Battalion reporter Caroline Corrigan sat down with Student Body President Kyle Kelly to talk about his goals for A&M this year. For the full interview be sure to check out the video on our YouTube channel.

THE BATTALION: Now that the fall semester has begun, how do you feel so far?
Kelly: We are excited to get started this semester. It is so fun having everyone back. The population of this city has increased by about 56,000 people and a lot has changed. There [are] lines, there is traffic but it is so fun and exciting to have everyone back. Our first two games we stormed into the SEC and had great success in all of the Aggie athletics, so that is an exciting aspect and there is no better time to be at Texas A&M University and there is certainly no better place. It has been fun getting started. We had an executive retreat, we had our first senate meeting and we are excited for what is to come.
THE BATTALION: What do you expect from the student body this year?
Kelly: It is our student body’s responsibility to be the keepers of spirit, the guardians of tradition. I think it is our goal and responsibility to preserve and promote the tradition, spirit and core values of Texas A&M University. An exciting piece of news, having had Silver Taps [last] week, we more than doubled the all time record of number of letters written to the families. One thousand, eight hundred letters were written to the families and in the past we have never had more than 900. I think the number 1,800 is very fitting because I believe that is was the class of 2018 that largely made that number a reality.
THE BATTALION: How do you feel about having more students on campus to participate in tradition?
Kelly: It is very exciting. I think a lot has changed at Texas A&M. It is an exciting time. The chancellor has been sharing that there is a Texas survey that asks, ‘Which college do you root for?’ It has always been t.u. In the past two years it has been Texas A&M University.
THE BATTALION: What do you plan to accomplish this year as Student Body President?
Kelly: Our goals for this year are, first and foremost, spirit, tradition and core values at Texas A&M University — keeping those and bettering those. Second is the integrity and culture of the student government association, and we have had a phenomenal start and I think we are changing the culture by working together to better Texas A&M University. The third would be the Aggie experience. We already have what is the best college experience anywhere, but we want to continue to improve that.
THE BATTALION: What is your day like?
Kelly: That is probably the most common question I get. Coming off of summer, the fall is a lot different. I have three different meetings with my cabinet. We are trying to minimize those meetings so we can spend more time with people. I try to move my workload with emails to the mornings so I can spend my afternoon with people during the day.
THE BATTALION: What do you think will be the biggest challenge for you this year as Student Body President?
Kelly: I think the challenge is that I am a student. I am a full-time student. I want to do well both maintaining and balancing personal Kyle and SBP Kyle. My responsibilities are, first and foremost, to represent the student body here and outside of Texas A&M. Second, to lead the student government association, and lastly I want to have an individual impact. For me the biggest challenge is to balance all of those things.