ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄

By Brie Ragland, Director of Marketing & Communications

As the Director of Marketing and Communications for ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄, I spend my days asking the same set of questions (you might even see them written on the whiteboard in my office):

• What makes ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ different?
• What makes ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ stand out in a world full of college choices?
• Why should students choose ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄?

I’ve spent countless hours crafting social posts, refining taglines and writing campaigns, always with the goal of capturing the heart of ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄. But no matter how many meetings or brainstorming sessions we have, the answer I keep coming back to is always the same: It’s the people.

And that truth revealed itself in the most unexpected and beautiful way on July 17 and 18, when our marketing team put out a call for something fairly straightforward: new student models. We’d used most of our previous photo and video content, and with a new school year approaching, it was time for a fresh look. So, we opened a casting call, hoping to find students who could help represent what ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ looks like now β€¦ not just on paper, but in spirit.

What we got was so much more than headshots.

On a bright Thursday morning, our team gathered at Beal Plaza, coffee in hand and equipment ready β€” cameras, lighting kits, golf carts, phones, drones, you name it. We were prepared for a photo shoot. What we weren’t entirely prepared for was how deeply this shoot would show us ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ through a new lens.

One by one, the students arrived. Some with visible nerves, others with quiet confidence. And who could blame them? It’s not every day you’re asked to be the face of your college, under lights and lenses, in the middle of a 100-degree West Texas summer. But as the day went on, something special started to unfold.

We watched strangers sit on the steps of the Learning Resource Center and break into laughter as if they’d known each other for years. We listened as students encouraged one another through the ninth take of a commercial scene none of them expected to film. We caught candid conversations between takes β€” some silly, some surprisingly deep. What started as a group of individuals quickly became something more: a team, a community, a snapshot of ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ itself.

And the best part? They couldn’t have been more different.

There was a 60-year-old former cosmetology instructor finally earning her bachelor’s degree eager to offer advice and a warm smile. A 21-year-old criminal justice major who was quick to lend a hand with social media ideas and helpful reel edits. A 35-year-old automotive tech student working hard to turn his life around and lighting up the set with his personality and unforgettable smile. An 18-year-old softball star looking to stand out on Field and get recruited to a four-year university. A bubbly 20-year-old business major, first in her family to attend college, dreaming of one day running her own company. An 18-year-old automation technology student doing everything she can to make her parents proud. And a 19-year-old future Aggie, spending her last summer as an ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ engineering student before transferring to Texas A&M with her boyfriend. And that’s just to name a few!

These students didn’t just show up for a shoot. They showed up for each other.

By noon, jokes were flying. Phones were swapped for selfies. One student was already planning to help another with a class next semester. What began as a marketing need became a moving reminder of what makes ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ unlike any place I’ve ever worked.

You see, ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ isn’t just a stop on the way to β€œwhat’s next.” It’s a place where students of all ages, backgrounds, and dreams intersect, often in the most unexpected ways. It’s a place where a nervous hello at 9:30 a.m. can become a shared lunch by noon. A place where stories collide and turn into friendships. A place where your differences aren’t obstacles, they’re invitations to connect.

We talk a lot in marketing about β€œstudent success.” And yes, that’s a major part of what we do here, preparing students to transfer, to launch careers, to build better futures. But success at ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ isn’t just measured in degrees or job offers. It’s also measured in moments like these, when a group of strangers becomes something more than a marketing campaign. When a photo shoot becomes a picture of who we really are.

And so, the next time someone asks me what makes ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ special, I won’t have to search for the answer. I’ll remember the laughter on the LRC steps. The 100-degree takes. The unlikely friendships. I’ll think of the students who, for two days in July, reminded me exactly why I love this job and why this place is so worth sharing.

Because when it comes down to it, ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄ isn’t just where students come to learn. It’s where they come to belong.

Looking for more than just a college? Find your people, your purpose, and your place at ΒιΆΉΤ­΄΄. Enroll today at midland.edu/enroll, because the next face that reminds us why this place matters could be yours.