It’s game day in College Station, and 100,000 voices reverberate across Kyle Field as five men in white, known as the Yell Leaders, rush onto the grass.

The squad of five upperclassmen, made up of three seniors and two juniors, is voted in each spring by a student-wide election. They participate in over 350 events, spanning from uproarious football games in the fall to the Aggie Moms’ Clubs meetings in the summer.

This year’s Yell Leaders include seniors Zach Lawrence, Ben Ritchie and Steven Lanz as well as juniors Will Alders and Chris Wilder.

News reporter Sam Scott sat down with Zach Lawrence for part one of The Battalion’s five-part series on the 2015 Yell Leaders.

From a small Texas town of approximately 2,000 called Shiner, psychology senior Zach Lawrence is about to start his second fall semester as a Yell Leader at Texas A&M.

Growing up, Lawrence was destined to become an Aggie. Both of his parents graduated from A&M with the class of ’89, and his grandfather graduated with the class of ’64.

Exposed to Aggie football at a young age, Lawrence said he remembers coming to campus to watch A&M football games since he was eight years old.

In deciding to become a Yell Leader, one person who inspired him was one of the first people he met at A&M — Nelson Ingram, 2012 Head Yell Leader.  

“I just thought he was a really cool guy,” Lawrence said. “I thought [becoming a Yell Leader] would be really awesome to do, and Nelson was a pretty awesome guy. And when my sophomore year rolled around and the opportunity came up, it was just like, ‘I can’t pass up the chance.’”

As Head Yell Leader today, Lawrence said he does a lot of coordinating.

“I deal with a lot of meeting and making sure all the other guys are in check — making sure their grades are good, making sure that morale is good,” Lawrence said. “It’s more of an executive leadership position.”

Lawrence said he didn’t fully understand the great fraternity shared between past and present Yell Leaders until he became one.

“You get to meet guys from the class of ’50 who will help you out if you need anything,” Lawrence said. “They’re good guys; they’re always there for support, and I didn’t realize it was a close network like that. We have the Association of Former Yell Leaders, and they do a great job of helping us out and making sure we’re taken care of.”

When it comes to hobbies, Lawrence said he loves to golf and reading and can be found playing on intramural teams with his Corps outfit or working out at the Recreational Center.
After graduating from Texas A&M, Lawrence said he hopes to get a job coaching and one day go back to school to receive a doctorate in sports psychology.