Stephen F. Austin High School is one of the oldest high schools in the United States. Founded in 1881, for centuries, students have been attending Austin High to get an education. Over these many years, many former students have gone on to achieve greater things, and bring the spirit of Austin High to a higher level. From professional athletes, to great writers, here are a few very successful people who started out in the hallways of Austin High.

Julie Powell is an accomplished author and cook. She is best known for writing Julie & Julia, a true story about Julie’s experience trying to cook every one of Julia Child’s recipes throughout one year. The novel goes into depth about Julie’s experience with each recipe, and the perseverance she has to continue on and master French cooking. It describes how her blog ended up changing her life. Her perseverance and determination to finish gave her life meaning and brought her on talk shows and television. This story ended up being adapted into a film starring Merryl Streep that mirrors the early life of Julia Child in France and Julie Powell in the States.

Born and raised in Austin in the early 1950s, Ben Crenshaw is a retired professional golfer. Although he is no longer a pro player, his career brought home many wins. Crenshaw won 19 events in the PGA tour and placed first in two masters and the Irish Open. He remains one of the most talented players in golf and now is a partner in a golf course design firm.

Verne Lundquist, from Austin High School, was a successful sports broadcaster on CBS News. His career was filled with a variety of sports announcements, and his enthusiasm and personality made him very successful at what he did. Verne kicked off his career announcing for the Dallas Cowboys and then made his way towards commentating sports reality TV shows. Working for major firms CBS News, ABC Sports, and TNT cable, Verne’s voice was recognized in American households across the country. By the end of his career, Lundquist had commentated on college football, basketball,  masters, and 3 winter Olympics. He is now retired and resides in Colorado.

Former Austin High student Lloyd Doggett continues to represent Austin communities in the United States House of Representatives. Doggett has been in office since 1995, and has received 2 Legislative Leadership Awards for medicare and healthcare.

From the halls of Austin High School, Marshall Allman continued on to become an accomplished actor. Starring in Prison Break, Hostage, and Trueblood, Allman made his start in acting at the age of 17. Just after graduating from Austin High, he moved to Hollywood to pursue his new passion for acting, and began to make a name for himself. Allman is now beginning a new branch of his life, as he transitions to starting an acting school back in Austin for a full circle moment.

These are just a few of Austin High’s many accomplished alumni, who have spread the spirit of our school across the nation.