To Preserve, Protect and Perpetuate the Texas Aggie Culture,
the Spirit of Aggieland and its Core Values and Traditions.
“It is my firm belief that my dad, James Earl Rudder ’32, would heartily endorse The Rudder Association’s mission. It is critically important that we are aware of threats at our door. Should we fail to be active warriors in protecting our valued traditions, we will lose them.”
- Bud Rudder ‘62
Current News
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First Annual Rudder Association Essay Contest
Eligibility: Applicants are invited to participate in an essay contest sponsored by The Rudder Association (TRA). Applicants must be a US Citizen or resident alien, currently enrolled, as a graduate or undergraduate student of Texas A&M University, College Station. Each applicant may submit no more than one essay with the topic being “The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King spoke of a mountaintop for America where we would all be judged not by the color of our skin, but by the content of our character. Is academia bringing us closer to this dream, or taking us further from it?”
Prizes: First prize $500, second $300, third place $200 in the form of a bank check. The first place paper’s author will be invited to attend and read their entry at the TRA annual meeting March 4, 2023 in College Station. Prizes will be awarded in March following our annual meeting.
Format: 500 to 700 words, double spaced (approximately two pages), include author’s name, class year, major, email, phone number and hometown. Essays will be evaluated anonymously on their adherence to the prompt, logical development of ideas, persuasiveness, and utilization of facts and background information. They should be free of grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Any plagiarism is automatic cause for rejection.
Deadline: Papers must be received by February 20, 2023 and formatted in Microsoft Word OR PDF and should be submitted online with the above required information to admin@rudderassociation.org. Papers failing to meet the above format and information requirements will not be considered;
Judging: Joan Quintana '92, Matt Poling ‘90, Mark Browning ’88;
As a condition of this prize award, TRA would have right to publish and to use the content of the three winning papers in its mission to preserve, protect and perpetuate the Texas Aggie Culture, The Spirit of Aggieland and its Core Values and Traditions. By submitting their papers, contestants agree to these terms.
Announcements
The Rudder Association Adds Three Board Members
Jose Quintana, Class of 1986, Elizabeth Holle, Class of 1992, and Andy Hansen, Class of 1971 have been elected to the Board of Directors for The Rudder Association. They are dedicated Aggies who have distinguished themselves as effective leaders and difference makers in TAMU organizations such as the Texas Engineering Extension Service, Quad Moms, and The Association of Former Students. These Aggies have all expressed their desire to help the TRA objective of insuring that the Spirit of Aggieland will continue to be experienced by generations to come.