Captured in a Flash: the Epitome of Bulldog Tenacity (Audio Report)

 

Marching 101 band member and drum major Trent Bryant had 15 minutes of fame that lasted three months or so. 

(Click here to listen to this story with Bryant's comments)

Bryant's image was selected last fall to be on SC State's homepage. Decked out in his colorful Marching 101 uniform...he is the first thing people see when going to S-C-S-U-dot-e-d-u. 

Bryant says he was back home in Georgetown, S.C. in December when friends began alerting him that he was on the school's front page...

SOT: Trent Bryant :29
In: When I first saw it...
Out: ...face of the school right now

The director of S.C. State University Relations...Sam Watson...took the photograph when the Marching 101 performed at halftime of the home game versus Fort Valley State on October 19. (YouTube has the show here!)

When Watson looked at the images he captured that day he saw something special in one of them. 

SC State's Website Features Marching 101's Trent Bryant

 

If you've been to SC State's website recently you have seen this image of a Marching 101 band member that some call the epitome of Bulldog Tenacity. 

Meet Trent Bryant, a senior mechanical engineering major from Georgetown, S.C. Bryant is one of the band's drum majors so he is front and center during performances. 

At an October 2024 home football game, he caught the eye of Sam Watson, director of university relations. Watson was taking photographs of the halftime show and snapped this focused, determined image of Trent in action. 

My feature writing students had the chance to interview Bryant in February. The students were assigned to write a feature about Bryant's 15 minutes of fame. I recorded his talk and had my radio production students produce an audio report. 

From the audio recording, here are three memorable comments Bryant shared about his unique experience appearing for several months on the school's homepage. 

Soundbite 1

Here's his first reaction when learning in December that he was on the website. 

Soundbite 2

When he looks at the image of himself, what does Bryant say was going through his mind at this moment in time? 

Soundbite 3

Bryant says it was in 2017 when he decided he had to be part of a university marching band.