I am graduating from Texas A&M on Friday, May 13. Yes, you read that right, Friday the 13th. This day has been cultured in our society to be scary, eerie or ominous, but graduating from the greatest university in the world isn’t any of those things, right? Well, that’s complicated.
I grew up an A&M fan, so I always knew I wanted to further my education in College Station. However, my college journey actually started in the sister city of Bryan, at Blinn College in the fall of 2018. After compiling a 3.94 GPA in my time as a Buccaneer, it was time for me to take my talents to the other side of town.
I transferred to A&M after the summer of 2020, and officially started my tenure as an Aggie in the fall. Transitioning from Blinn to A&M during the COVID-19 pandemic was obviously weird, and having to do my New Student Conference remotely was unfortunate.
My first two semesters at A&M were hybrid due to the pandemic, but I made sure to go to campus for class every day my schedule permitted. It wasn’t the Aggie experience that I imagined, or wanted for that matter, but it was completely out of my control.
Fast forward to a normal summer semester — when the four hours I took went by in a flash — and I had set the stage for my senior year.
It’s not usual to face a new reality as an old guy on campus, but fall 2021 was my first welcome to full capacity among such a large student body. Storming Kyle Field after the upset of No. 1 Alabama will always be one of the best and most memorable nights of my life.
That succinctly brings me to the present, the spring of 2022. So much has happened for me in a short period of time. I earned my Aggie Ring and have made sure to wear it at least once every day. Oh yeah, I also proved all the doubters wrong by doing my ring dunk with Guinness in less than a minute.
Anyway, my biggest area of growth and gratitude lies with The Battalion. I have a passion for sports — my ultimate goal in life is to be a play-by-play broadcaster — so covering A&M Athletics as a student journalist has been so much fun. I have gotten more out of it than I imagined when I applied, writing 16 stories covering five sports, which makes it bittersweet to be done after a short stint that has given me so much.
I’ll always be appreciative of my time with The Batt for the experiences, access and increased network it provided me. So, please, support student journalism and the doors it opens for young, ambitious professionals.
In many ways, this organization represents what makes Aggieland so special. The traditions of this university run deep and have been carried on for generations. I am blessed, thankful and honored to have been provided a chance to be a part of it.
I don’t know exactly what my future holds, which is honestly the reality of pursuing a career in the sports media industry. The uncertainty is equal parts exciting and nerve-racking. In fact, that’s probably the best way to describe graduation, and I suppose Friday the 13th as well.
I do know that all of this was just the beginning of my journey, and it’s tough to say goodbye. But, I must, and in doing so, I become a former student and join the Aggie Network with a lifetime of opportunity ahead of me.
For everyone who helped, inspired or believed in me along the way: Thanks and Gig ’em.
Tyler Dupnick is a telecommunication media studies senior and sports reporter for The Battalion.