thebattalion ● monday,
may 9, 2011
● serving
texas a&m since 1893
● first paper free – additional copies $1 ● © 2011 student media
Notable news from the reign of the fightin’ Texas Aggie class of 2011
Goodbye 2
Construction
Aggie
land
Texas A&M University’s main campus, originally founded in 1876, has many outdated buildings and roads on campus. Improvement projects mark many landmarks.
Coach Mike Sherman
Frozen yogurt obsession
In November of 2007, Sherman replaced Dennis Franchione at the helm of a struggling football program.
Spoons Yogurt, Fro Yo-yo, Continued on page 2a Red Mango, Yogurtland and Happy Yogurt represent some common places students frequent for frozen yogurt.
Class of ’11 looks back to ’07 Seniors remember the past four years
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best of | 3a
Looking back
Columnists review the music, movies and video games that defined the past four years.
sports | 1b In the right direction The A&M athletic department had a 2010-2011 to remember, which included a women’s basketball national championship.
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music
graduation
Former students might benefit Aggie singer takes from an improving economy different career path Naila Dhanani
The Battalion Four days from now, Aggies will be walking across the stage of Reed Arena, rings shimmering in the spotlight and diplomas in hand. With the overwhelming satisfaction of having completed an education at Texas A&M comes a sense of anxiety and a fear of the unknown. The economic downturns of the past couple of years have made it difficult for recent graduates to find a job. However, things are looking up. “The job market has improved. The National Association of Colleges and Employers just released a preliminary statistic stating that employers expect to hire about 20 percent more new college grads this year than they did last year [NACE Job Outlook Spring Update],” said Samantha Wilson, director of campus programs. For those still looking, the Career Center offers many opportunities for Aggies to find a job. “Students can access the Career Center’s online job site that connects you to employ-
ers seeking Aggies for full-time, internship and cooperative education positions regionally, nationally and globally. Through this system, students can submit their résumés to employers specifically seeking Aggies. Many of these employers will actually interview selected candidates on campus in the Career Center throughout the semester,” Wilson said. One of the hottest fields right now is computer science and information technology. This past summer, senior computer science major Carla Villoria headed out to Seattle for an internship with Microsoft and was soon offered a job pending her graduation. “I am going into a two-year rotational program, for which I will be doing four rotations, changing positions and teams every time. During my first rotation, I will be working as a program manager in the information and security team of Microsoft IT,” Villoria said. The time spent at A&M proves to be invaluable as the transition from life in College Station to living out one’s dreams begins. See Plans on page 4a
Sarah Smith
The Battalion The comment “Wow, what an interesting major. So what exactly are you going to do with that? ” is one college students have heard a few too many times. Students politely nod and formulate something reasonable as our stomachs begin to knot in fear of the future; some have yet to discover their passion. This sensation rang true for senior urban planning graduate student Brad Cooper, who decided to build a slightly different path for his life. From The Republic Steakhouse in College Station, Texas, to The Brown Owl Studio in Nashville, Tenn., the journey for this Aggie singer-songwriter has been an illustration of faith, friendship and funky music. While Cooper obtained his bachelor’s degree in construc-
tion science in 2009, his love of music stemmed from an early age. At five he began to tickle the ivories and continued to learn and grow with piano, picking up the guitar his senior year of high school. However, it was during his experience at Texas A&M that music began to transform into a career rather than a hobby. “I was on the phone, catching up with one of my good friends who lives in Nashville. He asked how my music was and offered to take a look at the songs I’d written,” Cooper said. “I was completely shocked and thrilled at the same time.” His colleague, music producer Jacob Schrodt, got the ball rolling on his friend’s future music career. He offered to be Cooper’s producer and subsequently contacted a variety of See Singer on page 4a
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