Twenty-seven Texas A&M University School of Law students received their Aggie Rings on Friday, Nov. 4, at the Sheraton Fort Worth.

Kristi Kaiser Trail ’00, Director of Former Students, Alumni and External Relations, welcomed students, faculty, staff, family and friends. She received her Ring on April 6, 2000, and wears it with pride.

“My Aggie Ring turned sweet sixteen this past April,” she said. “Ring days are my favorite here at the law school.”

Tim Newman ’05, William and Mary Law School ’09, delivered remarks on the history and tradition of the Aggie Ring and shared his journey with the Ring and its purpose. Newman is an associate for Haynes and Boone, LLP in Fort Worth. At Texas A&M, he was a member of the Corps of Cadets and the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band.

In College Station, Aggie Ring Day typically consists of having a family member slide the Ring on the student’s finger for the first time, followed by a trip to the Dixie Chicken, where tradition holds that recipients must drop the Ring in a pitcher of beer before they can retrieve it.

Newman, a first generation Aggie, said his experience was a little different. “I didn’t have family living close by and I wasn’t one for beer,” he said.

He said that among his Aggie memorabilia, his Ring takes top priority.

“My Corps boots and sabre are packed away, but my Aggie Ring goes with me everywhere,” he said.

Dean and Anthony G. Buzbee Dean’s Endowed Chair Andrew Morriss said that the Aggie Ring is a “particularly wonderful thing for lawyers.”

“Lawyers need a network, and you’ve got the best one,” he said. “Most of you know I wasn’t smart enough to go to Texas A&M, but I was smart enough to marry into a family with strong ties to the university.”

Morriss and Rosalind Jeffers, Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, presented the Aggie Rings to students from the classes of ’16, ’17, and ’18.

Learn more about the Aggie Ring tradition. The next Law School Ring Day will be held April 7, 2016.

See more photos from the event on our Facebook album.

- Article by Jennifer Nassar, Communications Specialist, Texas A&M University School of Law