Regents’ Ambassador Program celebrates Ring Day

Ring Day for the Regents’ Ambassador Program (RAP) marks a day of victory for those who received their Fightin’ Texas Aggie Rings. This is the fourth year of operation for the program, which started with a desire to develop and empower others of similar socioeconomic status. The program’s first successful group of mentees is the same group of students who received their rings on Friday, April 8 – including myself.

RAP is more than a community; it is a family for those who participate in its outreach. It is a supporting network of students who genuinely care and uplift each other. RAP students are there because there is no one else. We motivate each other when times get tough. We can count on one another to take on each other’s burdens and offer an ear of understanding.

Friday was a special day for our executive board. It was a day of demonstration to the freshmen we develop and the mentors we lead. We proved to the masses that students with our backgrounds could accomplish anything and everything we set out to. Each of us brought to the university a story. Each of us shared our individual strife in hopes of making an impact. Each of us made sure we were the best supporting mother, father, sister or brother we could be in the absence of our own family. Our victory was evident for those who needed an example. Our victory was evident to everyone who believed in our passions. Our victory in total was for our family, not limited by blood.

– By Corey Smith ’17

1. Nelda Gonzales ’17
2. Amairani Fajardo ’16
3. Daniela Garcia ’17
4. Myroslaba Martinez ’17
5. Yaddy Rojas ’17
6. Shivam Vakil ’17
7. Corey Smith ’17
8. Sammy Vu ’17

(Note: The Regents’ Scholars program at Texas A&M is designed to assist first-generation college students in achieving their educational goals at Texas A&M University. Nine hundred recipients receive up to $5,000 per year for up to four years.)