This past weekend, the Witemeyer clan traveled to College Station, Texas for a momentous occasion. My daughter, Bethany, graduated from Texas A&M with her PhD in Computer Science! WooHoo! We officially have a doctor in the family. 🙂
I’m so incredibly proud of her. Six years of hard work has paid off. Even better, she’s starting this week as a new faculty member at Abilene Christian University, her undergraduate alma mater, which means she’s back home. Hooray!
She is renting a house near campus and will likely be unpacking for a while, but she has her own space and is excited to make it her own.
Interestingly enough, when we attended the commencement ceremony, I learned that Texas A&M is celebrating their 150th anniversary this year. They opened their doors in 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas and graduated their first class in 1880. In the early years, they were a military school and required all students to join the Corps of Cadets. Due to the military aspect, women were not allowed to enroll for the first 17 years. Occasionally, the daughters of faculty members could sit in on classes, but they could not enroll or seek degrees. The first female – Rachel Hook – matriculated in 1893, but there were still a lot of restrictions in place. It wasn’t until 1963 that women were admitted on a limited basis, and 1969 that all restrictions were removed for female students.
I actually have a hero in an upcoming novel who attended the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas back in the early days. The Cadet Corps gave him some weapons training that will come in handy for him as the story progresses. It was fun to incorporate this piece of Texas history in a writing project, especially since the school is connected to my daughter.
I’m so thankful that Texas A&M grew to accept women and expanded their areas of expertise beyond agriculture and mechanical pursuits. As a top-ranked school, they provided a wonderful place for my daughter to grow and flourish in her field.
Do you have a family member you’d like to brag on?
Feel free to share in the comments. I’d love to hear about it!