The following is an excerpt from the SMU Daily Campus.  Read the full story here .

Brian Baumgartner, who plays Kevin on the popular television show "The Office," chose to come to SMU in 1991 because of the acting program.

He looked at several schools, including Northwestern, Duke, and USC, before choosing SMU. "I knew SMU would have what I wanted; it was the absolute best school in the country for actor training," Baumgartner said.

Baumgartner knew from a very early age that he wanted to be an actor. Between his junior and senior year of high school he attended Northwestern University's National High School Institute, where he focused on theater.

"I had always thought of theater as an extracurricular activity, and then I went to Northwestern and I thought there was nothing better than acting. I began to study it as a profession instead of just an activity," Baumgartner said.

Baumgartner grew as an actor at this summer program, and this piqued his interest in pursuing theater further.

"I knew that I had some good instincts, but I really wanted to learn how to do it. And that's what SMU taught me."

Continue reading story at SMU Daily Campus.