Blake Jones, Gavin Suel and Connor Joseph were voted into the three Senior Yell Leader positions for 2018-2019. Reid Williams and Karsten Lowe were elected Junior Yell Leaders.
The five cadets were elected after running together in the 5 for Yell joint campaign.
As the newly-elected Yell Leaders celebrated their victory Friday night, they reflected on a campaign season that brought them together and taught them countless lessons.
The campaign trail presented the incoming Yell Leaders with many opportunities to learn, according to Blake Jones, elected senior leader and industrial distribution junior.
“If it’s taught me one thing, it’s taught me just to give everything you have to whatever you’re doing,” Jones said. “Before the results were read, I knew that my team had done everything they could do. I had done everything they could do. I had done everything I could do, so I was going to be at peace with the results. That and just knowing to stay humble has gotten me here and made this whole thing worth it.”
According to Gavin Suel, elected senior leader and university studies junior, the victory gives him a chance to recreate once in a lifetime memories.
“For me, I got to live my dream this past year and I had so many experiences that I’ll never forget,” Suel said. “I’m so excited to take the new guys through those experiences. I’ve got to relive it through them and get to take them. That’s what pumps me up right now.”
The position is a great opportunity to serve the Aggie family, said Reid Williams, elected junior leader and business administration sophomore.
“Serving this university is something that I know both of us will really cherish and we won’t take for granted during this time,” Williams said. “Being in front of the 12th Man and serving them is something I’m really looking forward to.”
Connor Joseph, elected senior leader and agricultural economics junior, said the group is excited about serving the university and growing closer to each other.
“Having gotten to know each other so well over the past few months and campaigned and worked hard for each other, [we] now know that’s paid off,” Joseph said. “We have the ability to serve alongside each other, travel the country and represent the student body and serve Texas A&M. Doing it together is really exciting.”
Karsten Lowe, elected junior leader and industrial distribution sophomore, said he has enjoyed growing closer to the other guys and looks forward to it in the future.
“Spending time together with them has been a fantastic process,” Lowe said. “It showed me that I can depend on them. Whether it was going from event to event where we had to split up or getting to know these fantastic people, I knew these guys had my back and [were] sure I was where I needed to be and just getting the job done that needed to get done.”
The newly-elected Yell Leaders have ended the campaign as brothers, according to Suel.
“[It’s] a lot about brotherhood,” Suel said. “That’s the honor and joy of running together as a team. You get to run as brothers and family. That’s the big takeaway I’ve taken from this.”
Williams said several unforgettable memories stand out from the campaign season.
“[From] the funny moments when we were at Fish Pond and it was 38 degrees filming a Friends video, to the points where we were staying up until two o’clock at night after a campaign meeting working on our speeches, we’ve really grown together through the hard and fun times,” Williams said. “[We went from] a team to now brothers. I’m really looking forward to next year.”
Suel said the leaders realize the importance of their roles and are excited to fulfill them.
“We’re so honored,” Suel said. “We don’t take the responsibility lightly and we’re so excited to serve the student body and serve A&M together.”