As a child, Terence Reynolds ('81) and his mother would draw together.

"But then I started drawing hands and fingers with digits that bent the right way, and she realized, 'Wait, this kid can draw,'" he says, "so she started putting me in all these art classes, which was fun, and it never felt like work. It was just a joy."

Those sketches were the beginning of Reynolds' path as an artist, leading to his current position as chief creative officer for Dallas-based TRG, one of the best-known advertising firms in the world. During his three decades at TRG, he won numerous awards and spearheaded campaigns for Alfa Romeo, AMG Hummer, Charles Schwab, Dave's Killer Bread, Dr Pepper, Jeep, Metro by T-Mobile and Wonder Bread. This spring, he was inducted into the American Advertising Federation's Southwest Advertising Hall of Fame.

He remembers the advice his father, a postal worker, gave at a school career fair.

"'It's not a goal of making money, it's a goal of just being the best at what you love to do.' And he said, 'Then all the money will just show up. All of the accolades -- all that will show up, because you're probably going to be the best at it.'"

Finding His Beat

As Reynolds grew up in Fort Worth, his parents exposed him and his brother to the arts, leading him to learn how to play the drums and perform with the Texas Boys Choir.

When Reynolds came to North Texas, he says, "I was going to major in music and then I was going to minor in advertising art -- which means I would get four hours of sleep in the whole four years. Not, like, every night. I'm talking about four hours of sleep the entire four years."

Then he heard a performance from Michael Baker, the late musician who attended from 1977 to 1980 and went on to play with music legends like Celine Dion and Whitney Houston.

"Mike Baker's the one that made me say, 'Maybe I'll go into advertising.' He was doing things I couldn't even imagine doing with a drum set."

But advertising proved to be an astute choice since UNT offered a great art program, now part of the College of Visual Arts and Design. His favorite advice came from one instructor, who was teaching at night while working days.

"He just brought a different perspective and a lot of rule-breaking. For things you would learn, like, 'Don't use reverse tile type in a paragraph, it's hard to read,' he would say, 'Screw that. Sometimes you may want to make it hard to read for the sake of what you're trying to say in your ad.' You know, appreciate rules, because they certainly came from somewhere, but then if you need to, break them.

"I was having a conversation the other day, and I was talking about best practices. I appreciate them because they let you know what works and what hasn't worked so well, but you can get lulled into this sense of just following those, and then you're not doing anything fresh. And so, for me, I want to define what's next practices instead of 'best practices.' What's that new thing that somebody does that everybody else starts doing, and it becomes best practices? That, to me, is the way to go, and that teacher taught me that."

Doing What He Loves

After graduating from North Texas, Reynolds worked on campaigns for Southwest Airlines and Walmart for the firm GSD&M in Austin. He then went to FCB (previously known as Foote, Cone & Belding) in Southern California before landing at TRG, then The Richards Group.

One of his recent favorite campaigns for TRG was called "Doing Life," which promoted Dave's Killer Bread Second Chance Employment, an initiative to employ previously incarcerated individuals.

"For me personally, as far as the message that that campaign brought to the world, it was more than just selling something. It's promoting a philosophy of how to lead your life."

The campaign received multiple awards. "I think the reason it did win is because it was so genuine and real. And it touched you viscerally."

Reynolds, who is currently serving on CVAD's advancement board, feels like he was meant to be in the advertising field. As a kid, he remembers memorizing TV commercials, even knowing the jingle's pitch. He pored through magazines, studying the ads more than the articles.

"I love what I do for a living, especially when I'm producing video," he says. "It compiles my love for the arts -- music, storytelling, cinemaphotography -- all coming together to make something beautiful."