After our first visit to Texas A&M last spring, Naomi & I both came away feeling like 1) yes, it's the big time, and as such 2) incoming students need to be all-in or go somewhere else.
0% "There's a place for everyone here."
100% "This is how we do it here."
Jeff: You sure about this?
Naomi: YES! All-in.
INDOCTRINATION PHASE 1: New Student Conference
We got lucky and were booked for two nights in the actual dorm Naomi will be living in this fall. A nice little preview.
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| Underwood Hall, Southside |
It's... dormy. Even if you've never been in this dorm, it still kinda looks like you remember it, right? Two twin beds, a couple closets, some movable desks and cabinets. The usual stuff, but maybe a little nicer and newer than we had back in the day.
First up: yell practice where we learned classics like Farmers Fight and Beat The Hell Outta.... For a moment, Naomi looked at me like she was gonna laugh at part of it (it is silly), and I shot the oh no you don't look right back at her (this is what we signed up for). So, "Hump it Ags!" we did.
The other thing they make very clear from day one: they deal with the student, not the parents. On this, we all agree. They grow independent adults here. And the College of Engineering starts the process immediately. After the initial welcome session, Naomi spent most of the next two days on the Student Track, while I was on the "let your babies go" Parent Track.
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| ZACH, home of the best and brightest. |
We did come together for some of the more soft skill stuff though, like clubs, rec sports, campus life, dining plans, etc. And I'm happy to report that the constant mantra of "get involved" seems to be sinking in with Naomi. She was up for talking to every table that sounded interesting or helpful, or had good swag.
Reality check! Naomi has her own address now. (well, as of August 14th) She'll share it with interested parties later.
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| Gig 'Em! 👍 |
Post script...
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| Dunn 241, home of the juggler and this guy |
As a prime example of what happens to new students at Texas A&M who do not go all-in, I wanna note that this guy is ALL-IN on Naomi. When she yells "Hump it Ags!", I will hump it (while giving her a silly look) because this is what we signed up for.
Let's go!
Fantastic! We’re here now for Bryn’s NSC and she had her Corps uniform fitting today…totally surreal to see her come out with a big bag of boots and low quarters! 😬 And even though she’s got a big brother Aggie…I can tell this is going to be a completely different experience. So glad Naomi is All-In!! Gig ‘em!
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