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If you walked across The Green at lunch this past week, you could not miss it: a burst of bright orange, classic white with touches of SBS blue, and the kind of energy that tells you something good is happening. Our first-ever WHATADAY! delivered exactly what we hoped for, giving upper school students an hour to relax, laugh and enjoy being together.

Under blue Houston skies, students picked up their Whataburger boxes and spread out across The Green and the athletic fields with friends. Spikeball and cornhole sets stayed busy, giant Jenga drew some curious players and the basketball and soccer inflatables kept a steady line of challengers. Others jumped into spontaneous pick-up games, enjoyed ice cream and soaked up the break in the day. Head of School John Card stepped in near the end with a few Whataburger giveaways, and the playful prizes had students smiling.

“WHATADAY was so much fun,” junior Carson Patterson said. “This kind of thing is unique to SBS because of our schedule and our community. I loved having time with friends and hope we can do it again.”

Upstairs in the Eagle Club, teachers enjoyed a WHATABREAK with Whataburger lunches and a quiet space before afternoon classes.

As music carried across The Green, it was clear that students made the most of every minute. When cleanup time rolled around, you could hear it in their conversations. WHATADAY was a hit and well worth repeating

With nine rows, ten tables in each row and ten seats to a table, the Hilton Americas Hotel ballroom brimmed with almost a thousand guests for the Distinguished Speaker Dinner held by Second Baptist School. The Distinguished Speaker Dinner event raises money for teacher bonuses while simultaneously hosting a beautiful event for all who attend. Each year, a carefully selected distinguished speaker shares a message, testimony and encouragement to the SBS community. 

For the 20th annual dinner, Shannon Bream, FOX News host, spoke to an audience of Second Baptist School families, teachers and friends. Bream, FOX’s Chief Legal Correspondent and anchor of FOX News Sunday, joined the network in 2007 as a correspondent covering the U.S. Supreme Court and has worked her way up to her current role. 

In addition to working on TV, she hosts the FOX News Radio podcast, Livin’ the Bream, which features inspirational stories, personal accounts, and her perspective on the justice system. While Bream’s primary role at FOX involves media, she’s also the founding author for FOX News Books. 

Her debut book, The Women of the Bible Speak (2021), spent five weeks on The New York Times bestseller list for adult non-fiction and an additional ten weeks on the charts. Following her first title, she has since published Mothers and Daughters of the Bible Speak (2022) and Love Stories of the Bible Speak (2023). An exceptional author and engaging media personality, Bream arrived at the Distinguished Speaker Dinner excited and ready to share her story and provide encouragement. 

Bream began by sharing her love for Christian education, which stems from her mother, a Christian school teacher, who planted seeds of faith in her life at home and at school. She reminisced about her Christian school, which provided a second home for her, where she could learn and grow in a nurturing environment that valued Scripture. 

Bream recalls her teachers, who “were much more than just educators,” because they cared for her, encouraged her and taught her biblical truth. She commended the teachers, students, faculty and parents of the SBS community, recognizing that through the faith of parents and staff, students receive the necessary encouragement, support and preparation to be vessels of Christ. 

At the beginning of her career, Bream practiced law, fulfilling her father’s desire for her to obtain a graduate degree. Knowing that she had a love for politics and investigation, she decided to pursue a career in journalism at the age of twenty-nine; however, it did not come easily. 

Bream started at the bottom, working at a local station, learning on the job and waiting for her big break. Despite the challenges she faced, Bream persevered, knowing that this was the work the Lord had laid on her heart to pursue. After her boss fired her and told her she “would never make it in this business,” Bream felt discouraged and questioned if she had misunderstood the Lord’s call. 

She recalled the uncertainty she felt and the dependence on the Lord that she had learned during the season of job searching. Bream notes that she grew the most spiritually during that season of waiting, learning to lean on the scripture she knew from her formative years at a Christian school. She referenced the verse Romans 8:28, which states, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose,” which encouraged her in her time of growth and waiting. 

Some years later, while working for NBC in Washington, D.C., Bream and her husband connected with Brit Hume, the then host of Special Report on FOX, who offered her a job as a correspondent covering the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the logistics of the offer conflicted with her contract with NBC, and, rather than bending the rules of the contract, Bream walked with integrity and honored the contract she was under, trusting the Lord’s timing. 

She connected her difficult decision to the story of Abraham and Isaac in the Bible, which she learned from school. The story reminded her that she must be willing to give up her dream job and believe that the Lord would provide just as He did for Abraham. Because of her integrity and faith in God’s plan, Bream has been working with FOX News for eighteen years and has experienced great success. 

After sharing her personal story, Bream encouraged the students of Second Baptist School, explaining that we “can be missionaries in whatever we choose to do” by being reflections of Christ wherever we go. She highlighted God’s faithfulness in providing her with teachers who told her, “She could be a better writer,” and a better student, while simultaneously including her faith in her work and dreams. 

She explained, “Every teacher I had on the way was pouring into me,” and she suggests that, through her mother and other Christian teachers, she learned the value of humility, prayer and love. Bream emphasized she knows that “the teachers at Second Baptist are the same kind of angels” that her mom was. 

She suggests that without the foundations of truth and Scripture she received in Christian education, she would not be the person she is today. Bream then encouraged the teachers of Second to continue their good work, recognizing the impact they leave on the lives of students. 

As I listened, my teachers from my past six years at Second Baptist flooded my mind. A few teachers who have already had a lasting impact on my faith are Mr. Brooks, Mr. Cooper, Mrs. Guthrie, Mr. Burnham, and Mrs. Box. These are just five of the many teachers, coaches and administrators who have poured into me with kindness and encouraged me to continue my academic pursuits. 

Most importantly, I know that they have prayed over me and demonstrated care for my own personal well-being and faith.

Written by Communications Fellow, Carson Patterson '27