel like I flourished here at UT and learned something every day that helped me grow.”

Read Emily's story.

Aaron Boehmer became interested in journalism the way many people do: by working at his high school newspaper. He fell in love with writing and storytelling, so when it came time to apply to college, he chose Moody because of its top-tier journalism program.

In his three years so far at UT, he said he’s had unparalleled experiences that have changed his perspective and prepared him for his career — working at the student newspaper The Daily Texan, sharpening his photography skills, interning at Texas Monthly and, most recently, traveling to Dublin for Moody College’s first-ever Maymester, for a class on documentary photography. While there, Boehmer was able to immerse himself in communities to cover socioeconomic and political issues, particularly the city’s housing crisis and how it is affecting a neighborhood called The Liberties.

“Moody provides students with great resources and tools that everyone can and should utilize as starting points and frameworks throughout their time at UT to make their college experience their own and prepare them for whatever might come after graduation,” he said.

When he graduates, Boehmer wants to work at a magazine doing long-form writing.

“What I have learned that I have found most valuable during my journalism studies at Moody is that journalism is a broad and dynamic field and should not be confined to the traditional newsroom and to covering breaking news,” he said. “Journalism is sometimes about breaking news, but it is also creative writing and poetry, photography and video, archival research, activism, visual art, and so much more. What all of these things have in common is what journalism is all about, storytelling that is deeply human. Learning this at Moody has not only been valuable but also really transformative in imagining of what a career in journalism looks like.”

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