COLLEGE STATION, Nov 18th, 2022 – Elephant Walk was held this past Wednesday, November 16th, at 7 PM. This tradition began in the fall of 1922, when the freshman class marched around Kyle Field to break the “curse” of the football team losing two games. Three years later, when the class of 1926 graduated, they took another walk around campus to commemorate their time at A&M. The event is now held annually by the Texas A&M Class Councils prior to the last regularly scheduled home football game, as was done by the class of 1926. The walk spans about a mile and thousands of Senior Aggies gather together to share memories with friends. As this long standing tradition began in 1922, this year marks the 100th Anniversary of the Elephant Walk.
This year’s walk began at the Quad and ended at Kyle Field, with a variety of events and keynote speakers along the way. The two keynote speakers were Chancellor John Sharp ‘72 and Texas A&M Athletics Director Ross Bjork.
“That’s what’s really unique about Texas A&M, everything related to tradition here is organic,” Director Ross Bjork stated on the @tamu Instagram story.
Other speakers included some professors and 7 student speakers, including Claudia Convington ‘23 (Elephant Walk Director), Cole Murphy ‘23 (Class Agent), and Laryssa Villarreal ‘23 (Senior Class President). Murphy announced the Class of 2023’s Class Gift, Legacy Path, at the construction site. Other speakers talked about preparing for the future (Professor Rodney Boehm ‘78), expanding our horizons (Tori Davis ‘23, Student Government Association Diversity Commissioner), and innovation in uncertainty (Professor Shayla Rivera ‘83).
The walk finished with a Yell Practice at Kyle Field and the post-program distribution of water and frozen custard from Andy’s at Aggie Park. For more information regarding Elephant Walk and Texas A&M Class Councils, you can visit the website here.