From Texas Public Radio: Embracing a career that’s never going away: San Antonio College opens a funeral home

Catching up with another community college to our west.

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SAC opened the first college-based mortuary science program in Texas in 1961 and already had embalming facilities on campus. Now, in addition to earning a degree or visiting the planetarium, San Antonians can visit the college to make funeral arrangements for a loved one.

“This dream actually started about 16 years ago with one of my predecessors,” said Mary Mena, the mortuary science program director. “It was just a wild idea, like, ‘Wow, wouldn't it be great to have our own funeral home where our students could go and practice actual skills?’ ”

Mena said the idea remained just a dream for years until the president’s office was relocated. But, even though they had a location, state law banned funeral homes from operating out of tax-exempt properties.

So, SAC lobbied state lawmakers, got an exemption for educational purposes, and finally made it happen.

According to the American Board of Funeral Service Education, SAC is the only mortuary science program in the country with a funeral home on campus right now. A college in San Francisco used to operate out of a funeral home before it closed. Another in Sacramento is trying to open one.

“It's a great learning opportunity for our students so that when they get out into the real funeral world, they've at least got some background on how to how to start, how to begin,” Mena said.

A practicum at a funeral home is already part of SAC’s two-year mortuary science degree. But Mena said the mortuary on campus will be a learning lab where students can practice their skills more immediately.

- Wikipedia: San Antonio College.

- Wikipedia: Mortuary Science.