Aggie Ring Day for two

Fraternal twins Mariah and Ashlyn Persyn, Class of 26, marked a significant milestone on October 10 when they received matching Aggie rings with their family proudly by their side. Both sisters are studying landscape architecture at Texas A&M University, continuing the legacy of Aggie graduates in their family.

Continuing the legacy

Aggie degrees and rings have become a family tradition for the Persyn family of Castroville, Texas. The family now consists of three generations of former students, all wearing matching gold Aggie rings.

Her mother, Kelly Persyn (Class of 2000) and father Russell Persyn (Class of ’98) met at Texas A&M and both earned degrees in agricultural engineering. Previously, her grandfather, Ken Persyn (born 1973), studied animal science.

“I’ve dreamed of being an Aggie since I was in fourth grade. My family all have matching rings, so ours will look like hers,” Ashlyn said. “For us, it really represents the bridge between the past, present and future.”

“I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long time,” Mariah said. “The ring is a symbol of all that hard work.”

A journey into landscape architecture

Inspired by their parents’ encouragement to enroll in a program that combined their strengths in math and art, they applied to the College of Architecture and landed in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning.

Learning the intricacies of planning and design from scratch was challenging, but faculty support made a significant impact.

Mariah said that Dingding Ren, a landscape architecture instructor, initially found her intimidating, but as the semester progressed, they came to value his feedback and teaching.

“He was one of the first professors I had who gave us honest criticism and constructive criticism that made us better,” Mariah said. “He really built me ​​up in the way I design now and shaped the way I think through things.”

Real world experience

Both twins interned with landscape architecture companies in San Antonio last summer.

“It was a really cool experience,” said Mariah, who interned at NP Studio, a full-service landscape architecture firm. “I worked a lot with Adobe Illustrator, InDesign and Photoshop and learned how small businesses work.”

Ashlyn ended up at Kimley-Horn, a large engineering firm.

“I did a lot of park design and helped with renderings, redlining and things like that,” said Ashlyn, who spent most of her time on construction site projects in New Braunfels, Texas, with a group of 14 other interns, all of whom were engineering students.

“I learned courage, how to be efficient and that I don’t have to be perfect and already know how to do everything,” she said.

Future plans

With graduation looming, neither sister has fleshed out their post-graduation plans, but they said they are excited about the many career opportunities they have.

“It’s amazing how many options there are,” Mariah said. “You can work on parking lots, zoos, national parks… You can design community centers or help with disaster relief. There’s so much you can do.”

They have developed individual interests within the discipline. Ashlyn said she prefers “the constructive side of things,” while Mariah enjoys designing.

“I would really like to help smaller communities,” Ashlyn said. “We come from a small town, so I want to contribute to the growth of these cities.”

Mariah is considering working in an industrial company, teaching, or pursuing a career in social media.

“I just want to make a difference wherever I go,” she said.

After some professional experience, they hope to eventually start a business together.

Campus culture

Outside of the classroom, Mariah and Ashlyn are very involved on campus. The twins run an Instagram account that documents their experiences as landscape architecture students and showcases their evolving design work.

“We educate people about our major and what it’s like to be at Texas A&M and study landscape architecture,” Mariah said.

The Persyns also work for the college as student ambassadors, giving tours to prospective students and being involved in several campus organizations, including the American Society of Landscape Architects and the honor societies Phi Eta Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi.

They also participate in Texas A&M’s Big Event, the largest one-day student service project in the country.

“Participating in the big event has become a tradition for us,” said Mariah. “We have made it our mission to get involved every year.”

A double ring tag

A real milestone was Ring Day, when her parents came to campus to celebrate along with her two younger brothers. As their parents gently placed the iconic gold rings on their fingers, a few tears were shed – a poignant moment of pride for a family deeply rooted in Aggie tradition.

“Her mother and I are very proud of this moment,” Russell said. “It is the culmination of all their hard work over the years at this great institution.”

Learn more about Aggie Ring Day at Texas A&M University here.