MONDAY, DECEMBER 10 | SERVING TEXAS A&M SINCE 1893 | © 2018 STUDENT MEDIA
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CONGRATS, DECEMBER GRADS
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Photos by Cassie Stricker, Jesse Everett. Meredith Seaver, Josh Gleason and Annie Lui — THE BATTALION
Graduation schedule by college
From students to former students The Next Tradition connects graduates to helpful resources By Giselle Warren @GiselleWarren16
FRIDAY, DEC. 14: 9 a.m. - Reed Arena • Engineering 2 p.m. - Reed Arena • Bush School of Government and Public Service • Agriculture and Life Sciences • Geosciences • Medicine • Nursing • Public Health • Science 7 p.m. - Reed Arena • Architecture • Liberal Arts • Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences SATURDAY, DEC.15: 9 a.m. - Reed Arena • Mays Business School • Education and Human Development • Law
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Recent graduates can take professional headshots at the alumni center after their commencement ceremony.
As commencement ceremonies approach, the Association of Former Students is busy preparing for a new class of Texas A&M graduates. The Association helps ease Aggieland’s newest former students into the next stage of their lives by preparing events that celebrate their accomplishments while connecting them to resources like the Find an Aggie alumni directory. This year’s annual post-graduation event, The Next Tradition, will take place Friday and Saturday at the Clayton W. Williams, Jr. Alumni Center. New graduates will have their achievements honored among family, friends and peers. Additionally, the event will give participants the opportunity to get professional headshots and hear tips on how to get involved with the Aggie Network after graduating. Vice President of Communication and Human Resources Kathryn Greenwade, Class of 1988, said this event helps former students learn how to stay connected. “[They can] learn about ways they can be involved in local A&M clubs and resources that are available to them as graduates of Texas A&M, and it’s a great way to take a moment to celebrate the accomplishment of graduating,”
Greenwade said. This year’s event will also incorporate three toasts to congratulate students on receiving their diplomas. They will be held Friday at 12:18 p.m. and 4:18 p.m. and Saturday at 12:18 p.m. to work around the commencement schedule and represent the graduating class year. Campus and Aggie Ring Program Assistant Amarette Renieri, Class of 2018, said the toast is meant to symbolize the graduates’ transition from students to alumni. “It’s a celebratory thing,” Renieri said. “We want students to feel like they can have that moment with their friends and family — their kind of final moment at A&M. Yeah, they might have already graduated and gotten off the stage at Reed Arena, but this will always be their home at A&M when they come back as former students.” Coordinator of Former Student Programs Amy Hale, Class of 2010, said it’s easy to feel connected to the Aggie Network while in College Station and on campus, but it often seems more difficult to stay in touch when you move away. “Whether you’re moving just down the road to Houston or if you’re moving out of state or even out of the country, we’re here to show them that the Aggie Network is worldwide and that they do have a family outside of College Station that is there for them in any way that they can possibly need them,” Hale said. For more information about The Next Tradition, visit tx.ag/NextTradition.