A few weeks ago my husband and I traveled to Texas to visit family and celebrate the college graduation of our nephew. Now a proud graduate of Texas A&M University, Nick provided us a tour of the campus the morning before commencement. He had served as an official guide during his undergrad days and presented us with lots of information and history about this sprawling campus and its traditions. It became pretty obvious, though, that almost any current or former student of the school would be able to entertain you with such lore. I can honestly say I’ve never visited a school with so many time-honored traditions or encountered alums with more pride in their university. A&M was founded in 1876 as a military institution,   and its Corps of Cadets (today more than 2,200 strong) represents the largest uniformed body of students outside of the U.S. service academies. While only 40 percent of them are commissioned after graduation, their training provides leadership skills for many endeavors, and they proudly bear the honor of being the “Founders of Tradition and keepers of the Spirit of Aggieland.” One of these traditions is the care and keeping of Reveille, the Aggie mascot, a beautiful collie (now in its eighth rendition) pampered by one of the Corps’ companies. If the dog chooses to sleep on a cadet’s bed, that cadet must sleep on the floor rather than move the honored pooch. We covered only the central portion of the sprawling campus, home to over 53,000 grads and undergrads at the College Station campus, admiring buildings old and new, hearing stories of the 12th Man, the Bonfire and the Century Tree.     We visited the statue of Lawrence Sullivan Ross, former Texas governor and early college president, where students leave a penny on its feet for good luck before taking an exam. In front of the domed Academic Building we learned of the lovely ceremony called Silver Taps, held for students who die while enrolled at the school. We learned that on April 21st — Texas’ Independence Day and also, for Aggies, known as Muster — the expectation is that if you are an Aggie and are within 100 miles of another Aggie, you are expected to get together to relive your days at A&M. Such Musters occur each year in over 400 locations worldwide! Throughout our tour we were greeted with the official Aggie welcome (“Howdy!”) and several “Gig ’em”s. Later, at the graduation ceremony itself, we encountered a few more traditions. There were several high-pitched and hearty “Whoop!”s and the turning of the class rings. Aggies may get their class ring after completing 90 hours of credit, at least 45 of them at the college. At graduation, the president of the alumni association has the class rise and turn their rings so that the class year, previously worn facing the wearer, is turned to face outward, indicating the graduate is ready to face the world. I came away from my visit with a great respect for the history, traditions and pride of the Aggies. Gig ’em! — Patty Vanikiotis, associate editor/copy editor