Student Spotlights

Grace Gabriel ’23

Thousands of Aggies will triumphantly walk the stage this December, and with them goes Rec Sports’ very own Grace Gabriel, the social media and events manager within Rec Sports marketing. For the past three years, Grace has proved instrumental in the delivery of marketing content under the Department of Recreational Sports; you’ve seen her content on TikTok, Instagram, and just about everywhere else, and she can regularly be found walking the Rec with an artist’s eye and a camera in hand.

When she first arrived in Aggieland as a bright-eyed freshman, Grace marveled at the size of the Student Rec Center during her campus tour and grew fond of the various programs that Rec Sports offers to Texas A&M students, including her very first Rec-A-Palooza.

“After Fish Camp, you typically go to Rec-A-Palooza with your DG, and so I remember we did that,” Grace said. “That was the student perspective of the Rec Center; I would come here with some of my friends and we would just kind of goof around, like I learned how to hit a punching bag, how to punch correctly, things like that.”

Though the Student Rec Center is a staple of the Texas A&M University experience, Grace felt as though the two were independent, insoluble experiences. To her, Texas A&M was strictly an academic endeavor, an institution of higher learning and the newer friendships that fostered from the scheduled life of classes and projects. The Rec, however, was a place far removed from assigned seats and due dates; it was a sandbox of individuals whose concerns were embedded within the independently opportune development of their own physical wellness.

But this changed when she saw an ad for a job opening with Rec Sports marketing.

Having spent her younger years doing photography and social media, Grace was immediately captivated by the opportunity to use her skills in a location already so familiar and enjoyable.

Though her first experience with Rec Sports marketing was one of welcome and encouragement, Grace credits a later discussion with her supervisor, Kelly VonDrehle, as a central cause behind her work with the department.

“I remember there was one afternoon where I was here pretty late with Kelly, and her and I started talking, and I think we talked for a few hours,” Grace said. “I just immediately felt more comfortable in my position and felt like I could go to her with new ideas and things like that and felt like I would be supported by her.”

From this conversation came a newfound confidence for Grace, and the support she felt from her supervisor guided her professional development in the years to come. As her dedication to the Rec Sports mission continued, Grace would experience the novel coronavirus pandemic, the opening of the Polo Road Rec Center, Rec-A-Paloozas online and in-person, and the opening of the brand-new Southside Rec Center. 

“The two kind of became intertwined. Whenever I think of A&M, I think of Rec Sports; if I think of Rec Sports, I think of A&M just because I spent so much time here,” Grace said. “The Rec Center is a defining trait of A&M for me; I can’t think of one without the other. It’s part of what I am as an Aggie, working at Rec Sports.”

Having seen so much transformation in the Department of Recreational Sports, Grace characterizes the ever-changing Rec Sports as change in seasons.

“Each season has gotten more and more of a tight knit group,” Grace said. “It’s been really cool to see how much not just our business side of things have grown but our teamwork and our collaboration has grown within our office. It’s been really cool to see how that’s changed and evolved over the last three years.”

“The first season, we were all loud,” Grace said. “A lot of more extroverted people, I think, are just drawn to this position. Second season was all online, and then third season was a little bit quieter, calmer… then this season is the one where we’re all great friends.”

Grace intends to pursue graduate school after she graduates from Texas A&M. Her experiences and relationships she’s fostered have influenced her career decisions to such a degree that she now sees great purpose in pursuing marketing.

“I get so much energy out of working here, and I know I want to have a career where I feel energized when I leave work,” Grace said. “I’ve learned what I am searching for for my long-term career plans.”