Newswise — More than 5,300 Texas A&M University students will be receiving their degrees Friday and Saturday (May 12-13), each with his or her own success story-but for at least four of those Aggies and their families the occasion marks major milestones.
In the case of one African-American family, it will be a matter of the fourth in the family to receive a Texas A&M diploma-a daughter following her father, mother and older sister. Another family-this one of Hispanic heritage-will have a third sister becoming a proud Aggie graduate.
One proverbial walk across the stage will not be a walk at all. Rather, it will be a wheelchair-driven passage by a courageous young woman who battles particularly severe cerebral palsy--perhaps with her mother along side, just as she has accompanied her daughter to class on a regular basis to provide essential assistance. The mother has already been designated an "honorary Aggie," a designation rarely bestowed by the university and The Association of Former Students.
War-torn Vietnam provides the backdrop for what will be presumably be a particularly happy occasion for a man and woman who barely escaped communist takeover, met in America, married and are now on the threshold of seeing their daughter graduate from college.
These and other yet-untold Aggie stories personify how Texas A&M has changed-is changing-in some ways but is remaining true to its founding principles that date back 130 years, notes President Robert M. Gates
"We are committed to having a student body-and a faculty and staff-more reflective of the populations we serve, and these examples from our spring graduating class underscore the fact that we are having some significant successes, just as does the fact that overall we graduating one of the largest and most academically successful classes in school history," Gates emphasizes. "But we are also committed to maintaining and enhancing the long-standing traditions that help make this a unique American institution."
Vergel Gay was among the first African-Americans to graduate from Texas A&M, receiving his undergraduate degree in environmental engineering in 1973 and staying on to earn his master's degree in the same field the following year. His wife, Cynthia, earned her Aggie degree in curriculum and instruction in 1976.Their older daughter, Courtney, received a master's degree in kinesiology in 2004, and now Christel, their other daughter, will receive her degree Friday in environmental design. Cynthia, who is on the Texas A&M staff, will personally present Christel her diploma Friday afternoon, just as she did previously with Courtney. Mr. and Mrs. Gay reside in Houston.
For Angela Contreras, her Friday morning graduation will be a matter of following in the footsteps of her sisters, Julie Ann and Vanessa, who earned Aggie degrees, respectively in health 2000 and information and operations management in 2001. Angela initially enrolled at Texas Womans University on a soccer scholarship but, after a year, gave up her scholarship to transfer to transfer to Texas A&M to study economics and prepare to go on to law school. They are the daughters of Albert and Velma Contreras of Irving.
Nearby Arlington is now home to the family of Mai Bui, who will graduate Friday morning with a degree in psychology. Her parents may well have some thoughts of far away Vietnam-and how far they have come in many ways--when she crosses the stage and his handed her diploma. They received their first taste of college success when their son graduated in 2001. Her parents are Mr. and Mrs. TueBui.
No one among the 10,000 expected to be in attendance at Texas A&M's Reed Arena will fail to take note when Susan Holle, who has battled cerebral palsy all of her life, receives her degree, also Friday morning. She will be in her motorized wheelchair, just as she has been every day that she has been on campus, going from class to class with the assistance of her mother, Lois, whose help has even included taking class notes for her daughter. Friday will be Susan's second big day of the week, having received on Monday the Texas A&M Faculty Senate's Aggie Spirit Award presented for perseverance in the face of adversity. Susan is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Holle.
By the time the last diploma is presented at this spring's commencement ceremonies and the graduates and their family members and friends file out of Reed Arena, the congratulations and high-fives will have been evident in thousands of instances-but likely none more heartfelt than for the Bui, Contreras, Holle and Gay families.
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