MR. PRESIDENT
Meet Michael K. Young, Texas A&M's 25th president, and get a glimpse into his life outside of the university
Left: Michael Young speaks at the 2016 freshman convocation. Top: Young rallies the crowd at the first Midnight Yell of the 2016 football season.
Bottom: Young and his wife Marti pose for a picture at 2015 Gather to Give.
FILE
Layne's or Cane's?
"I'd probably have to say Whataburger, and my first time to have it was when I came here. The hidden gem, though, is The Feed Barn."
Favorite movie?
"There are three best movies of all time: Certainly The Godfather series and then Animal House and then Bandits."
Favorite song?
""Paint It Black" by the Rolling Stones."
Q&A:
Most students will just receive his emails or catch a glimpse of him at an event on campus, but Texas A&M University President Michael Young likes to be more involved than students might realize.
Young, a graduate of Harvard Law School, became A&M’s 25th president May 1, 2015. Before his position with A&M, Young was the president at the University of Washington, but it was a lunch meeting with Texas A&M System Chancellor John Sharp that convinced him to come to A&M.
“I said, ‘I’d be delighted to have lunch, but if this is about moving, I really didn’t have any intent to move,’” Young said. “Nevertheless, [Sharp] came out to chat, talked a fair amount about what this school stood for and what it really meant. I have to confess, I was a little intrigued. Still not fundamentally interested, but intrigued enough to want to know more about A&M, at which point he said, ‘Now that I came out and had lunch with you, you have to come back and have lunch with me.’ I said, ‘I really
don’t want but thank you,’ and he said, ‘No, no. You have to.’ In the end, I said, ‘Well okay.’”
When touring the campus, Young spoke with student leaders and faculty. Young said during the tour wife, Marti Young, tapped him on his knee and said, “We’re coming here, aren’t we?” Young replied with a “Yes.
“I was fascinated by the fact that every experience [students] had derived from or wrapped around the [school’s] values,” Young said. “The way the professors treated them, the way they treated each other, the way they talked about how they would use their education. It really was powerful how the students brought us here I think.”
Young said he and Marti moved to College Station right before Muster and had the opportunity to experience what is now their favorite tradition for the first time.
“It just fascinates me how it communicates that respect for those who’ve gone before, but also they use lights to represent everyone that has
passed on and in an interesting way it’s kind of like
the passing of a torch,” Young said. “It’s a
wonderful way of intergenerationally transferring the traditions and values that this university really stands for.”
In what little free time the president of a major university has, Young said he likes to spend it outside, either on campus or with his wife and cattle.
“The spot I spend the most time in is certainly the MSC. I do love that building,” Young said. “We have some horses and some cattle, and it turns out they garner an enormous amount of free time and attention. I like to be around Marti, who tends to them, so I’m basically a ranch hand.”
With more than 1,000 student organizations, Young said his advice for an incoming freshman would be to get as involved and to try new things.
“Get out of your comfort zone and do some things that will really expand your horizons because that’s what is great about coming to a university like this,” Young said. “You get so many things that are offered, so take advantage of some of them.”