BRYAN, Texas (KRHD) — The first African American starter in Texas A&M football history brought his story to the Boys and Girls Club of the Brazos Valley this week, with a special screening of the documentary Breaking Traditions followed by a Q&A session.
Hugh McElroy said the showing carried special meaning because of its location.
"Now we're fulfilling the obligation to show it here, at the Boys and Girls Club for the kids and also for the community to have another reason to come and see what's here," McElroy said.
The screening was one McElroy had long planned. He said when the documentary was first made, he identified two places he wanted it shown — the Boys and Girls Club and International Leadership of Texas K-8, a local charter school where he worked at the time. The charter school screening took place about a year ago.
Prior screenings included an initial showing at the Bush Library for a limited audience of close family, cast and crew members, and a later screening on the Texas A&M campus at Rudder Tower.
McElroy said the Boys and Girls Club event also served a practical purpose — getting the community familiar with the club's new location.
"A couple of people I was just talking to a minute ago said, 'Well, I thought it was still over on William Joe O'Brien,'" McIlroy said. "I think that's why we're doing this, to get people out, see what it is and how awesome it is and what we're doing for the kids."
Though McElroy was not a Boys and Girls Club member as a child, he said mentorship has been a driving force throughout his life. He became involved with Big Brothers and Sisters while living in Houston, eventually serving as board chair and earning the title of Big Brother of the Year in Houston.
"That one on one relationship, that mentorship, was something that I craved," McElroy said.
After relocating to the Brazos Valley, he chose the Boys and Girls Club as the place to continue that commitment.
The documentary highlights the generational struggles McElroy's family endured and chronicles his unlikely path to becoming a trailblazer in Aggie athletics. McElroy said his journey was far from guaranteed.
"For a kid from where I came from who didn't letter in high school, who wasn't even supposed to be in the athletic dorm, who tried out for football twice, two different times, and then finally make it," McIlroy said.
He said the title Breaking Traditions reflects both the racial barriers he broke through and the family traditions he changed along the way.
McElroy said he hopes his story resonates with younger audiences, and that he remains the same person regardless of what they learn about his past.
"Just try to show them that I'm the same person today as I was yesterday before you knew I did all this old stuff," McElroy said.
He credited preparation meeting opportunity as the foundation of his success.
"A guy told me a long time ago that success is when preparation and opportunity cross paths," McIlroy said. "I guess I had been preparing, I'd been spinning the wheels certainly for a long time, but then the opportunity came and it worked out."
McElroy said he hopes sharing both his successes and failures openly will benefit others.
"Just share what I know, what little I've learned from the successes and from the failures, and share those openly, and just hope it benefits somebody else," McElroy said.
Dr. Jennifer Griffith, a coworker of McElroy's who attended the screening, spoke to his character and his place in Aggie history.
"You know him as the kindhearted person. It's not something where his story is at the forefront of how he introduces himself, but as you get to know him, you learn about those things, and I think that he highlighted some important times at Texas A&M, breaking tradition," Griffith said.
Griffith also noted the broader legacy connected to McElroy's story.
"I mentioned General Rutter and how many things that he did for Texas A&M. So I'm also a beneficiary of that as an Aggie graduate too. So it's something that I find really nice to see," Griffith said.
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