After Connor's short visit with Noah, we packed up and headed out for our next adventure - College visit #3 at Texas A&M University! It's no secret that I was MOST excited for this visit out of all the ones we had discussed. After all, I still wear my class ring to this day and couldn't wait to share some of my former Aggie experiences with Connor. With the many options and choices for A&M tours and sessions, we ended up booking 4-5 different options for a 2-day visit. We were both so excited, so we drove up on a Sunday evening in August to get to our hotel and begin exploring. One of our first stops which had nothing to do with the university experience was to enjoy a sweet treat in the summer heat. We stopped at a local ice cream joint, where we discovered the art of decoration by Post-It Note, ha! Connor and I made sure to get in on the fun by creating and placing our own Post-Its on a spot inside. To this day, we wonder if they're still there in the same spot!
We drove around the campus on the night before our first tour, mapping out our route for the following 2 days and making sure we knew where to park and sign in for the early sessions. With our extra time, we walked over to visit the Bonfire Memorial from the tragic collapse back in 1999. I was able to share with Connor my own experience with Bonfire back when I attended college there in 1995-1998, and it was a somber experience to walk through the Memorial and read about the Aggies that has lost their lives there shortly after I graduated.
The next morning, we were up early to join the Duffeys, Heather and Braden, for the first of our several tours on campus. We attended a housing tour where we explored several different options for on-campus student housing. It was still a little hard to believe that we were already at this stage, and thinking of these boys living away at college in a dorm still felt so surreal to me! We enjoyed the tour and then had some time to explore before our next session. Heather and I took the boys off campus to a local merchandise store, and then we went to an old favorite for lunch - the infamous Dixie Chicken! How could it be that I was enjoying lunch with my son at the same spot where I partied all those years (decades?) ago??
After lunch, it was time for our next event - a tour and information session at the Zachry Engineering Complex. Connor's area of study is Computer Science which falls into the engineering college at most universities. At A&M, engineering is one of the most popular areas, and A&M is known far and wide for excellence in the various engineering disciplines. Zachry Engineering Complex was immediately impressive. Connor and I were blown away by the modern architecture and vast structure... stunning! The further into the building we went, the more excited and impressed we were feeling. Connor could easily see himself spending the majority of his college days in Zachry, and his excitement continued to build as we learned more throughout the day. The most interesting thing we learned was how engineering majors are required to start in general engineering, and they have to apply to their major after their freshman year, making it super competitive and definitely stressful for these college students.
After the Zachry tour, we drove over to west campus and met up with Heather and Braden to walk around the business buildings. As a business major, this was my old stompin' ground and it felt so crazy to be back for the first time since I graduated. We walked through some of my former classrooms, and I'll admit it was such a strange feeling being back and realizing my son could be walking these same halls in just a couple short years. Crazy!
The George Bush Presidential Library and Museum was just a short drive from west campus, and we decided to take a short visit while we were there. It was such a neat experience for the boys, and we made sure to get lots of photos from their presidential adventures, ha!
After such a full day, we enjoyed a nice dinner together before our 2nd day of sessions. Next up was an admissions presentation followed by a campus walking tour. Somehow I didn't manage to get any photos on Day 2, but we learned a lot and enjoyed more of the A&M experience through the awesome tour guides. Connor was admittedly overwhelmed by the size of the campus, over 5000+ acres in total, along with all the things to know about the engineering curriculum and what it would take to be successful at A&M. The lasting impression for us both was that A&M would be an amazing opportunity to experience a rich university culture, and the Zachry Engineering Complex was an awesome facility for any aspiring engineering student. A&M had quickly and easily moved to the top of Connor's list!
