The Class of 2022 came together for the last time to remember it’s time as students and celebrate the experiences they shared along the way.
Seniors gathered in front of the Jack K. Williams Administration Building at 7:22 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 16 to participate in Elephant Walk, which honors their time as students at Texas A&M.
Elephant Walk is one of A&M’s oldest traditions, dating back to 1922, occurring every year before the last home football game. Seniors walk around campus for the final time as a class, visiting historic landmarks and listening to speeches by Yell Leaders, distinguished alumni and others.
Business and finance senior and director of Elephant Walk Spencer Neumann said the tradition provides seniors the opportunity to reflect on their time as students and acknowledge the hardships they have overcome to reach their last year.
“It gives [seniors] the chance to see how they’ve grown from freshman year to now,” Neumann said. “It really took me back and gave me a chance to think about where I’ve come from since I was a freshman.”
Elephant Walk earned its name from its first occurrence when seniors put their arms on their friends’ shoulders, looking like elephants marching to die. As seniors make their way through campus, they link arms to represent the unity felt among their class.
“It has always been my favorite tradition to work because everyone is really happy to be there,” Neumann said. “It gives students the time to walk through campus and think about all of the good and bad times they have had here at A&M.”
The walk began at the Administration Building and led students to several landmarks throughout campus, including the Liberal Arts & Humanities Building, Fish Pond and the Quad, before ending the night with a Yell Practice on Kyle Field. International studies senior Travis Long said Elephant Walk made him think about his past and future as an Aggie.
“The walk made me realize that my time as an undergraduate is actually coming to an end,” Long said. “Everything I have done for the past four years is about to be put into action.”
Elephant Walk represents the bittersweet reality that students will no longer stand as the 12th Man, but rather as alumni of the university. Student Body President and communication senior Natalie Parks said Elephant Walk was a time for her to remember the people she has met throughout her years at A&M.
“I committed to Texas A&M because of the people and students in the community,” Parks said. “My affiliation with the Class of ‘22 has always been so profound to my identity and who I am as a person, but also who I am as an Aggie.”
Just as elephants would part ways after walking together, seniors will part ways after their time as students come to an end to carry out the Aggie Spirit in their new lives. In her speech during Elephant Walk, Parks said the tradition represents the futures of students after graduation.
“We are together for four years, and then we go out into the world to impact different things,” Parks said. “Despite what differences we might have had during our time at A&M, we started it together, and we are going to end it together.”