Analicia Elizalde '13 doesn’t stick to the road most traveled. As a matter of fact, she’ll be the first to tell you her college experience was far from traditional.

She is poised and articulate, a woman confident in her strengths and abilities. Slated to graduate this May, she knows where she wants to go in life and feels more than equipped to get there. Yes, Jasmine Bailey ’13 has changed quite a bit since she first arrived at Texas A&M.

“I played baseball all the way through high school,” says Thaddeus Smith ’14, “knew I wanted to be involved with the sport all my life. Then I got cut from the team my senior year and realized I just wasn’t good enough to play professionally.” Sound like the death of a dream? Far from it.

“You won’t know what hit you,” they said. And, “It’s going to be tough.” Collin Spindle ’13 didn’t believe a word of it.

“It was one hundred percent the Aggie Band,” says Todd Dock ’12. “That’s why I came to Texas A&M.”

No football team. As far as Amber Scott ’12 was concerned, that was a deal breaker.

“I’ve seen poverty,” says Kerry Omughelli ’13, “and I’ve seen a lot of good things, too.”

You run track in high school, you’re probably in shape. Physical training should be a piece of cake, right? So thought Naval ROTC scholarship recipient Jill Featherall ’13, when she decided to enroll at Texas A&M and join the Corps of Cadets.

When Chris Stebbins ’15 enrolled at Texas A&M, he wasn’t just following in his father’s footsteps, he was also following one grandfather, an uncle, two aunts, and an older sister. With a pedigree like that, it’s tough to see how Chris could have been anything but a Fightin’ Texas Aggie, especially given his plans for the future.

What do Texas A&M University and the University of Florida have in common? More than you might guess.