Leaving my hometown in August of 2019, I really didn’t know exactly what college would look like, but I knew two things: I had a support system that would never dwindle and I would find my home away from home, no matter what.
Coming from a small town with three traffic lights, where I knew everyone in my graduating class by name and could navigate town like the back of my hand — most of the time — College Station blew me away, and I knew I would be charting new waters between finding my way around town and simply finding a building for class.
With having such a close relationship with my family and friends from back home, I knew moving away would be hard, but I also knew Texas A&M was where I was meant to be. Upon walking into my first college class, I was met with a group of students in the exact same boat as myself, as well as one of my first professors, Tom Burton, who was also teaching his first class at A&M. Through JOUR 102, we formed a bond, and nicknamed ourselves ‘Tom’s Fan Club,’ and I truly have that group to thank for helping me to push through my first semester.
Fast forward to second semester, I was finally beginning to adjust to my new life being away from home and learning to love Aggieland even more, but then we were met with the Spring Break that never ended — quite literally. COVID-19 rocked everyone’s world, but for this former freshman, my college experience was turned upside down.
From here, I began to pour myself even more into my schoolwork and started taking extra classes to fill the time taken by the pandemic. I can tell you now that I have spent over half of my college career on Zoom classes or through online, pre-recorded lectures, but that didn’t prevent the Aggieland college experience from impacting me.
To me, the traditions at A&M are what drew me to the university and what made it stand apart from anywhere else. I am forever grateful to have gotten to stand as a part of the 12th Man at Kyle Field, honor fellow students at Silver Taps and Bonfire Remembrance, answer ‘Here’ for fallen Aggies at Muster and earn my Aggie Ring to wear forever.
I wanted to create an Aggie experience different from most students. In September 2020, I took a leap of faith to apply to be a news writer for The Battalion. From my first story about COVID-19 vaccine trials for first responders to becoming a news editor in summer 2021, I furthered my passion for reporting and knew I had found what I wanted to pursue in my post-education experience.
In my time at The Battalion, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with A&M officials, attend a variety of events as well as chase what I thought might be the next big story. Not many people can say they’ve written breaking news sitting in a Chili’s — ironically, I can tell you this has happened to me at least twice — but you never know where you are going to be when a breaking news story might come through.
But as I prepare to walk the stage, I can proudly say my journey as a current student at A&M is coming to a close, but the Aggie Spirit will live forever in my heart.
Though this journey does not come without the help of countless people who I owe all the thanks in the world to:
To The Battalion and The Aggieland: Thank you for helping me to polish and refine my skills by providing me with an outlet for my creative juices. Thank you to the fellow editors and staffers who pushed me to achieve my goals and helped me have fun along the way — I will never forget the late nights in MSC L400 or any of the experiences I’ve had out on assignment. 
To my family and friends back home: Thank you for continuing to encourage me when things got rough. Thank you for listening to my hours of phone calls talking about stories or events that I left or even just chatting as I navigated the College Station traffic. 
To Grandma and Grandpa: Thank you for continuing to push me, even on the days where I thought that things seemed impossible. Without your support, I would be lost. I will never be able to put in words how much I appreciate all you have — and will — do for me. 
To the friends I’ve made at A&M: Thank you for helping me create a home away from home. I never would have imagined the community I have been able to find and the family I will carry with me forever. 
To Ryan: Thank you for letting me drag you along to a million events I had to cover, though sometimes I like to think it enhanced your college experience as well. Thank you for listening to me talk for hours about the stories I was covering and for pushing me to always do my best.
As I sign off with my 201st story for The Battalion, I leave to go find the next big story, wherever that may be.
Thanks and Gig ‘em — always.
Aubrey Vogel is a journalism senior and news editor for The Battalion.