New Team Member Feature: Andrew Branca

After almost 15 years since Andrew Branca graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington, he has returned to serve the university that gave him the tools he uses as a professional. Branca is now the new Editorial Services Coordinator for the UTA Library System. 

Since graduating in 2008 with a bachelor's degree from UTA's College of Liberal Arts in Journalism, he has worked for two newspapers in Waxahachie, TX. While at Waxahachie Daily Light and the Waxahachie Sun, Andrew wrote about local government, first responders, the court system, the business community, entertainment articles, human-interest features, and several multimedia projects. Over the years, organizations like the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors Association and the North and East Texas Press Association have recognized his work.  

As his career starts with the university, Andrew looks forward to giving back to UTA. He is excited to share his love of writing, the media, and multimedia projects with the people he will be working with within the marketing and communications department. He looks forward to using his talents to help the library system's connection with the community grow. 

"I am proud to be back on campus and serve in this new capacity at the university. The five years I spent here as a student shaped me into the professional I am today. I hope to be a mentor to several up-and-coming writers," Branca said. "There are so many exciting things taking place here at the library. I look forward to sharing those stories with the UTA community and beyond."  

Andrew's interest in writing started in elementary school, where he was a part of the Young Author's group. His interest in journalism came about after reading an article in the Dallas Morning News.  

"I remember reading the paper one morning and seeing the reporter's byline. Underneath their name, it listed the paper they worked for, which for this article was the 'New York Times.' I thought it was neat that I could read something in Texas written by a person in New York," Branca said. "Having that ability to reach people from such a far distance is amazing."   

With the fall semester starting in August, Andrew is thrilled about the chance to highlight the library, the students, the staff, and the innovative resources that are available such as the 8,000-square-foot maker space known as the FabLab located on the first floor. 

He encourages everyone to reach out to him at the library with story ideas about people, projects, and events through his campus email at andrew.branca@uta.edu.