Tobin Redwine ’08 ’14: Saving the art of storytelling

For 15 years, Tobin Redwine ’08 ’14, Ph.D., shaped how students in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences understood and shared stories.  

As an agricultural communications and journalism professor, advisor and mentor to many, Redwine showed that good stories don’t just inform, they connect people and give experiences more meaning.

Through writing, photography, videography, public speaking and casual conversation, Redwine helped thousands of students find their voice. He reminded them that stories belong everywhere: in classrooms, barns, churches, kitchens and communities around the world.

Redwine has held many roles throughout the years – teacher, researcher, strategist, musician, husband and, his favorite, father – all of which can be traced back to his purpose: telling stories.

Redwine is a storyteller, and this is his story.

Where it all began

Redwine grew up in Lazbuddie, a small farming community in the Panhandle. After high school, he was elected as the Texas FFA Association state president, an experience that deepened his passion for people, agriculture and leadership.  

“As a state officer, I met a lot of incredible people and I got to deliver quite a few speeches,” Redwine said. “I remember struggling at times because I felt like all I could do was tell stories. But now I realize that’s a good thing – and it translated a lot into my career as an educator.”

When his term ended, Redwine packed his bags for Texas A&M University with a guitar in hand and dreams of writing songs that would change the world.

“When I got to Texas A&M, I thought it was just a pass-through on my way to being a famous songwriter,” Redwine said with a laugh. “That never happened, but I made some amazing connections and found my identity as a person. I met my wife and some of my best friends on this campus.”

Although the record deal never came, Redwine’s love for storytelling took center stage. After reaching out to a professor in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications, Redwine was placed in upper-level agricultural communications courses that changed his trajectory.

“Those classes were so instrumental and really kick-started everything that’s happened in my career since then,” Redwine said.

Finding his teaching tune 

After graduating from Texas A&M, Redwine moved to Lubbock to pursue a master’s degree at Texas Tech University. During his first week, his mentor asked him to help teach an introductory agricultural communications course.

The experience didn’t go as planned.  

“I went to her office after class and said, ‘I tried to teach like you, but it didn’t go well,’” Redwine said. “She told me, ‘I don’t want you to teach like me. I want you to teach like you.’”

Those simple words of encouragement changed everything for Redwine.

When the class met again, Redwine walked in carrying his guitar. He strummed soulful chords, crooned the words to his song, the “Ag Communication Blues,” and turned the day’s lecture into a lesson about creativity and connection.

“I realized if I don’t believe in and care about the things I’m saying, nobody else will,” Redwine said. “I wanted my lectures to be fun, memorable and authentic to who I am.”

That class set the tone for his teaching career. Through sincerity, courage and a well-loved guitar, Redwine discovered how to make learning personal and unforgettable.

Curating a strong classroom culture

Redwine returned to Texas A&M to pursue a doctorate while working full-time as an undergraduate advisor. He researched storytelling and photography, taught classes in agricultural communications and led study abroad trips to Namibia.

Along the way, he became fascinated with how people learn. He studied social cognitive theories and how attention, memory and motivation shape the classroom experience.  

“I realized I had to work to win students’ attention during class,” Redwine said. “I needed to be more interesting and valuable than the distractions.”

He set out to make his classes the most captivating part of students’ weeks. Music, words, humor, philosophical conversations and stories were always involved. He found storytelling in particular helped students retain knowledge.

“We had traditions like Tunesday Tuesdays, where I would sing and play my guitar, and Word Wednesdays, where the whole class competed in word games,” Redwine said. “In my graduate courses, we began class with a series of questions to check in with each other. I never wanted to miss an opportunity to connect with my students.”

That connection is what brought Redwine’s students back to class week after week. The impactful stories, heartfelt conversations and interesting lectures created a classroom culture students didn’t want to miss out on. He even brought his kids to class on occasion so they could “guest lecture,” a tradition his students loved.

Though all his lectures held deep value, there is one that Redwine is most proud of and students were often most impacted by. He calls it his “last lecture,” a tradition that paid homage to love, loss and the meaning of life.

The last lecture

During his master’s program, Redwine came across Randy Pausch’s “Last Lecture,” a talk about purpose and gratitude delivered before Pausch passed away from cancer.

The idea resonated with Redwine: What would he say if it were his last chance to speak to his students?

“Every semester, from the time I was a graduate assistant at Texas Tech until the last class I taught at Texas A&M, I always did a last lecture,” Redwine said. “I talked about the importance of love and purpose and how those two things showed up in my life.”

In his “last lecture,” Redwine shared stories that reflect his life – leading study abroad trips, meeting his wife, losing his best friend, Lanse, and his brother, Shannon, and facing his own battle with depression. From his travels, he learned about core values; from his wife, unconditional love and kindness; and from Lanse, how to be relentless in pursuing purpose.

From Shannon, Redwine learned why the voice of love must be louder than doubt.

“My brother Shannon and I were inseparable,” Redwine said. “We lost him to suicide almost eight years ago, so it’s important for me to talk about him and about mental health.” 

Each semester, Redwine closed with his lecture full of honesty, vulnerability and reflection. If these were truly the last words his students ever heard from him, he wanted them to be about the people who shaped his life and taught him what it means to care for others.

A new chapter of his story

In 2024, Redwine stepped away from teaching to become executive director of the Montgomery County Fair and Rodeo, but storytelling and connection are still at the heart of what he does.

“I took this position out of a desire to nurture and steward my community,” Redwine said. “My job is to shine a light on the connections that bind us all together and support youth and agriculture.”

He’s able to do this because of the people who have believed in him and his purpose, including himself.

“It’s important to bet on yourself,” he said. “Do things in a way that you are uniquely prepared to do.”

Redwine has done exactly that. The results?

Thousands of students who walked into his classroom as strangers and left as friends. Countless lectures filled with rich laughter, lively conversations, transformative learning, soul-stirring music and stories that will never be forgotten. Fifteen years of devoted researching, teaching, traveling, leading and learning. And many lives changed because of a man who showed up for others, lived his values and left Texas A&M better than he found it.

“It’s our opportunity and our obligation to share love and purpose with people around us,” Redwine said, “not only because it helps them, but because it helps us. That’s what storytelling is all about.”