Texas A&M Colony, Texas A&M University
Get ready for a longer post! This is an exciting one because I was the first ever TEC to visit A&M. When I arrived they were a local Jewish sorority and now they are an AEPhi colony; how cool is that! This is the first time I have ever worked with a colony from the very beginning so it was a very exciting, though sometimes stressful, visit. But I figured a lot out very quickly and it has been amazing to be a part of AEPhi history!
On my first full day in College Station I ribboned everyone and they officially became a colony. It was so cool for me to all of sudden become their new member educator and start shaping their AEPhi experience.
Texas A&M is a military school rich with traditions. It's actually crazy how many special A&M things they have. I got to experience a couple while I was there in March and hopefully I will see some more when I go back this month! One of these traditions is the "12th Man." I had heard about the concept from the Seahawks last year but I found out they actually took it/ bought the rights from A&M. There is a cool story about an old player that dressed to play but stood at the sidelines the entire game and never went in. They have a statue of him outside of Kyle Field and since then the student section at football games stands the entire time.
Another cool tradition they have are the Aggie rings. I have never been to another university where school rings are a big deal but at A&M they are a huge deal. Students cannot got them until they completed 90 credit hours and there a bunch of traditions that go along with getting it. I didn't get a chance to stop at the ring statue this time, but it's on my list for my next visit. One of the fun ring traditions is called the Ring Dunk. Basically you drop your ring into a pitcher of beer and chug the pitcher, catching the ring in your teeth. Although I didn't witness anyone do it, I did visit one of the famous places many students do their ring dunks. Dixie Chicken is a bar and restaurant in Northgate, the old neighborhood on one edge of campus. There are lots of bars and restaurants and its a really cute little area.
I spent a good amount of time at the Memorial Student Center doing work and having meetings. There is a great Barnes & Noble inside with a nice Starbucks cafe, so that was my favorite spot to sit for long periods of work. The MSU is pretty new and also has a lot of other cool things in it, like art galleries, a food court, meeting rooms and the Corps of Cadets memorial wing. The MSU was originally built for the students in the Corps (basically ROTC, but a
way bigger deal) but now any student can use it for all sorts of things.
"Gig 'em, Aggies" is a Texas A&M phrase, which also came out of a old football story. This wall in the MSU Barnes & Noble explains the whole story. I also liked the chalk board they have at the cafe each day. I spent my first full day on campus sitting in the cafe working for at least 6 hours straight, so the cute sign about coffee was a great bit of motivation on a Monday.
One of the campus traditions that I actually got to take part in myself was the Big Event. This is Texas A&M's campus/community-wide day of service. It was the 33rd year for Big Event, making it the oldest event of its kind in the country. And with roughly 20,000 students participating this year, I believe it is also the largest in the country. I went with the president, Delaney, to registration to see just how big it was. After sitting in traffic for almost an hour, we finally got to the field where you can check in, pick up tools, and get lots of free stuff. The picture below does not do it justice because this place was mobbed. But it was so cool to see everyone in the same t-shirt excited for a day of service.
AEPhi was split into two groups for the day so I went with the group that was mulching at a daycare. We tore up weeds and laid fresh mulch around the plants in their parking lot. It was a fun way for me to get to know the women and it was a gorgeous day. The couple that owned the daycare even gave us lunch for our hard work. I was a little sore the next day from all the lifting, and a little sunburnt, but it was such a fun experience!
I got to participate in some fun events with Hillel and Chabad, too. Below are some pictures from Challah For Hunger's March bake of jalapeño challah at Hillel. I really enjoyed making challah again, because I hadn't made it since Loaves of Love with UConn AEPhi. I also go to attend Chabad's chocolate seder and an AIPAC presentation at Hillel.
A fun part of my visit was getting to hang out with Grant and Jason from AEPi. The night they were both in town we went to Rudy's barbecue. I had been to the one in Austin last year and it was just as good as I remembered. I tried creamed corn and it was actually really good. It was a lot of fun to see them again and have some friends to hang out with during my long visit.
I also ate a lot of other good food. Delaney made me an awesome list of places to eat and marked which ones are special to College Station, so I slowly began checking things off. There will be plenty of time on my next visit to hit the rest of them (and probably go back to some of these) but here are the ones I made it to this time:
Koppe Bridge: The burger was awesome but the fried pickle spears were something special. It's a cool place with outdoor seating and really good food.
Blue Baker: I found a place to get a bagel and lox in Texas and it was actually really good! They also do sandwiches and salads, but the bagels and baked goods looked best to me.
Layne's Chicken Fingers: The place that Raising Cane's copied. Granted I had never been to Cane's before this visit either, but they are very similar, with slightly different sauces. Both are good if you want chicken fingers and fries.
Grub Burger Bar: AEPhi had a profit share so I went for dinner. The ahi tuna burger was pretty good but this milkshake was the real winner. The "dirty kitchen sink" combined chocolate, salted caramel, butterscotch, peanut butter, pretzels, coffee grounds, and potato chips. It was an interesting combination that took some getting used to but I definitely want to go back and try some of the other milkshake flavors.
Fuego: If you've ever heard of Torchy's Tacos, this is the local College Station version. They have all different types of tacos (and other Tex Mex) but I was told about the famous Dr. Pepper Cowboy, so I felt like I should go with that. The flour tortilla was filled with brisket, onions, Dr. Pepper bbq sauce, chipotle cream corn, and jack cheese. The sauce was really good and definitely worth the trip!
Hullabaloo Diner: I was told they have good breakfast and I love breakfast so I was excited for it. Luckily they serve breakfast all day, so no need to rush in. I ordered the kitchen sink omelet because it was featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. It was a massive three egg omelet filled with lots of veggies and three kinds of meat. It was definitely big enough for two people, at least. Hullabaloo is such a cute old diner, which doesn't seem to exist much in the area, so I will definitely be returning to try some other breakfast items, and maybe their homemade pies.
I should also mention that all the students at A&M dress very casually. I was so excited to be in the warmth and wear my cute summer clothes but the look is oversized Comfort Color t-shirts with Nike shorts. I love that so I'm excited to fit in with it when I go back. I'm also excited to go back so I can start saying y'all again. I picked it up around the second day I was there but stopped myself when I went home for Passover. Next week I'll be back in the southwest!
Sweet Home College Station by Curtis Maloney (Texas A&M version of
Sweet Home Alabama)
