COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Through Hispanic Heritage Month, we learn of culture, arts, and music.
We meet Ivan Sanchez, a sophomore at Texas A&M University, serving as president of theAggieland Mariachi Band, hoping to make a difference on campus and in his community.
“To perform this music, to share it with other people knowing that I’m Mexican and I’m able to share it with everybody around me through the beautiful art that is the music that we play,” Sanchez said.
Ivan’s parents are from Mexico, but he was born right here in Bryan.
“As long as I remember, since my parents also spent a lot of time here in Bryan/College Station, they’ve always wanted to have an Aggie son,” said Sanchez.
He’s among the first in his family to attend college.
“I got into A&M and they were ecstatic about it,” said Sanchez. “They were so happy to have an Aggie in the family and I just feel blessed to have that opportunity to give that to them because I’ve loved A&M my whole life since I grew up here and to finally be part of it is like a dream come true.”
While always admiring Aggies to becoming an Aggie, Ivan now plays the violin in the Aggieland Mariachi.
“Growing up here, we noticed that A&M had a mariachi band, and they would go perform at Las Fiestas Patrias and local community events such as that,” said Sanchez. “My mom, always seeking and pursuing opportunities to make us more eligible to be accepted into college. She put me in violin lessons. She put me in piano lessons.”
Hard work and dedication to his craft paid off early in Ivan’s musical and leadership journey with the Mariachi Band.
“By the time I was a freshman, I had already known all the established members and had the most experience out of anybody at the time so I was elected president of the org as a freshman, which isn’t common,” said Sanchez.
Through scholarships from the university and donors, Ivan’s education is fully paid for. Ivan says it’s a blessing.
“Regents and Greater Texas Foundation, they’ve given me the opportunity to attend A&M without having to worry about financial worries such as ‘do I need a part time to try and help my parents out with the payments?’” said Sanchez.
Texas A&M is a Hispanic Serving Institution.
Tom Pool, vice president of engagement for the Texas A&M Foundation, says out of 60,000 undergraduates at Texas A&M, 15,000 are Hispanic.
“Texas A&M Foundation loves having that opportunity to connect donors and their desire to help students and their families be able to afford education here at Texas A&M University,” Pool said.
Out of the 60,000 undergraduate students, 14,000 are first gen like Ivan, and a little over 6,000 are Hispanic students.
“Ensuring students, especially out first-generation students have the opportunity and the means to come here and fulfill their dreams to be Aggies and to go out and make the world a better place,” said Pool.
“To be at a place such as Texas A&M where there’s a lot of diversity and a lot of people here, it’s great to be able to stand proud with this uniform and state just by standing wherever I am that I’m part of the Mexican culture,” said Sanchez.
Ivan’s goal is to continue to lead future generations to come and give back to Aggieland once he graduates with his bachelor’s in economics and minor in financial planning. He hopes to graduate early next year.