Allison Rubenak, editor-in-chief, sits down with Zachary Lawrence to discuss his family’s history at A&M and his experience as a Corps of Cadets member.
THE BATTALION: What part of being a yell leader are you most looking forward to this football season?
LAWRENCE: Getting to run out on Kyle Field and getting a chance to motivate the student body and everything is really amazing. The feeling of that first game is going to be incredible. I can only imagine it. Also, one thing I’ve already noticed. is you can make a person’s day just by taking a picture with them or saying Howdy. It’s something that I think is really cool — how influential you can be and be a positive force.
THE BATTALTION: What was it like growing up in a family with generations of Aggies?
LAWRENCE: I got to grow up learning a lot about the traditions before I came in to school. It’s cool to hear stories from my dad and granddad about all the stuff they went through and to compare their experience of Aggieland — what it was back then compared to now. And it honestly, it hasn’t changed a lot, which is a good thing I think. Besides the construction and everything else, it’s basically the same feeling of campus.
THE BATTALION: What were your parent’s reactions when they found out you were going to be a 2014-2015 yell leader?
LAWRENCE: They were really ecstatic. Both of my parents were class of ’89 so they were really excited. They are just ready to come up here and see me do that first midnight yell and first game. Coming from a family of Aggies, it was a big deal to us.
THE BATTALION: Your great-great grandfather is believed to be the first student enrolled at Texas A&M in 1876. What was his story?
He rode in on a horse from Caldwell and rode over to A&M to go register for classes. Then he got there and the [admissions office] told him they were not ready yet. So he decided to camp out under a tree and then the next day. He was first in line.
THE BATTALION: How did you find out about your great-great grandfather?
I was young, probably about first grade. I mean, my grandparents would tell me about it, but I didn’t know the significance of that fact until I was a little bit older. I never really told anyone about that until one of my dad’s classmates made a comment about it on twitter. After people saw that tweet, word kind of spread around campus. Then people began asking me about it and that’s the only time I would tell other people about it. It’s still something that I don’t just randomly talk about.
THE BATTALION: What influenced you to attend A&M?
Definitely [my family] was a big influence for me coming here. My parents always told me that I could go anywhere I wanted to. But what really brought it home, was my first A&M [football] game, when I was about 8 years old and I was like ‘This is where I want to go.’ Not only the game experience itself, but the atmosphere of Aggieland and just, it had a good feel about it. From then on, I wanted to be an Aggie.
THE BATTALION: What’s it like being in Company E1 — the same as your father and brother?
What’s really cool, is that my dad — all of his buddies have kids around the same age, so I get to meet their kids who are coming in now and I get to talk to [his buddies] about their old experiences. And then my brother — I came in the year after his senior year. It was cool because everyone knew who I was and so it helped me in the transition [into the outfit].
THE BATTALION: How has the Corps of Cadets impacted you?
I would say the biggest impact has been the friendships formed, because you come in with 20 guys that you never met before in your life that have come from all over Texas and the country, and within a month or two, you’re almost best friends. You know the Corps is challenging and you go through lots of challenges that nobody else is going to know about except your buddies. That really makes you a lot closer. A lot of those guys will probably be in or at my wedding when I get married someday.
THE BATTALION: What has been your favorite Kyle Field memory?
I would say the Mike Evans pass with Johnny Manziel during the Alabama [game]. That was the loudest and craziest moment I’ve ever experienced in Kyle Field. It’s probably one of my favorite memories and will stick with me for a while.
THE BATTALION: What interested you in choosing psychology as a major?
Psychology is just an interesting field, I came in thinking I was going to be a coach or something like that. And then I did more research about psychology and I found out that I wanted to do sports psychology specifically. So what I’m hoping to do is go into my masters and then my doctorate and then become a sports psychologist. For me, I was an athlete, I ran track and played basketball. There is so much of a mental aspect ­— what people don’t see.
THE BATTALION: What do you like to do in your spare time?
I don’t get a whole lot of time to do it, but I really enjoy golf.