When Tricia Buchhorn was a little girl, she saw the world through the lens of her mother’s Polaroid or her brother’s unloaded film camera, which she carried around, composing photos and clicking frames. She fell in love with photography, and that love framed her future and grew into a career in photography and education.
A now retired photojournalist and lab technician in SAC’s journalism program, Buchhorn helped build a strong, competitive and supportive community, leaving a lasting mark on the students she guided.
Buchhorn got her start at her student newspaper at Robert E. Lee High School, where she had access to film and could always process and print photos in the dark room. Jerry Townsend, a San Antonio College photography instructor, convinced her to pursue photojournalism when he gave a presentation at her high school.
“This is what you’re going to study and where you’re going to go,” Buchhorn recalls Townsend saying. “This is what you’re gonna do.”
At SAC, Buchhorn served as staff photographer for the Ranger, then SAC’s student newspaper. She was part of the Ranger staff that won a Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence Award for best non-daily college newspaper in the nation, beating other major colleges.
“It was nice to crush UT Austin,” Buchhorn recalled.
Buchhorn also served as the first president of SAC’s Student Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
“It was terrifying,” Buchhorn said. “I was a very shy individual.”
While Buchhorn was a strong photographer, she said she wasn’t a strong writer and had to overcome the challenge of leading a group of mostly writers. It was a supportive community, and the student chapter opened opportunities for its members.
Buchhorn said the chapter was the first of its kind in the country, and its members earned a lot of respect and made a lot of rivals in collegiate journalism competitions. The chapter was named Outstanding SPJ Chapter for Region 8 in 1993.
“To compete against four-year schools in Region 8 and say, ‘No, we’re the best student chapter,’ it was pretty cool,” she said.
Buchhorn has four brothers, and money was tight in her working-class family. She had to pay her way through college, taking breaks from time to time to focus on work and making more money. The skills she developed in high school and college landed her a few jobs.
She completed an associate of science in Radio-TV-Film (RTF) in December 1990. The credits she earned at SAC did not transfer to UT Austin, which led her back for an associate of art in RTF in 1991, but she said her passion for radio, television and film quickly faded.
She started at UT Arlington in the summer of 1993, and Dorothy Estes recruited her at the student news publication, the Shorthorn, where she served as a photojournalist and editor. The role helped her earn scholarships, and she graduated debt-free.
In February 1995, Buchhorn was freelancing with the Dallas Morning News and the Associated Press when she was hired as a temporary photo advisor for SAC’s journalism program.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts in photojournalism from UT Arlington in 2004 and a Master of Fine Arts in Documentary Photography from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2009.
Mandy Derfler, an academic unit assistant for SAC’s Arts Department, earned a journalism degree from SAC when Buchhorn was an advisor for the Ranger.
“She absolutely cares about students’ needs beyond the classroom,” Derfler said.
When Buchhorn prepared students for a field trip to cover Hurricane Katrina in 2005, she borrowed boots from her father’s company, Carl Electric, so all the students’ feet were protected from contaminants in the flooded areas. She also packed tuna fish and crackers in case of restaurant closures.
“She was tough but fair and was always focused on bringing out the best in students and helping them realize their potential,” Defler said.
Mark Magavern, an academic lab technician in SAC’s photography program, worked with Buchhorn for 30 years.
“She really cared about the students as far as their goals and what they needed to do with the skills that they’re learning,” Magavern said. “She pushed them to be the best they can be. She’s always given 100 percent and goes beyond the call of duty.”
Virginia Finster, a marketing and communications specialist in SAC’s Office of Marketing and Strategic Communications, said Buchhorn had a very positive impact on her when Finster was a student at SAC in 2017.
“There were so many opportunities that came to fruition in my life because she connected me with them, but the one that stands out the most is her saving my life,” Finster said.
When Finster was injured in an electric scooter accident on her way to a staff meeting for the Ranger student newspaper in 2018, she called Buchhorn. Finster was disoriented and falling in and out of consciousness, and Buchhorn found her, called an ambulance and made sure she received emergency treatment.
“Tricia Buchhorn is a shining example of how when staff show up committed to that level, it saves lives and changes lives,” Finster said.
Finster also said Buchhorn was always a fierce advocate for students and helped connect them to campus support services.
“We lift as we rise,” Finster said. “We have such a wonderful individual to look up to in that capacity; that’s the way we keep the legacy going. We pay it forward … Tricia was like a mother hen.”
Retired SAC Journalism Program Coordinator Marianne Odom, a longtime advisor of the Ranger, said the secret behind the years of the student news publication’s success was the involvement of staff in preparing students for the real world.
“Buchhorn taught photography, computer skills, newsroom etiquette and best practices for life in general,” Odom said. “Ask any former Ranger staffer if they still remember to push in their chair, most will admit they still hear Tricia’s voice.”
Buchhorn has lectured at major universities and institutions such as the University of Texas at San Antonio, UTSA’s Southwest Campus, the Art Institute of San Antonio, and Texas A&M San Antonio.
She said she has always sought to impact students like her, who are trying to make a living while continuing their education no matter the challenges.
“She won students’ hearts by connecting them to scholarships, internships and job opportunities. And she made sure they were ready,” Odom said.
Buchhorn, who retired from SAC in August, is now focused on traveling and enjoying life. She also aspires to write a book.
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