{"id":920,"date":"2021-01-11T17:15:12","date_gmt":"2021-01-11T22:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/schieffercollege.tcu.edu\/ftdm\/?post_type=student_work&p=920"},"modified":"2021-01-11T17:26:15","modified_gmt":"2021-01-11T22:26:15","slug":"class-of-2009-get-to-know-preston-culver","status":"publish","type":"student_work","link":"https:\/\/schieffercollege.tcu.edu\/ftdm\/student_work\/class-of-2009-get-to-know-preston-culver\/","title":{"rendered":"CLASS OF 2009: Get to Know Preston Culver"},"content":{"rendered":"

Name: <\/span><\/b>Preston Culver<\/span>
\n<\/span>Major: <\/span><\/b>Radio-TV<\/span>–<\/span>Film<\/span>\u00a0(now known as Film, Television and Digital Media)
\n<\/span>Hometown: <\/span><\/b>Arlington, Texas<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Preston <\/span>Culver <\/span>\u201909 <\/span>comes from a long line of <\/span>H<\/span>orned <\/span>F<\/span>rogs<\/span>. With<\/span> a <\/span>family <\/span>history <\/span>of <\/span>Texas Christian University employees and graduates, including his <\/span>sister, brother-in-law, mother, uncle and cousin<\/span>, the Culver family has <\/span>formed <\/span>a strong connection to TCU. \u201c<\/span>You could say we\u00a0<\/span>have purple blood,\u201d<\/span> he said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From his decision to attend TCU to his <\/span>decision to leave his dream job to support his wife\u2019s career, Culver has always <\/span>had<\/span> strong allegiance <\/span>to <\/span>family. <\/span>To that end, h<\/span>is family has played a major role in shaping his career path and influencing his life decisions<\/span>, enabling him to find personal fulfillment in his professional work.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Culver graduated from <\/span>TCU<\/span> with a degree in <\/span>radio-TV<\/span>–<\/span>film<\/span>, which was a decision largely inspired by his mother. Sensing her son\u2019s panic while walking together on campus one day, <\/span>his <\/span>mother<\/span> gave<\/span> him<\/span> a piece of advice that sparked his <\/span>desire to pursue a degree in <\/span>radio<\/span>, <\/span>t<\/span>elevision and <\/span>film.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWhy don<\/span>\u2019<\/span>t you just do something that you like to do?\u202fThen it will never be work,<\/span>\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Culver had always found photography and editing fascinating<\/span>.<\/span> \u201cI<\/span> worked in feature production following graduation, which <\/span>was a very cool experience, especially following all the <\/span>radio-TV-film<\/span> classes I had just taken over the previous years,\u201d <\/span>he said<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

H<\/span>is greatest professional achievement stem<\/span>s<\/span> from a decision inspired by the career of his father, a 36-year Dallas <\/span>firef<\/span>ighter.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Following <\/span><\/span>Culver\u2019s<\/span><\/span> work in feature production<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>he<\/span><\/span> landed a job as the in-house photographer and videographer at <\/span><\/span>the <\/span><\/span>Austin Fire Department<\/span><\/span> (AFD)<\/span><\/span>, where he traveled <\/span><\/span>passed the yellow tape <\/span><\/span>on<\/span><\/span> emergency scenes to capture the stories of the first responders \u2013 up close and personal.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Preston Culver’s photo featured in the Huffington Post of firefighters rescuing a dog in the 2012 Halloween floods in Austin, Texas. Photo courtesy: Preston Culver<\/p><\/div>\n

Culver\u2019s job granted him exclusive access to high-profile scenes. <\/span><\/span>His photograph captured from the Halloween floods of 2012 was featured in the Huffington Post<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>and he was among the press pool <\/span><\/span>during<\/span><\/span> President Obama\u2019s memorial speech following the West Texas explosion that took the lives of 12 firefighters. \u201c<\/span><\/span>It was a pretty sweet gig<\/span><\/span>,\u201d <\/span><\/span>he said<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Culver enjoyed working with the AFD so much that <\/span>in 2016<\/span>,<\/span> he applied and successfully passed all <\/span>of <\/span>the tests to become a firefighter himself. <\/span>He was able to continue doing production work on the side, under Preston Culver Photography, but his experience working as a firefighter was his <\/span>greatest professional achievement. \u201c<\/span>It makes me very proud to be the son of a retired 36-year Dallas Fire Fighter and to have done it for those <\/span>four <\/span>short years myself<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> he said<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Culver <\/span>also <\/span>helped create the <\/span>AF<\/span>D<\/span>\u2019s <\/span>drone program, the<\/span> Robotics Emergency Deployment (RED) Team<\/span>, which was the first major <\/span>metropolitan department in the country to have an active and certified drone program.\u202f<\/span>He<\/span> flew on <\/span>several active incidents, providing real-time aerial perspectives to <\/span>i<\/span>ncident<\/span> c<\/span>ommand<\/span> and <\/span>documenting the emergency scene for news coverage.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Currently, Culver works in business development and special projects for Drill Bit Exchange, a drill bit recycling company <\/span>located <\/span>in Austin, Texas.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From <\/span>producing films <\/span>to working for a family-owned startup, Culver attributes his d<\/span>iverse<\/span> skill set to his ability to experience a <\/span>multitude <\/span>of professional opportunities. \u201cA variety of experiences is never a bad thing, in my opinion<\/span>,\u201d he said. \u201c<\/span>I take little lessons with me that I’ve learned from each job along the way<\/span>.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Culver\u2019s education from TCU enabled him to build relationships, which played a role in his post-college life jobs and decisions. <\/span>He<\/span> encourages current TCU students to start networking, gain life experiences, and build a resume. \u201cIn the meantime, keep grinding<\/span>,<\/span> and one day you’ll look up and you’re being interviewed ten years after you graduated, giving advice to students, as if you’ve figured it all out,\u201d <\/span>he said<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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