New Passdown Senior Boots

Howdy! My name is Connor Lloyd, I'm in the Corps of Cadets at Texas A&M University.  One thing that I kept thinking my entire freshman year was figuring out a way to pay for my senior boots. This can be a hefty fee and I was putting myself through college, so any extra expenses were a little worrisome. However, any worries I had were put to ease at the end of my freshman year. One of the seniors in my outfit (Squadron 16) pulled me aside during the Parent's Weekend Banquet and asked me to "pull his boots." (This is Aggie Cadet slang for taking his boots off for him, since they are hard to take off by yourself) Once I got his boots off, he told me to put them on. I was a little confused at first, but I put them on while he told me that this particular pair of boots had been in the outfit since 2007 and had been worn by five cadets, including himself. He told me that he was passing down the pair of senior boots to me so that I could wear them for my senior year as a cadet. I was overjoyed at not only the financial burden being lifted, but also the meaning and history that came with a passdown pair of boots. He explained to me that they were pretty worn down on the bottom, discolored, beaten up, and a lot of maintenance was needed. I was told I'd need to waterproof the bottom any time it rained because of how badly the sole wore and that I needed to moisturize the leather every couple of weeks just so they would stay together. I am the sixth person to go through these boots and I don't know if they'll survive another generation or even throughout my senior year. I want to raise money so that this tradition and history can be preserved within a new pair of boots and can continue on throughout the years in a way to impact others the way it impacted me. I am looking to raise money to buy a set of Vogel Senior Boots from Holick's Manufacturing Company not for me to wear, but for the next generation of Aggies to enjoy. Since I am about to start my junior year at A&M, I have about a year to a year and a half to get the funds together and get the boots made before the end of my senior year. Thank you to anyone out there who decides to help out with this, it'll really mean a lot!

Thanks and Gig 'Em