Maria G.
Class: 2010
Hometown: Dallas, TX
Major: Political Science
Favorite Aggie Tradition: Aggie babies
Useful College Advice: Take a deep breath and throw all of your expectations out the window. Your master plans, your dreams, your beliefs, and everything in between WILL change, and — scary as that may sound — it’s actually quite wonderful. So embrace the unknown, refuse to limit yourself, and perhaps most importantly, HAVE FUN! (Also note, especially the ladies: yes, you will probably gain weight, and yes, everything will be all right. I promise.)
Favorite Organization Involved With: Fish Camp. As counselors, chairs, and directors, we actually PAY MONEY to devote six months of our lives (or more!) to serving complete strangers, just so they can start their college careers feeling like rockstars, knowing the words to yells, and having people to hang out with. I honestly believe there is nothing like it.
Interesting/Little Known Fact: I would drop everything to be Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s nanny.
Favorite Everyday Phrase: I’m not really sure what constitutes an “everyday phrase,” but I keep trying to say “wassup my brotha?” to everybody I know. The girls are slightly less receptive than the boys.
Where is your favorite spot on campus and why?I’m obsessed with Academic Plaza. It’s beautiful, it’s historic, it’s perfect for people-watching, etc.
Favorite Dream Vacation: Traveling all around Europe. For free. (As long as I’m dreaming…)
Favorite College Job/Internship: Hm…I’ll say that my favorite college job has been peer-pressuring my roommate Amy into watching movies and/or eating fried chicken with me instead of doing homework. I’m very good at what I do.
Greatest Pet Peeve: Glaringly obvious grammatical or typographical errors in published materials. I once tried to read an unnamed, extremely popular, possibly vampire-themed book just so my roommate would see that I’d made an effort, but there was a sentence on page 9 that read “it had been belonged to me since I was born.” I wanted to barf!
Ideal Post-College Career: If I were crazy (and unafraid of failure/homelessness), I’d move to some big city and try to make it as a comedienne, following in the footsteps of my hero, Tina Fey. What I’m hoping to do instead is work for a non-profit organization (either here or abroad) for a year or two before entering law school. Then again, both of those will fly out the window if I get a call from the Jolie-Pitts …
Which classes do you think have helped you for your future? Honestly, I wouldn’t take a class if I didn’t think it would help me grow, both intellectually and as a person. In that sense, all of my classes have helped me for my future, but some standouts are…
- Honors Racial and Ethnic Relations (SOCI 317), which opened my eyes to the rampant injustice that still haunts our country long after the days of the Civil Rights Movement;
- Honors Intro to Logic (PHIL 240), which taught me how to think in totally different and challenging ways; and
- Constitutional Rights and Liberties (POLS 353), which confirmed that yes, I could read Supreme Court cases all day long and therefore should move law school to the “definitely” pile.
Best Life Advice told to you: Shortly before she died in March 2008, a good friend told me to “continue setting the world on fire!” I couldn’t think of better, or more challenging, inspiration. We miss you, Lauren.
Favorite Out-of-Texas experience? Last summer I enjoyed four days in northern California, visiting my high school best friend and feeling really cool. We spent Memorial Day in San Francisco, and we happened to stumble upon two guys who were in the process of breaking the Guinness Record for World’s Longest Handshake (not kidding). I got a picture with them and everything. Heroes in our midst!
One thing you would like people to know about A&M: It actually means something to be an Aggie – it means character, honor, spirit, respect, solidarity, and optimism. With that in mind, I would want people to know that Texas A&M is so much more than just a university. It’s a community that challenges you to be the absolute best version of yourself, every day of your life.
