The TXST Alumni Association’s #WeMetAtTXST campaign celebrates lasting student friendships
Sometimes you may bump into your new best friend while racing to class after a sun-filled soak at Sewell Park. Other times, you might meet a new bestie when you both accidentally show up for the same class—at the wrong classroom.
Part of the college experience is meeting new people and expanding your friend base, and for many Bobcats, those new acquaintances develop into lifelong friendships.
Back in 2020, Texas State University’s Alumni Association put out a call for Bobcats to share their “We Met at TXST” stories about falling in love while on campus. The campaign has generated more than 800 responses since the initial call. This year, while asking Bobcats to share their love stories, the Alumni Association expanded its request to include alumni stories of meeting their “BFFs” at TXST, whether they were roommates, colleagues, or mentors who changed their lives.
Here's a collection of “We Met at TXST: BFF Edition” stories. You can also share your own on the We Met at TXST web page.
On the first day of the fall semester in 2007, Mary Ann reviewed her schedule and jotted down the times and room numbers of her classes for the week. When she arrived for her elementary math class, she found a dark room and locked door. She thought perhaps the class was cancelled or she misread the time.
“Just then, a girl’s voice interrupted my thoughts, ‘Are you here for the math class?’” Mary Ann recalls. “I couldn’t have been wrong after all, so I sat down on the hallway floor beside her. I’m not the one to strike up a conversation with a stranger, but that morning was different.”
Mary Ann and Amanda started to wonder if the class was cancelled as the start time passed them by. As worry set in, they wandered to a nearby computer lab and checked for an email about the cancellation. There was none, so they checked their class schedules again.
“Amanda and I somehow made the same mistake of reading the section number as the classroom number,” Mary Ann says. “We burst into laughter as we hurried to the correct classroom. What are the odds that someone else would make the same silly mistake?”
Mary Ann now lives in The Woodlands and is a school counselor and therapist, while Amanda lives in Arlington and is a math interventionist at an elementary school. The pair often rewinds time back to 18 years ago and how they were destined to meet that day and become best friends for life.
Back row: Cody Huffman
Front row, left to right: Breanna McMurray, Ahleena Lugo, Mallori White, Summer Frizzell, Samantha Ortega
Cody met Mallori during the summer of 2017 when they both signed up to be counselors at Cat Camp, an orientation camp for incoming first-year students. While most students had gone home, they bonded through their passion for TXST traditions.
Mallori also introduced Cody to her sorority sisters, whom he quickly called his best friends as well: Summer Frizzell, Breanna McMurray, Julian Anderson, Ahleena Lugo, and Samantha Ortega. Since their college days, the seven Bobcats have traveled to various parts of the country together and have been in each other’s weddings. Through the highs and lows of life, they’ve always been there for one another.
“When we get together, time stops, and we are all kids again, forgetting about adulthood and all of its responsibilities,” says Cody, who now lives in Austin and works as a policy attorney with the Texas Indigent Defense Commission. “We reminisce on the endless tubing adventures, date parties, homecoming, and evenings on the square with a meticulously calculated exit to make it to Gumby's before the rush. It is because of Texas State that I met my best friends.”
San’Tres met Derrick through an icebreaker activity in a class they both took in Fall 2018. They discovered they had several similarities, including being from Houston, a passion for Apple products, and even having the same dream job—Apple’s public relations department.
“Our bond grew from there,” San’Tres says. “We joined PRSSA [Public Relations Student Society of America] together, became inseparable friends, and constantly bounced ideas off each other. Our collaborative spirit made us a great team.”
After graduating during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, they both landed PR jobs in the Northeast with the advertising agency MullenLowe, working with the PepsiCo and Boston Beer Company portfolios. Even though San’Tres operated out of Boston and Derrick was based in New York, they worked closely together and made time for visits by train or car to keep their friendship thriving.
San’Tres and Derrick are now at separate agencies, but they continue pursuing their dream of starting their own PR agency together with the experience and knowledge they’ve gained over the years.
Left to right: Lesley Zigrang, Amanda Wheeless, Amanda Roberts, Brittany Schooley, Adrienne Layo, Leslie Dryzmalla, Jeanette Highland
“Club 421” grew out of a roommate group at The Zone Apartments, where six Bobcats and one of their siblings all lived together at one time or another. The close circle includes Amanda Roberts, Brittany Schooley, Amanda Wheeless, Adrienne Layo, Leslie Dryzmalla, Jeanette Highland, and Jeanette’s twin sister, Lesley Zigrang. Their “Club 421” name comes from their apartment number.
What started with a few roommates morphed into a large group friendship once some of them graduated and moved out, recommending the others to take their places.
“Twenty-one years later we are all still really close and have watched each other get married, have kids, and grow up,” Amanda Roberts says. “Every year we make it a point to all get together and have a roommate reunion where we spend the whole weekend having lots of laughs and fun times. We love each other unconditionally, and I am so very thankful that God placed these women in my life.”
