A Commitment
Oct 05, 2022 | Center for Student-Athlete Services
On August 25, 2020, The Aggie Commitment was born.
As we all know, that was a time of exploration, introspection, and realization as the country was faced with the conversation and reality of social injustice in the culture.
It was created with the promise of prioritizing its standards in support of diversity and inclusion for student-athletes and staff.
Now exiting year two and entering the third of The Aggie Commitment, we want to take a moment to celebrate all that it has accomplished and all that it has done for Texas A&M Athletics and the Brazos Valley community.
Education, celebration, service and much more have been fulfilled by the group.
This past year, The Aggie Commitment was focused on five objectives or “pillars”.
Those objectives were…
Celebrating Black History & Underrepresented Groups:
to more prominently celebrate the history of Black and underrepresented student-athletes, and their athletic and academic success at Texas A&M.
Every day, student-athletes, staff members and many others frequent the R.C. Slocum Nutrition Center.
It’s a place for Aggies to come and recharge, refuel and build community. However, it was missing something.
Now, a mural can be seen that represents student-athletes and staff from all different backgrounds and walks of life. Celebrating the academic and athletic accomplishments of the Maroon & White.
Seen is the symbol of the 12th Man, the Aggie ring, as well as conference and national championship rings. It is a daily representation of who we are and what we strive to be and unifies us under the Core Values of Texas A&M.
In a nod to the history of Black excellence in Aggieland, a graphic was created to pay tribute to the trailblazers that led the way.
It honors the first Black student-athlete for all 16 sports at A&M.
Interestingly enough, that graphic was only able to be completed last year once Zoe Slaughter came to A&M to be a part of the women’s golf program. She became the first Black student-athlete in program history.
She didn’t go out to make history, much like those that came before her, but she had.
“For other African-American girls, and honestly all the little girls out there playing golf, I hope that my story will encourage them to believe in themselves and know that they can do it,” Slaughter said. “I was once a little girl, worried that I would never be able to play college golf. But, if you love to work hard and you love the game, then everything is going to work out in the end. Everything will be just fine, so long as you remember to believe in yourself.”
Slaughter, and everyone she shares that graphic with, paved the way for what we are and what we hope to be.
The Student-Athlete Experience:
to improve A&M’s efforts to support, educate, recruit and connect Black and underrepresented student-athletes.
In late May of 2022, several subcommittee members of the Aggie Commitment along with A&M’s student-led group B.L.U.E.print attended the Black Student-Athlete Summit in Houston.
It was an opportunity for our staff members and our student-athletes to not just attend the summit, but to hear from the experiences of Black student-athletes from across the country.
On top of everything, B.L.U.E.print founding member and former president Karlina Sample witnessed her brainchild win “Best Black Student-Athlete Organization”, and she was named “Woman of the Year”.
“The Black Student-Athlete Summit was an amazing experience and unlike any other conference I’ve ever attended,” Communications Coordinator Marissa Avanzato said. “It was awesome to watch Aggie student-athletes interact with fellow athletes from around the country and to see their hard work with B.L.U.E.print be nationally recognized. The conversations, presentations and speakers were so impactful. I’m excited to put some of these ideas into action at Texas A&M.”
In an effort to give student-athletes and staff members a platform and uncensored space to share their own unique experiences and journeys, the Aggie Commitment created Unified Voices.
There you hear personal stories from courageous individuals shared through their own voices and perspectives.
Inspiring and incredible stories and perspectives from staff members such as Dr. Dan Childs and Molly Tye. Or student-athletes from sports ranging from women’s basketball, football, swimming & diving and many others.
It was a space to share who they were and why they are. A space that, in most places, isn’t offered and isn’t desired.
But at A&M, all voices hold weight. All stories are worth telling, and “Unified Voices” was a space for just that.
Continuing Education:
to provide our staff and student-athletes with resources, programming and platforms to learn and grow.
On Feb. 24, 2022, Texas A&M Athletics announced the partnership with Return on Inclusion (ROI).
ROI is an industry-leading organization that provides sport-specific diversity and inclusion education to coaches, staff and administrators.
With ROI and founder Nevin Caple, Texas A&M Athletics staff members were given the opportunity to learn through a comprehensive diversity and inclusion training designed specifically for college athletic departments.
