RRHS Alum Darby Dunnagan Makes It Big

Meet Darby Dunnagan. If you don’t know who she is, you will want to know. A graduate of Rural Retreat High School, Dunnagan played football as a student at RRHS. Watch out, boys! She now records football games for Northwestern University. She loves her job and has become so successful that she won an award: the 2013 Bob Matey National Video Coordinator of the Year.

An Interview with Darby Dunnagan

What kind of job do you have at Northwestern?

I am a director at Northwestern University. I record videos of football games and practices and put them together.

Do you like your job?

I love my job. I don’t like sitting in an office so this is an opportunity to get out. I also love how students are interested in being a director for a football team.

Why did you decide this would be a career for you?

I liked playing football but I liked recording it a lot better so this was the career for me.

Do you think your job is challenging?

Yes, there are a lot of challenges. You have to keep up on technology and put in a lot of hours but it’s a lot of fun.

What are some of the steps or processes you have to do before you get to a job like this?

Working with the team and playing for RRHS when I was in high school helped a lot, but there are really no classes I took to help me for this job.

What is most stressful about your job at Northwestern?

Working on the videos and trying to put them together.  Also, building relationships and working with others.  That’s what is kind of stressful.

How long have you been working at Northwestern?

I have worked with the football team for 13 seasons and I did 2 years in college.

I heard you are the 2013 Bob Matey National Video Coordinator of the Year.  How do you feel about that?

I was so excited when I got the award and it wasn’t easy it takes a lot of time and effort to get this award and I am happy that I am 2013 Bob Matey National Video Coordinator of the year.

What other kind of sports or activities did you participate in at RRHS?

I played volleyball and I took a governor's school class.

How was playing football at RRHS?

It was a lot of fun! I played in 6 and 7th grade. I love the sport and wish I could play again.

So, who were some of your favorite teachers at RRHS?

Mr. Neal, Mr. Hensley, my Spanish teacher, and my science teacher. I love science and they made learning science really exciting for me. I also love all the teachers at RRHS and it’s a great school.

Thank you, Ms. Dunnagan, for your time.  Everyone here at RRHS says "hi" and we can wait to hear from you again.

-David Pierce

Correction: We originally stated that Ms. Dunnagan works with Memphis University.  We have since updated the information to correct our error.