NARRATOR:
Combining his natural state roots and theatrical training, Hendrix alumnus Tommy
Sanders is the successful host of ESPN Outdoors and other award-winning outdoor
television programming.
TOMMY SANDERS '76, HOST, WRITER, PRODUCER FOR JM ASSOCIATES:
I'm Tommy Sanders. I am 1976 graduate of Hendrix College. I was a theatre major
there and since that time I have worked in broadcasting. In fact, I starting during
my tenure as a student there, working at a radio station. So, next year will be
forty years in broadcasting.
I didn't have a plan for a major when I went to school, not even close to having
a plan. I knew it was a good school. I knew I wanted to go there and get as good
of a general education as possible. I saw a play. The first play I ever saw was
when I was a freshman at Hendrix. It just absolutely floored me. It was so different
from television, so different from movies, anything I had ever seen before. It's
a completely different experience being in the room with these people who are telling
the story. I immediately got involved with the theatre department. From that first
trimester on, I participated in every theatre production during my four years at
Hendrix. I was all in, in a way of speaking.
The whole experience there did not allow you to go completely into something
like theatre. You had to be well-rounded. You had to have some discipline. You had
to complete a fairly balanced schedule of classes. That was good for me. A good
education in learning how to write has been super valuable to me throughout my career.