Alumni of the Year

2022

- Mark Brandenburg

The Panola College Alumni Association is proud to announce Mark Brandenburg, a 1990 graduate of Panola College, as the 2022 Alumnus of the Year. While attending Panola College, Brandenburg was a member of the Panola Ponies baseball team and earned the 1990 all-conference MVP honor along with the Buddy Lowery award. He was also a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and was involved in the Baptist Student Union on campus.

After graduating from Panola College with an associate’s degree, Brandenburg transferred to Texas Tech University. Upon graduation, he played baseball professionally in both the minor leagues and the MLB over eight seasons with the Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox.

Brandenburg grew up in Humble, Texas, and currently resides in Coppell, Texas, with his wife Cristy, where they have lived for their 23 years of marriage. They have four children, Peyton, Ryan Kate, Clay, and Kylee. All four of Brandenburg’s children are active in various sports and activities, and he has enjoyed coaching and attending his children’s many events and activities throughout the years. They are members of Irving Bible Church and are involved with various other local organizations.

Professionally, Brandenburg is a senior managing director in the Dallas office of JLL Capital Markets. He has been involved in commercial real estate since 2000 and his primary areas of responsibility at JLL involve capitalizing commercial real estate with various finance solutions, such as senior mortgages, subordinate debt, and joint ventures.

When asked about his favorite memories while at Panola College, Brandenburg recalled the simple routine of campus life: the help and encouragement received as a student; the smiles received in the cafeteria lines each day from the staff; the excitement of getting a letter from family when notified by the College Store that he had mail; the pizza each Wednesday at the Baptist Student Union; and lastly, most fondly, all of the hours spent with his baseball teammates and coaches.

Today, Brandenburg focuses on his faith and putting it into action in his home life, profession, and through community involvement.

“My time at Panola College was special and helped shape my future during some very formative years as a student away from home for the first time,” said Brandenburg. “Carthage, and Panola College specifically, is a very special place.”