COLLEGE STATION, Texas — As the fall semester kicks off at Texas A&M, an Aggie is sharing her story about attending the university and meeting one of the loves of her life.
She wrote a book to honor their memories shared together across the campus.
Kristin Cooper King is an Aggie through and through.
She's a proud graduate from the class of 2003.
She and her late husband Chris Cooper were students at Texas A&M University.
They met as coworkers and later became husband and wife.
“When I started working at the visitor center as a student, that’s actually where I met my first husband, Chris Cooper, who was (in the) class of 1997,” said Cooper King, author of The Heart of Aggieland.
While at Texas A&M, King thought about writing a book for current and future Aggies.
“And it was an idea that stayed in my head all these years as something that I thought could be a wonderful way to tell people about Texas A&M in a unique way,” said King.
It was also a way to honor her late husband’s life.
“Then in December of 2009, he and I were involved in an accident where we were hit in our car by a distracted driver,” said King.
While The Heart of Aggieland serves as a memoir to Chris Cooper, this book highlights the sights and sounds of what it's like to be an Aggie.
“The theme of the book is that I took different qualities of being an Aggie and I compare them to different landmarks around campus,” said King. “We talk about Kyle Field and the roar of the crowd and the energy there. We talk about the century tree and how our spirit grows over time.”
It’s a story about people and the community.
“The theme of the book really is that the heart of Texas A&M is the people,” said King. “It’s the people that really make up what makes this place so special.”
She's now sharing the memories of what it's like to be an Aggie at Texas A&M University with the future generations.
“We’re a story really of miracles and blessings,” said King. "We had our Aggie family really rally around us at that time and it was such an incredible part of that healing for me, but I’ve always wanted to do something special for Chris. He was an Aggie through and through. He grew up here in College Station, his parents lived here, and he loved Texas A&M for everything it was worth.”
King said all the proceeds from the book will go to the Texas A&M Foundation’s Chris Cooper 1997 Heart of Aggieland Endowment.
You can purchase your copy on The Heart of Aggieland’s site, the Barnes and Noble on campus, the Texas Aggieland Bookstore on University Drive, and Whimsy and Wild Emporium in Downtown Bryan.