Instruction was through six modules
- Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging Foundations
- Cultural Competence & Managing Relationships
- Overcoming Bias, Microaggressions & Covering
- Unpacking Racism, Anti-Racism & Privilege
- LGBTQ+ Inclusion & Gender Stereotypes
- Inclusive Leadership & Strategic Plan Development
ROI was and will continue to be an investment for the future of Texas A&M Athletics. Caple is set to return to campus in October of this year to meet with student-athletes and staff for in-person training and discussion of the six modules.
“What I love about our staff is that not only are they committed to the present and making sure that Texas A&M Athletics is an equitable and inclusive environment today,” Deputy Athletics Director Kristen Brown said. “They are constantly working to ensure that the department continues to evolve and is positioned to be at its best for tomorrow. Their energy and commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is contagious and inspiring, and it will certainly make A&M Athletics better long after their time here concludes.”
Social & Community Engagement:
to create impactful opportunities that allow our staff and student-athletes to engage with each other as well as with the campus and local communities through service projects and strategic partnerships/relationships.
In the Brazos Valley, the Aggie Commitment was incredibly active.
They spearheaded multiple staff initiatives that provided resources and humanitarian efforts to many in Aggieland.
First, the Aggie Commitment in partnership with United Way created a book drive that collected 258 books for children of all ages.
The aim was to provide every child, regardless of socioeconomic background, access to free books.
In Brazos County, 43% of all students meet the 3rd grade reading?standard. When you review that data with race in mind, 61% of those students are White, 32% are Hispanic/Latinx and 23% are Black.
The two are dedicated to early literacy in Brazos County and this is only the beginning of that partnership.
Second, 60 Texas A&M Athletics staffers volunteered with Habitat for Humanities taking part in a two-day service project to build a home for a local family in need of equitable housing.
Between on-site construction and work at the Habitat for Humanities’ warehouse, volunteers logged 172.5 hours of work.
“This is selfless service,” Director of Development Carl Orozco said. “They are willing to give up their time, which is the most precious thing that we have. We can’t make any more time, so to give that up during the working hours is the epitome of selfless service and a wonderful example of the Aggie Spirit.”
Helping raise walls, hammer nails or cut wood is our duty as residents of this community. To help hard-working low-income families build a home for their family. The Aggie Commitment is dedicated to helping when they can and volunteering their time to improve our community.
Hiring, Retention & Representation:
The last pillar of the Aggie Commitment was “Hiring, Retention & Representation”
You will ask yourself, “What did they do for this?”.
The answer…
Everything you just read.
It all filters back to here.
The education, the celebration, the community engagement, the enhancement of the student-athlete experience. It all impacts this always important pillar.
If we want to hire, retain and increase retention for underrepresented groups, we must first understand our history. We must celebrate it. We must impact our community. We must continue to desire education, and we must strive to improve the student-athlete experience every moment we can.
Director of Athletics Ross Bjork announced the mission and vision statements for Texas A&M Athletics at the beginning of this academic year.
The Mission: To create opportunities through championship athletics.
The Vision:?The Home of the 12th Man is the pinnacle in opportunities realized through sports: championships won, diplomas earned, leaders equipped and launched to impact the world.
Every single interaction that we as a department have provides the opportunity for something great.
Whether that is the staff book club or helping sign people up for the next local election, it all matters.
Every moment matters, and that is what the Aggie Commitment strives for. To improve and to grow every day in order to become what we hope to.
In everything, there is evolution and change. Now entering year three, the pillar of “Hiring Retention & Representation” has been removed.
It now falls into the job responsibilities of the newly created Associate Athletics Director for Engagement position and a new focus for the Assistant Athletics Director for Human Resources.
This will ensure equity in hiring and retention practices moving forward for Aggie athletics.
“Throughout the past two years, The Aggie Commitment has done phenomenal work within Athletics and our local community to increase equity and maintain an environment of inclusiveness,” Associate Athletics Director for Engagement and head of the Aggie Commitment Rebekah Parkhill said. “By keeping our focus on unity, education and engagement, we will continue to make an impact for our student-athletes, staff, campus and local communities. It is our mission to create opportunities through championship athletics, and when we are unified as one, there is no limit for the positive work we can accomplish and opportunities we can create.”?
The Aggie Commitment’s promise of prioritizing its standards in support of diversity and inclusion for student-athletes and staff is ever evolving. But it is a promise that has been kept.
