Over 8,100 seniors are preparing to cross the stage and receive their diplomas this week. For some, this marks the culmination of their time in Aggieland and the beginning of a new chapter in their personal story.
Spring 2018 graduation ceremonies for each college will be held in Reed Arena May 10-12.
The first ceremony will be Thursday with May Business School at 9 a.m. At 2 p.m. the Bush School of Government and Public Service and College of Liberal Arts (Communication, Economics, Political Science, Psychology and Sociology) students will walk the stage. At the 7 p.m. ceremony, Liberal Arts (University Studies/Women’s and Gender Studies, Anthropology, English, Hispanic Studies, History, International Studies, Performance Studies and Philosophy and Humanities), College of Science and College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences students will graduate.
Friday’s ceremonies will begin at 9 a.m. with Agriculture and Life Sciences. The 2 p.m. ceremony will be for Architecture, Geosciences, Nursing and Public Health. The final Friday ceremony will be at 7 p.m. for Education and Human Development students.
The last day of graduation ceremonies will be Saturday. The 9 a.m. ceremony will be for Aerospace Engineering, Biological & Agricultural Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering and Electrical & Computer Engineering. The 2 p.m. ceremony will graduate students of Engineering Technology & Industrial Distribution, Industrial & Systems Engineering, Material Science & Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Ocean Engineering and Petroleum Engineering.
The Battalion spoke with a few of the Aggies preparing for graduation this week.
Brooke Rodriguez, agricultural communications and journalism senior, will be graduating on Friday from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Rodriguez said her senior year was a meaningful one and she enjoyed every minute of it.
“My senior year went by way too fast,” Rodriguez said. “I got my Aggie Ring, had some really awesome experiences working with 12th Man Productions and had a lot of fun with friends and family. All of these experiences made for a great senior year.”
Rodriguez said she plans on moving back to her hometown of Kingwood and will be looking for a job in broadcasting, marketing or a sales rep position.
Michala McCurdy, sociology senior, will be graduating on Thursday from the College of Liberal Arts.
McCurdy said her senior year went well and she is going to miss College Station and the whole college atmosphere in general.
“As spring semester started, it all hit me that I was going to be done and graduation was going to come a lot sooner than I was ready for,” McCurdy said.
McCurdy said her favorite memory from her senior year was her ring dunk. Accompanied by her best friend and her father, Class of 1982, the three dunked their Aggie Rings together to make a memory McCurdy said she will never forget.
“As terrible as it was having to chug four beers as fast as I could, I dunked with my best friend and my dad and had never dunked,” McCurdy said. “Because he’s a main reason I chose to attend A&M, it meant the world to me that he could not only be there and support me, but that he participated as well.”
McCurdy said A&M has offered her a lot during her time as an undergraduate student. One of the most important things she said she has learned is how to work with people who have different backgrounds and beliefs than her.
“I learned how to work with people who I don’t agree with on most topics, and how to get past that in order to accomplish tasks and that can be easier said than done,” McCurdy said.
Blake Thurman, finance senior, will be graduating on Thursday from Mays Business School. Thurman said his time at A&M went by much faster than he thought it would, but he has grown both physically and mentally since starting college.
“While time as a student is so limited, it is so incredibly special,” Thurman said. “I was a shy, quiet individual as an incoming freshman, and while that has changed so much in the past four years, I would like to tell that shy, quiet individual how remarkable the staff, students and fans of Texas A&M are.”
Thurman said A&M has taught him valuable skills he will use after he graduates, and the most important thing he is taking with him are the Aggie Honor Code and core values.
“I’ll leave this university with an excellent education,” Thurman said. “However, it is the respect, leadership, honor and selfless service that A&M has taught me and that I will undoubtedly carry with me through life that I consider to be the most essential.”
Thurman said two of his favorite memories both involved Aggie football — his first game and his last.
“As the Aggie War Hymn was being played for that last time, the compilation of all of the great memories at Kyle Field struck and the realization hit me of how special attending each and every game as a Texas A&M student was,” Thurman said.
After graduation, Thurman said he plans on working as a financial analyst for a few years to gain a greater understanding of the business world. Thurman said he plans to open his own business one day and hopefully give back to A&M.