College Corner: Alec Branch ’17, American University

“One of my professors from college was really helpful,” Branch says of Don Marcus, a former Baltimore Sun reporter. “I took two of his classes and he liked my writing so he would send me different jobs that he thought would be good for me.” 

Branch landed a job mostly covering high school sports on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Football and basketball are the major sports there and will take most of his focus. 

There are eight high schools on his beat plus two colleges: Salisbury University, a Division 3 powerhouse, and Maryland-Eastern Shore, a Division 1 school that competes in the MEAC. He began writing for The Eagle at American, starting with a few basketball games and wrestling matches his junior year before all activities stopped due to COVID-19. Last year, he was assigned as the beat reporter for men’s basketball. “That was a great experience to focus on one sport.”

Branch says he was ready for the work at American due to his Prep education. “I felt really prepared,” he says. “When I went to college, I heard many people were struggling with time management but I never did because of how rigorous the Prep was, both academically and timewise. Teachers like Dr. (Chris) Rupertus, Mrs. (Kathy) Sullivan, and Mr. (Christian) Patragnoni helped me sharpen my writing and gave me the confidence that I could do something like I am doing now.”

At the Prep, Branch has great memories of playing trumpet in the band for four years, including trips to New York and Washington, D.C. He is also grateful for his time with the Black and Latino Culture Club and the African American Alumni Association. “They took us on college tours every summer,” he recalls. “My sophomore year, we went to Georgetown and my junior year we did a college tour of the Northeast. Even though I knew I was going to go to college, I never thought I would go outside of Philly. I figured I would go to Temple or St. Joe’s. Those tours with A4 opened my eyes a lot and made me feel I could reach outside of Philly. Even though I didn’t go to one of the schools that we toured, it meant a lot to me.”