Brandon Surtain moved from New Orleans to Baton Rouge with his family after Hurricane Katrina. He graduated from McKinley High School, where he played football, then enrolled at Louisiana State University. A walk-on, Surtain earned a spot on the Tigers. He was offered a scholarship to Tulane University after an article appeared in The Advocate about his bachelor of arts exhibit for the LSU School of Art but instead the talented artist graduated from Tulane University’s School of Architecture with master’s degrees in architecture and sustainable real estate development. Surtain now works in real estate development.