Howdy! My name is Michaela Rush, and I’m the editor-in-chief for The Battalion, but more relevant to this Maroon Life, I am a proud local who calls College Station home. With this firsthand knowledge, I can truly say that Aggieland is a hidden gem, with a lot more to it than meets the eye.
Undeniably, our 5,200-acre campus has a lot to offer. The challenge I pose to my fellow Aggies is to explore beyond these borders to support local businesses, events and artists.
When making this magazine, my vision was to highlight as many locally-owned-and-operated businesses as possible. While I certainly enjoy Dutch Bros as much as the next Aggie, why not take time to try the unique brews of BCS? We’ve curated six coffee shop options for you. Sure, it’s nice to stay home and watch movies with your significant other, but why not take a stroll in Historical Downtown Bryan, and visit The Bird’s Nest? Both were voted as local bests by our readers. Northgate is a blast, but why not chill out and go to karaoke at The Tap, for a weeknight adventure?
In this magazine, we’ve taken votes from our readers: students, staff, faculty and community members, to identify The Best of Aggieland, and this year we took it one step further, by highlighting our staff’s favorites. We hope by offering this mix of stories we can celebrate your current favorites and introduce you to new ones.
Now, I have some important thank yous to the people who made this magazine with me, and the day-to-day of The Battalion possible.
To Kyle McClenagan, thank you for keeping me calm, even when I’m spiraling over the tiny details. Having your partnership on this project, and all throughout this year has been my saving grace, both professionally and personally. Thank you for pushing back, and encouraging me to be better, as a writer, an editor, a leader and a friend.
To Robert O’Brien, our photo chief turned design editor, thank you for believing in my vision, even when the page count seemed impossible, and I couldn’t remember my own deadlines. Thank you for your constant honesty and for encouraging me to be creative, but also helping me stay on track and not overload myself.
To Cameron Johnson, congratulations on the stunning art you’ve made for every project during your tenure at The Battalion. Your willingness to put in the late nights, change direction last minute and step up is truly admirable, and will serve you well in your inevitably bright future. Thank you for sharing your work, and laughter, with me this year, you’ll be greatly missed.
To Ishika Samant, thank you for being just as excited about this magazine as I am. Your tireless work never goes unnoticed or unappreciated. Thank you for adding life to these pages through your talent and passion.
To Jordan Epp, even though Best of Aggieland isn’t your baby, thank you for the entirety of the fall semester. The sports desk is the heart of our publication, and I don’t think anyone could have handled this semester with the grace, professionalism and positivity that you did. You will be greatly missed, as a sports editor and a podcast host, but most importantly as a friend.
To Caroline Wilburn and Kenzie Finch, thank you for both going outside of your comfort zone by contributing to a features-focused magazine, in contrast to your normal quick and factual news beats.
To Kathryn Miller and Ruben Hernandez, thank you for leading life & arts through (most of) these writers’ first magazine. Over half of the stories in this edition came from the talented crop of writers hired this year, who blew me away with the quality of their work. To Ruben, specifically, thank you for providing creative vision and quality criticism to our entire staff during this (and every other) creation process.
To Caleb Elizondo, Grant Gaspard and Zoe May, thank you for making the jump and becoming editors this semester. Your energy and willingness to learn, plus your ability in keeping me sane, made this possible. To Dan Hung, thank you for being an advertising wizard and finding the funding to bring this vision to life. To Emma Moser, thank you for taking a chance on me and The Battalion, and jumping head-first into an adviser-less void.
To Megan Williams, my constant co-conspirator, thank you for the feedback, the late-night conversations, partnership in important meetings and for lending your talents to the pages of this magazine, now go make your yearbook.
Lastly, I would be remiss to not acknowledge the man who has kept us all faithful to the mission of Student Media. Mr. Pils, thank you for always answering my frantic texts about design or ads or journalism in general, setting up pages for every fall edition and being a mentor to each and every member of this staff.
To the readers, staff, advertisers and everyone who took the time to interview with us, thank you. Now, go out and explore Aggieland, and report back next year to share the favorites we haven’t found yet.
Michaela Rush is an English senior and editor-in-chief of
