作者:Liz McCue, assistant director of communications 和 media relations — as printed in the 2023 Norfolk Area Shopper College Guide
For four years, Norfolk High School graduate 特雷波特 was the face of 澳门体育赌博十大平台. Except, the 2023 Doane grad couldn’t 告诉 任何人都是他.
It’s a point of pride for a mascot, 毕竟, that fans knew him only as 老虎托马斯, the silent comedian who pumped up crowds, welcomed campus visitors 和 posed for selfies.
“The summer before freshman year, I saw it 和 thought, ‘oh yes, that’ll be perfect!’波特说。 of a 2019 call for students to apply for the mascot role.
Playing 老虎托马斯 was just one part of Porter’s Doane experience. He found a home in the university’s award-winning 剧院 department, led news 和 audio production for 91.9 KDNE 和 made lifelong friends in the 是 (猿) fraternity.
“I had the freedom to do a lot of things at Doane that I couldn’t do at a larger college,波特说。. “我可以做这样的事情, join the 法医团队 my senior year at Doane 和 then make it to nationals.”
(他真的加入了 法医团队, 第一次参加比赛, 戏剧性的解释, 和 competed at the American Forensic Association National Speech 之旅nament.)
It almost didn’t happen, though. Porter initially started film school to become a movie actor, but realized he wanted a different path. He did know of Doane — his girlfriend (now fiancee) went to Doane, 和 he’d seen Doane memorabilia in the classroom of his high school theater teacher, 2005届毕业生Taryn Retzlaff. A visit with Doane Theatre Department faculty members Joel Egger 和 Rob McKercher, 和 knowledge that the university had a student-run radio station, sealed the deal for his transfer.
Porter’s experiences at Doane allowed him to grow 和 challenge himself in ways he hadn’t even imagined in high school. 以猩猩为例. At a larger university, Porter said it wouldn’t have been an option for him to join a fraternity.
“I wouldn’t have fit in with that,” he said, of national fraternities.
But Doane’s Greek life is all locally based. Some of his fraternity brothers were also in theater, but many were involved in a range of activities across campus — athletics, volunteering for Relay for Life, 声乐和器乐. 他说，在澳门体育赌博十大平台，这招奏效了.
His degree program also provided him with all the skills for his job after graduation, doing audio work for the Nebraska state government. Porter actually was offered the job a full two months before even receiving his diploma. 他的专业是 战略沟通 和 媒体沟通，有… 辅修戏剧, learning about video 和 audio production, 无线电台管理, 传播与媒体, 公众演讲, 脚本编写, 等.
“There’s so many careers that I can apply what I learned,波特说。.
And while he’s no longer h和ing out swag or high-fives during Orange Fridays — where, at 3 p.m. 每一个周五, students wearing Doane apparel spin a wheel for prizes — his memories from Doane are going to last far longer than his collection of koozies 和 tshirts.
There are the memories of working with his adviser, 纳撒尼尔·威尔逊, director of forensics 和 assistant professor of practice in communication, to clean up Doane’s broadcasting studio 和 get it in working order for modern media production. Traveling with the 法医团队 to Santa Ana, California. Holding a lead role in the 2022 production of 人类.
“That was very fulfilling,” he said. “That was the role I’m most proud of at this point.”
And of course, being 老虎托马斯.
“I always had the greatest time doing it,” he said.