Student Leader Spotlight
Bobby Ramirez ’18 is the President of the Class of 2018, which is overseen by Class Councils.
How has being involved with Student Organizations helped your development outside of the classroom at Texas A&M?
Being involved has given me even more opportunities to develop myself as a leader, increase my networking knowledge and ability, as well as helped me make some of the best friends I have ever had.
What involvement or leadership advice would you give to incoming/new students?
Find something that not only interests you or that you’re passionate about, but also something you know will challenge you and make you better. It doesn’t have to be about student government or Aggie traditions – think about where you want to be in 10 years, and what an organization can offer that will help you develop the skills and resources you need to get to that point.
What Texas A&M core value best exemplifies your identity as a leader?
Excellence
Why does the selected core value above best exemplify your leadership identity?
My parents always taught me growing up to never half-ass anything. I can recall countless times my father made me redo a chore I didn’t complete to satisfaction, saying “If you have time to do it twice, you had time to do it right the first time.” Those lessons, along with what I’ve learned in the Corps of Cadets – always remind me to give 118% in everything I do. Any project, essay, or task that I do is going to be the best I’ve done up to that point. To give anything less than that is to insult everyone who has helped push and develop me into the person I am today. Excellence is not an end state – it is the point where you are constantly striving to do better than you did the last time; continually setting the bar higher for yourself and those who come after.
What is the greatest benefit to being involved on campus?
The free lunches from time to time are pretty cool, but the greatest benefit is definitely the networking. Not even necessarily for the ‘getting a job’ aspect of it – after all I sold my soul to the Air Force, so that’s never really been an issue of mine. By networking I mean the incredible human beings I’ve had the privilege of meeting: from others involved with traditions or student government, the graduate assistants and adult advisers, and many more. Each person has impacted me in some way – given me new perspective on a controversial topic, affirmed certain leadership practices, or best of all, become a great friend. Nothing beats the people you’ll meet when you get involved at Texas A&M.
What inspires you to serve as a student leader at Texas A&M?
This is going to sound cheesy – but honestly it’s my future. For some reason the Air Force is going to let me attempt to fly multi-million dollar aircraft someday – and I’ll be responsible for not only those, but also leading America’s best sons and daughters. I wanted to have as many diverse leadership experiences as possible before commissioning in May 2018 (WHOOP!), and I saw getting involved in both the Corps of Cadets and Class Councils as the best way to do that. It’s definitely paid off – I could never imagine learning the lessons I have or developing the skills I did without my time in Student Activities.