Two Aggie brothers have turned to a video camera to capture what it’s like as a student at Texas A&M.
Communications senior and host Tony Mendoza, along with his brother, Andy Mendoza, applied Mathematics junior, started the YouTube channel “Student’s Perspective” eight months ago. The channel focuses on highlighting student life at Texas A&M through interviews with students on game days and at other campus events.
“Basically I created this show because when I was an incoming transfer student, and being really excited about coming to Texas A&M, I would search up on YouTube a lot,” Tony Mendoza said. “I would look up anything regarding Texas A&M, and there was nothing that showed on-campus activities or something that would make me feel like I was on-campus.”
Both Tony and Andy Mendoza were transfer students who wanted to find a school that they could fit in well at. Tony Mendoza said he and his brother hope the videos they produce will act as a guide for high school students who are considering coming to A&M.
“Where I want to see the show grow is — I want kids who are looking at coming to Texas A&M in 2020 to say, ‘I picked that school because Student’s Perspective showed what the school is all about,” Tony Mendoza said. “That is what I want my Aggie legacy to be like.”
As the videos have become more of a regularly posted this fall, Andy Mendoza said viewership has increased.
“People are starting to recognize me now and wanting to get interviewed, but the best compliment I had was when we interviewed a girl and she said she picked Texas A&M, and she viewed my videos all the way from Iowa,” Andy Mendoza said. “She said my video was one of the leading reasons why she came here.”
When coming up with content for the show, Andy Mendoza said they try to keep the content relevant to students and current events.
“Sometimes I’m a little bit too logical, and I kind of persuade [Tony] from doing some ideas,” Andy Mendoza said. “It kind of works both ways. He’s gung-ho, and I’m kind of a little bit more reserved. I’m usually the guy behind the camera a little bit more than in front of the camera.”
As the fall semester begins to wind down, Tony Mendoza said the focus of the videos will shift from football games and tailgates to on campus events and other activities.
“Immediate plans [for upcoming shows] has to be Elephant Walk — there has to be a video on Elephant Walk,” Tony Mendoza said. “There has to be a video on the last Senior Night, the senior football tailgate and the LSU game. Those are the big three videos we want to finish this semester with.”
In the past, Student’s Perspective has highlighted Kappa Sigma’s Wicked Woods event, Big Event and tailgates such as the RC Smoke ’Em tailgate from the football game against Arizona State at NRG Stadium in Houston.
“[Tony] came by, and we talked about 20 minutes before and 20 minutes after. It’s cool to see how personal he is with each person that he meets,” Cameron Blackwood, one of the RC Smoke ’Em tailgate hosts who was interviewed for a video, said.
Blackwood said the most unique part of Student’s Perspective is that it’s run by two students.
“It’s a student thing. It’s not a TexAgs coming in,” Blackwood said. “I love TexAgs, but they aren’t students. It’s a business. They make money, so I think it’s students coming in with actual perspective, asking questions that I guess students want to hear and have fun with instead of basic questions that any outside source would come up with.”
Andy Mendoza said his work with Student’s Perspective has helped him see what result can come from dedication to a project. Tony Mendoza said the brothers’ hope is that the success of the YouTube channel will continue to grow.
“I want to branch out the show to different colleges and universities. I want every Texas school to have a Student’s Perspective,” Tony Mendoza said. “In a way, Texas A&M is the founding school; It’s the flagship school for this idea, so it’s kind of like whatever hit or miss happens here, I know not to do that when I go to other campuses.”