Wow. Never in my 18 years living in Southeast Texas did I imagine this is what my college experience would look like. 

Staring down at my newly obtained Aggie Ring  — with my class courses concluding at the end of the fall semester and a looming internship to complete my degree in spring — my time here in Aggieland is almost over, and it feels like I was a lost freshman only yesterday. 

Entering Texas A&M as an undergraduate from a small town squeezed between the border of Louisiana and the Gulf Coast, I felt oddly at home — besides the lack of seafood and cajun-fusion restaurants. 

The community I found here in College Station became the bedrock for my media career, and it also led me to some of the best experiences I’ve ever had. From late-night prints to nights out on Northgate, I’ve had a wild and unforgettable three years at the only college I ever applied to. 

Growing up three-and-a-half hours away from the Bryan-College Station area in Groves, the only influences from my dream college were on Saturdays, when my father and I would sit huddled in front of a tiny TV screen at a crowded bar or hunched over on our coach screaming bloody murder at the one football team that controlled our sanity throughout the “ber” months. 

For my dad, it was a dream to have his son attend the one college he always wished he went to, and I finally made it official last Saturday when I put the infamous symbol covered in 10-karat gold on my finger. 

Although it didn’t come without a lot of sacrifice, obtaining my ring was a goal I set out for whenever I applied in 2022, and it served as a last rite of indoctrination for a kid who drank the “Maroon” Kool-Aid earlier than most first-generation students. I mean, for Pete’s sake, my dad used to wake me up on gameday mornings by throwing a speaker on my bed, shutting the door and blaring the Aggie War Hymn until I eventually emerged in an oversized 12th Man jersey. 

Even though I had only two Aggies in my family to look up to in my cousin and uncle, attending A&M was always on the back burner of my mind throughout high school as I stressed over getting good grades and keeping up with the many student organizations I was a part of. 

Those two influential people in my life helped grow my obsession over A&M beyond just the standpoint of sports. They opened my eyes to what College Station had to offer academically and culturally — beyond just “Manziel Mania” — teaching me how to appreciate the campus I now call home. 

Upon joining The Battalion in the spring of my freshman year, I had no clue what I wanted to do in the sports industry. My intro courses in sport management were all online, so I had no one to bounce ideas off of until joining The Batt, aka the best organization I’ve ever been a part of. 

Here in the basement of the Memorial Student Center, I’ve learned so much about the traditions and values that come along with being an Aggie. This last stop in my A&M journey, obtaining the Aggie Ring, concludes a long-time dream of mine to become an official cult member, and I couldn’t have accomplished it without the help of my family and everyone at The Batt.