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Major mix-up Aggies personalize education with career-specific options Robby Smith The Battalion
Students have taken to mixing up their major with special certificate distinctions offered within their colleges. By adding one or more of these certificate programs, students are differentiating their degree and putting more structure into their academic course plan. A&M’s 39,000 undergraduate students have a selection of more than 150 majors, 70 minors and a growing number of certificates. “Sometimes I think students think they can only do their degree, but college is here for us. It is up to us to make the most of our time here,” said senior business management major Meredith Harper. “There are so many cool degrees, minors, certificates, programs, etcetera that are hidden.”
Advisers at A&M have increased promotion of their college’s certificate programs. Mays Business School and the Departments of Political Science and Recreation Parks and Tourism Sciences offer a variety of options. “A certificate demonstrates that a student has taken a concentrated set of courses and enrichment experiences in a specific area,” said Janet Parish, clinical associate professor and assistant department head
of the marketing department at Mays Business School. “This can help a student gain a more complete understanding of the industry or job type they are headed toward.” Harper designed her path of See Certificates on page 8
Christina Fuentes — THE BATTALION
student life
Choosing between family and education A&M student drops out of school to afford care for ailing mother Emily Villani
The Battalion A middle-aged Chinese woman sits in a light blue hospital gown. She doesn’t seem to notice that Sihua Zhang, her daughter, sits near her on the end of an otherwise-empty bed. Sihua is beautiful like her mother, but any further resemblance between the two is offset by the distinct dissimilarity in their eyes. While her mother’s gaze is drifting and vacant, Sihua’s eyes are heavy with heartache. Only a few months prior, Zhang was an undergraduate at Texas A&M University working toward a degree in special education. But since mid-January, Zhang’s life has not been the same.
baseball
Aggies on the road
“I have a very strong I tell her, ‘I love you,’ every day, but she passion for helping childoesn’t understand what I’m telling her. dren in need, so I chose to major in special edu- Even though she’s still alive, this kind of life is very difcation, which is an ex- ficult for herself and for my family.” tremely challenging pro— Sihua Zhang, former A&M undergraduate student gram,” Zhang said. After being admit“To tell you the truth, I really wish I could ted to A&M last semester, Zhang invited use my life to exchange hers, because she’s her mom to come to College Station to my beloved one, and she’s a great woman,” help take care of Zhang’s daughter, al- Zhang said. “I know everyone’s mom is lowing the college student to concentrate great. They gave their children the best. But on schoolwork. my mom just gave me extra. She raised me Twelve days after her arrival, Zhang’s by herself.” mother had a sudden brain hemorrhage and Zhang said she felt it was time she gave was taken to the emergency room. something back to her mother after her For three weeks Zhang’s mother was in a mother had overcome so much difficulty to coma and could neither breathe nor eat on raise her. her own. Zhang withdrew from A&M and “Even though I got admission to the spepaid the operation fee with the money she cial education program, I had to withdraw,” Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION had planned to use for next semester’s tuition. Zhang said. “[My mother] is my priority … I But Zhang said it was not a difficult choice am the only person who can take care of her.” Volunteers help Sihua Zhang and her to drop out of A&M and take care of her mother with feeding, bathing and mother. See Zhang on page 7 emotional support.
sports
business
Aggies adjust to Sumlin style
Student spreads positivity with T-shirt venture
Austin Meek
The No. 12 Aggies will look to snap a 5-game losing streak Tuesday when they travel to Fort Worth to play the TCU Horned Frogs. TCU is riding a 9-game winning streak entering the 6:30 p.m. contest in Lupton Stadium. The Aggies rose to No. 2 in the nation before losing to top-10 opponents Rice and Baylor last week.
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The Battalion In the first public intra-squad scrimmage of the season Friday night, senior wide receiver Ryan Swope took a routine bubble screen 75 yards downfield to the painted grass. The completed pass was due in large part to a well-placed block from sophomore receiver Mike Evans, a 6-foot 5-inch physical specimen who didn’t see the field last season but has left the new coaching staff impressed. Swope said Evans’ play embodied the message that new head coach Kevin Sumlin has preached since day one in Aggieland. “That’s the attitude we have to have out there on the field,” Swope said. “Everyone’s got to block, everyone’s got to do the little things to be a great football team.” Things look different around the A&M practice fields, and it’s not just the SEC logos emblazoned on the siding of the facility’s walls. Sumlin’s spread offense has forced the entire team
Emily Villani
the field and goofy off it, Terrell said, and Swope described him as a fun coach to play for. “He’s got a lot of energy,” Swope said. “He’s got that mentality of getting better every day and really pushing us to be the best we can be. He really emphasizes that with us and we’re going to go out
The Battalion Junior horticulture major Matthew Weintrub lost almost everything when his apartment complex caught fire last year. Now, as an entrepreneur and artist, Weintrub has started his own clothing line, 4 One Love, marketing positivity and a hopeful vision. In April 2011, Weintrub arrived home to find his apartment in flames and most of his possessions lost. However, he decided to rebuild and make something out of nothing. Weintrub started a franchise with the purpose of emanating optimism through clothing. “After the fire and losing all my stuff, I really wanted positive clothing,” Weintrub said. “I looked for stuff like that online and didn’t find anything so I just decided to go ahead and make my own.” Weintrub’s clothing features uplifting slogans and images, all meant to have encouraging effects on the people who wear and see the clothes. “I really just want to help people’s mentalities,” Weintrub said. “I want to remind them that nothing’s as bad as it seems and give them
See Football on page 5
See T-shirt on page 2
Roger Zhang — THE BATTALION
Freshman place kicker Taylor Bertolet practices field goals during spring training Monday afternoon. to ramp up its conditioning. “It’s still tough, but we’ve gotten a lot more used to it,” said senior defensive back Steven Terrell. “We’ve gotten in shape and progressed, and now we can actually get lined up to it and do a little more. It’s good but we’ve still got some ways to go lining up, but I think we’ve made big strides.” Sumlin’s style is serious on
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