Smith to receive SFA Young Alumnus Award

Smith to receive SFA Young Alumnus Award

The Outstanding Young Alumnus Award was established in 1989. Its purpose is to honor more recent SFASU graduates and former students who have made significant contributions to society and whose accomplishments and careers have brought credit to the institution.

Smith will be recognized at 8 p.m. Oct. 23 during the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award presentation at Lumberjack Bash. Lumberjack Bash begins at 6 p.m. at the Grand Ballroom of the Baker Pattillo Student Center.

Dr. Billy Blankenship, a 1953 and 1954 SFA graduate and resident of Corpus Christi, also will be honored during the evening as the recipient of the 2009 Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Reserved seating tickets for the awards presentation are $10 each and must be purchased in advance. Seating is limited, and tickets are sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

Smith is a nationally recognized artist whose art has been featured across a variety of well-known artistic mediums. Most notably, Smith created three installation canvas pieces for NBC’s “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno and has had his art regularly featured on NBC’s “Late Friday.” In addition to television, his work has also been featured in numerous print publications, including Orange Coast Magazine, Texas Monthly, the Houston Chronicle, Surfing Magazine and Inside Houston. He has done illustration and design work for several clients, including American Express, Nabisco, Make a Wish Foundation and Lupus Foundation. Most recently, he completed a 30-foot mural for the United American Indian Movement, Inc.

Smith is an actor as well, performing in commercials for companies such as Dr. Scholls, Bud Light, AFLAC, Toyota and Southwest Airlines. He has also acted in approximately 30 different television shows, some highlights include performances in “JAG,” “Judging Amy,” “Charmed,” “CSI: Miami” and “E.R.”

Smith’s creative talent emerged at age three, as he sat next to his father at a drafting table. With pencil in hand, he drew. Today, his art goes far beyond a lead pencil. His work can be perceived as anything from modern to abstract; his current style conveys a technique that surfaced through expressionist experimentation.

Smith’s published travel journals, “The Brady Chronicles,” give readers insight into the mind behind the paintbrush. Titles include “The Peru Expedition,” “Ranching in Montana,” “Shark-Diving in the Bahamas,” “Swimming with Humpback Whales in the Dominican” and “Running from Bulls in Pamplona.” Recently, his curiosity about the Alaskan wilderness led him to the North Pole and a sixth chronicle, “My Dogs are Barking, a 150-Mile Trek through the Arctic.”

Smith’s journey into the art realm officially began by earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from SFA in 1994. While at SFA, Smith was an editorial cartoonist for The Pine Log student newspaper, president of the Order of Omega, vice-president of Alpha Tau Omega and an Orientation Leader for two years. He was crowned a Homecoming Duke his junior year and Homecoming King his senior year. After college, he lived and worked throughout Europe for six months, budding his fascination and appreciation for the many cultures outside the U.S. Smith moved to Los Angeles in 2000. He and his wife Tiffani Thiessen married in 2005.

For more information about Lumberjack Bash and Homecoming, contact the SFA Alumni Association at (800) 765-1534, (936) 468-3407.

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