Ever wonder if anything or anyone big comes out of Rexburg? Sure BYU-Idaho does not have the academic reputation as institutions such as Harvard, Stanford or Yale, but that doesn’t stop this university from producing equally qualified graduates of the highest caliber.
While there are hard working, successful Ricks College/ BYU-Idaho graduates all over, there are a few that have made it into the national, even international venue.
One of these is the 1981 Ricks College graduate Art Rascon.
Rascon currently works as a news anchor and correspondent for ABC News in Houston, Texas. Since working for this staff, he “has covered such major events as the war in Kosovo, Middle East conflicts, natural disasters in Latin America, the Pope’s travels, the U.S. presidential elections, terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., and the Iraq war, reporting directly from Baghdad,” according to www.abc13.com.
Before ABC, he worked for the CBS Network under Dan Rather as a correspondent and also as a sub-reporter for “48-Hours.”
Rascon has also worked as a reporter and anchor in several cities in Texas and in Salt Lake City.
He has not only reported from more than 50 countries, five continents and almost every state, but he has also been nominated for 22 Emmy awards and has won 15 along with several other prestigious awards and recognitions, including the Ricks College Outstanding Young Alumni award in 1999.
In addition, he is active in several charity groups, as well as serving as president of the Rascon Charity Foundation for Children.
Of his many experiences reporting from around the world, he related that his most memorable experiences were those covering stories of disaster such as the recent tsunami and great earthquakes. “They taught me a lot of faith . . .and they all teach me something about life and hope for survival,” Rascon said.
Despite his many unique experiences and having seen so much of the world and done things many only dream about, he attributes everything to what he learned at Ricks College.
“Without the practical experience from [Ricks] I wouldn’t be where I am today ... I was always interested [in journalism] but I became really entrenched in it after classes at Ricks. I really got excited,” Rascon said.
“[I received] a tremendous education, not only mentally but spiritually, [based on] the great spiritual foundation that it offered.” Rascon also remembers that his experiences at Ricks helped him decide to serve a mission.
Rascon was born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in Denver, Colo. He served in the Los Angeles Arcadia Mission and graduated from Ricks College and BYU with a degree in communications-journalism. He also had the opportunity to study humanities and European politics in Madrid, Spain. He now resides in Houston, Texas, with his wife, Patti, and their seven children, including a young man they took in from Kosovo.
Rascon has published one book, ON ASSIGNMENT: The Stories Behind the Scenes, and is currently writing his second on some of his faith promoting experiences in his work and travel, to be finished this year.
“I feel like I’m witnessing history, in a way,” Rascon commented and advised current BYU-I students: “It’s important to understand that from your roots at BYU-Idaho, you can have the world as your window.”
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