As part of The Big Event, cadets from Company D2 helped clear the yard of Rodney Hill, a man with 46 years of Aggieland history to tell.
Hill joined the faculty at Texas A&M in 1969 after receiving architecture degrees from the University of California-Berkeley and Texas Tech.
He first taught in the Department of Environmental Design and in 1980 moved to the Department of Architecture. In 46 years of teaching, Hill has helped make the visualization and the architecture programs what they are today.
Hill said visualization started as a graduate program in 1989, and the architecture department didn’t have the undergraduate program until about four years ago.
“We would construct special classes for [those students] in their junior and senior year so that they could go other routes to experience visualization, rather than taking mechanical or electrical systems and structures — those things wouldn’t do them any good at DreamWorks,” Hill said.
Hill’s creative nature is expressed in his house and his yard. The Hills have an elaborate environmental design in their garden and greenhouse.
“The best part was the back yard,” said Sam Hilgendorf, human resources freshman. “You go in there and it’s like you’re in a forest. They’ve got tons of different types of plants.”
Inside the house, many of Rodney Hill’s handmade wood carvings decorate the walls. The wood carvings are similar to the six-panel wood carving done by Hill and his wife Sue inside the Memorial Student Center.
Among the hustle of raking leaves, the Hills worked alongside the students.
“They didn’t have to buy us lunch, and they bought us pizza,” said David Wolff, agricultural and biological engineering senior. “[Sue Hill] was out here helping us with the yard work. She certainly didn’t have to do that.”
Hill said he was appreciative of The Big Event and the cadets who worked on the yard for what they did. He said it was important that students know the power of volunteerism at A&M.
“It’s taking care of everyone,” Hill said. “You find people that want to come and interview Aggies because Aggies don’t lie, cheat or steal, and we’re hard workers. You learn to give a lot when you’re here.”
