Time for a change

This is my final week as the General Manager of Student Media at Texas A&M.

It’s been difficult to say and think about, but the week has arrived, so I’ve been saying and writing it in emails to tell more and more people.

I’ve been back at Texas A&M since Nov. 5, 2014, first as assistant general manager and then rising to general manager in summer 2015 after Bob Wegener’s retirement. I’m not retiring. I’m too young for that. But I am stepping away from the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. Watching students succeed here at The Battalion and the Aggieland and then seeing how that work helped them find their way in the real world has been a wonderful thing to behold.

However, the time has come for me to put my focus elsewhere, with my family. We just sent our first-born, Cole Jensen, to college, so it may seem like an odd time to leave this job. But I need to be more engaged in his brother Nash’s education for the next three years. We need to prepare our high school sophomore for life, hopefully a life that includes him living on his own and in order to do that he needs to be ready to attend some sort of program after high school. He has some wonderful examples to follow with A&M’s Aggie Achieve program, but he’s got work to do if he wants to qualify for something like that. As a teenager with Down syndrome, it’s easy to see Nash’s disability because it’s on his face. What we want to the world to see and what we want to bring out are his abilities.

I don’t know everything I’ll need to do to make that happen, but I’ve started this path before. In 2013, I got my certification to teach special education in Texas and started looking for teaching jobs about the time the Spurs won their fifth NBA championship. Not long after that title was captured, I was promoted from assistant sports editor to sports editor of the San Antonio Express-News. And then four months later, I was offered the chance to come back to Texas A&M to help mold those in Student Media like I had been molded from 1990 to 1992. I spent 22 years working in journalism and obtaining my masters from the University of North Texas with two goals — to be the sports editor of a major newspaper and be in a position to pass along my knowledge like the former journalists who did that for me. Within the span of four months, I was offered the chance to do both of the jobs I dreamed about.

My mission to become a special education teacher so I could work better with Nash got put on the shelf. My mission became working to ensure a future for The Battalion and the Aggieland. I’ve had a lot of help with that, and I’ve never felt better about that future after we’ve changed the structure, rallied support and fought back those who sought to alter their presence at Texas A&M. I would not leave if I didn’t believe in a brighter future. Make no mistake, the students who have walked through the doors of L400 of the Memorial Student Center have kicked some serious you know what in the past eight years.

The line I’ve used in the past few weeks is that the Texas A&M football team may be starting this season ranked No. 6 in the country, but The Battalion, A&M’s newspaper of record since 1893 (one year older than the football team) just finished 2021-22 as the No. 2 newsroom in the country according to the Associated Collegiate Press’ Clips & Clicks yearlong contest. Remember, Texas A&M is still working on bringing back the journalism degree, so even though the school may be the largest in the country it hasn’t devoted a lot of resources to journalism in the past 20 years. The instructors we do have give our students a fire to do outstanding work and those students have stepped up. To rank No. 2 behind the dynamic NewsHouse program at Syracuse is nothing short of amazing.

As a journalist who got into the business to go to games for free, my sports team holds a special place in my heart. In 2020-21, they were named the best sports section in the country by the College Media Association’s Pinnacle Awards and The Battalion is the only sports section to be a finalist for that award for six straight years. They’ve won it twice and we’ll find out soon if they’ve earned a seventh nomination. I love how the sports staff has helped foster a place where anyone can rise up, especially when it comes to female leadership. Angel Franco, Abigail Ochoa, Hannah Underwood, Jennifer Streeter, Kay Naegeli and now Zoe May have held the title of sports editor or assistant sports editor. That has created opportunity for other women to feel comfortable being there as sports writers and there have been many. Before Angel, there had been three female sports editors in The Battalion’s history.

I’m passionate about The Battalion and the Aggieland’s presence at Texas A&M. My students have seen me choke up talking about how important I think their work is and what they mean to me. I’ll never truly be gone. My support for what they do will remain and I’ll help bridge the gap between my departure and my replacement’s arrival. If you’re reading this and you want this job, the position will be posted within a couple of weeks.

I’m sure I’ll find some things to do, but for now I’m going to start by taking better care of myself. There’s also a young lady we need to prepare for life and I want to make sure I’m here for that. I’m the old Dad in her group, having been called her “Grandpa” by classmates since she’s been in second grade.

As for my work, I hope to write more. There’s a book I started many years ago that needs finishing. I’ll write more here on QuickBatt, where I can set the deadlines and wait for motivation. I’ll be open to freelance work if you’ve got it. I’m looking forward to the freedom.

I have to close by thanking the person who makes this possible. I wouldn’t be able to make this decision without the love, support and guidance from the love of my life and one of the strongest people I know, Honny Pils. We’ve gone through lots of scenarios over the past months and years and my rock says this is the right thing to do. I’ve had several signs the past week or two that let me know we’re walking down the right path.

So it’s not farewell. I’ll still be a supporter of The Batt and Aggieland in word and deed. But my mission has changed. Thank you to every student who has made this job worth the fight. You have made this the highlight of my professional career. Now, go be better tomorrow than you were today. Oh, and communication and planning; do both often.

These are some images I could find in a quick search of my Google photos database. I'll add some more as I find them. But the students made this job so enjoyable and I love to see their success.