Jason R. McKnight (BS ’08)
From the first time Jason McKnight visited campus, he could tell Sam Houston State University was the right place for him. Through the warm community feeling he experienced that day from students, professors and administrators, he knew SHSU would help him reach his full potential and flourish. His instincts were correct. The support he instinctually felt continued on during this college years as a Bearkat.
Jason recalls fond memories on campus, chatting with James Gaertner, the university president at that time. “He always seemed interested in hearing about how things were going with me, regardless of how busy he was,” Jason said. “What a great example he set to take time out of his day and actually have a conversation with a random student.” Meaningful conversations with numerous SHSU professors also left a lasting impression on him. “No matter how important you are, you can always make time to have a conversation with someone because you never know the impact it will make on that person long term,” he said.
After earning his BS in Animal Science, Jason secured a master’s at Texas A&M and MD from The University of Texas. Today, he serves as a clinical assistant professor in primary care medicine at Texas A&M Health Science Center. In addition to caring for patients in both a hospital and outpatient clinic setting, he is focused on primary care endoscopy procedures and training and educating newly graduated physicians and medical students in clinical medicine, population health and evidence-based medicine.
Jason believes that he would not have been as successful in life had he chosen a larger university. He credits the one-on-one support he received at Sam Houston State in transforming him into who he is today as an individual committed to serving others.