Igniting A Spark

Jim and Cheryl Flint ’94

By establishing a scholarship for biomedical sciences students, Jim and Cheryl Flint ’94 are giving back to the university that helped them discover a love for tailgating and the friends that come with it.

Story by MEGAN MYERS

Ever since they walked into Kyle Field for their first Aggie football game together, Jim and Cheryl Flint ’94 saw Texas A&M University as a second home.

To give back to the university, the couple recently created the Jim and Cheryl Flint '94 Endowed Scholarship to support biomedical sciences (BIMS) students at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS).

“The spirit of service here is very attractive; it’s all about paying it forward,” Cheryl said. “Every time we meet a student, they're always really hard-working and humble, and we know they're going to do great things. When they receive, we know they're going to pay it forward and that our gift just helps to accelerate the community's growth.”

HIGH SCHOOL SWEETHEARTS

By the time he turned 14 years old, Jim had already lived in seven different cities. As a military family, he and his parents ultimately landed in San Antonio, also known as Military City USA, where he developed a friendship with his classmate Cheryl that eventually turned into young love.

“It took a year or more for her to go out on the first date with me,” he said. “I don’t think we ever planned for things to happen the way they happened, but we’re both thankful.”

When it came time to go to college, Cheryl headed to College Station while Jim enrolled at Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth to play baseball.

“I didn’t realize how much I was going to miss her,” Jim said. “There was no Zoom or FaceTime back then, so we ran up quite the phone bill. Ultimately we figured out, even without cars of our own, how to get back and forth between the two towns and spend a lot of time together.”

During that period, they also developed a mutual love for Aggie football and the spirit of the 12th Man.

“I remember the first Aggie game we went to when we were in college,” Jim said. “It was a night game against

Louisville and they were doing the transition to a new Reveille, so the puppy was there. Even back then, I knew we were going to keep coming back. The comradery and generosity and connectedness that this place makes you feel is unbelievable.”

A few years later, tailgating before Aggie football games became a tradition like no other for the couple, their families, and their close friends. In their recently published book, “Beyond the Tailgate,” the Flints explore the impact that sports and Texas A&M have had on their relationships.

“Having someone by your side for twelve hours of a tailgating experience requires a unique personality with an ability to persevere,” Jim wrote in “Beyond the Tailgate.” “It’s not for every person or for every couple. I feel lucky to have shared a decade’s worth of experiences with Cheryl.”

The book now welcomes visitors staying at the Texas A&M Hotel and Conference Center, where, only yards away from Kyle Field, a copy of “Beyond the Tailgate” resides in every room. Each chapter uniquely expresses the perspectives of both husband and wife as they participate in the explosive growth of Aggie football and tailgating.

They see tailgating as not only a way to celebrate game day, but an opportunity to spend time together and bond with family and friends over shared passions.

“Sports are a love language in our family,” Cheryl said. “It's about spending time together.

“When we invite people to come with us to games, they’re blown away,” she continued. “At first they're a little overwhelmed with our campus and stadium. However, then they see that even with the size, it can be quite personable. It’s what I love about Aggieland.”

WORKING IN DIFFERENT WORLDS

While Cheryl pursued a major in education at Texas A&M, her biomedical sciences courses proved especially impactful.

“Science is such a backbone—it's all around you and it's so relevant and important,” she said. “You live science every day.”

“She's done a remarkable job with a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) mindset in her classes and her curriculum,” Jim added. “She's a great representative for females and really anyone interested in science—she’s living it, she’s embracing it, and she cares about the students and teachers.”

As Cheryl began her teaching career, Jim returned to TCU for a master’s degree in business administration. After several years of working in a corporate environment, he turned to his entrepreneurial side and launched his own digital marketing agency, Local Search Group, which serves automotive retailers as well as the cryptocurrency industry.

He recently worked in conjunction with local students and the Texas Blockchain Council to introduce the first blockchain meetup in College Station. He credits his experiences as an athlete for taking on challenges others might consider risky.

“I wasn’t afraid of losing thanks to my experiences in sports. We won a few and lost a few, but my fear of failure remains low because losing didn’t necessarily equate to failure for me,” Jim said. “I’ve just been willing and able to get back up one more time than I’ve been knocked down.”

When the couple began to reflect upon their shared history, they knew that Texas A&M’s willingness to make moves from the Southwest Conference to the Big XII and, ultimately, to the Southeastern Conference seemed familiar. They had moved three times early in Jim’s career and now they wanted to give back to a place where it had all started.

“A&M offered a lot of opportunities that elsewhere, I don't think would've happened,” Cheryl said. “The campus is so vast and you could go anywhere and do anything. More than anything else, it gave us opportunity.”

“We get really excited about athletics, but I'm also enthusiastic about the direction of the university and, in particular, the veterinary school,” Jim added. “Things keep evolving and I can see an even brighter future ahead.”

Not unlike the university, the Flints have found a place they can now call home. ■

Beyond the Tailgate by Jim and Cheryl Flint ’94