Kamryn Coryell ’20

Transforming average individuals into extraordinary leaders is what the Texas A&M University’s Corps of Cadets is known for and Ms. Kamryn Hope Coryell is just that. Kamryn is a driven and successful cadet who exudes gratitude for the resources she has received in order to achieve such success. Like many students, Kamryn is paying her own way through school. Both humbled and eternally grateful, this cadet was awarded a Texas A&M Foundation General Rudder Corps Scholarship, which allowed her to receive in-state tuition and is the primary reason she is able to attend Texas A&M University.

An ambitious applied mathematics major with an emphasis in actuarial science from Bainbridge Island, Washington, Cadet Coryell is the first sergeant of Company C-1, an outfit composed of 60 cadets. A recent inductee of the Ross Volunteer Company, the official honor guard for the Governor of the State of Texas, Kamryn serves as a role model and confidant to her underclassmen and peers, working tirelessly to challenge both herself and her unit to be the best leaders they can be.

Although Kamryn is currently living the Corps experience to its fullest potential, her Corps experience hasn’t always been easy. On the third day of her Freshmen Orientation Week, Kamryn regrettably tore her ACL. A cadet’s Freshman year is notorious for challenging their mental and physical toughness. Tearing her ACL took a devastating toll on Kamryn — to the extent, she questioned returning as a cadet her sophomore year. Through the support of her fellow cadets, mentors and family, she saw it through and made an epic comeback. Kamryn has fully recovered and graciously used this “bump in the road” as a learning experience to not only reflect on personal growth but to earn her position as first sergeant of her Company C-1 outfit.

“Coming out of my Freshman year, I wasn’t confident at all and that kind of trickled over into the fall of my Sophomore year. Then in spring, when they do selections [for leadership positions], where you apply, you then have an interview and it is a very intensive selection process,” Kamryn said. “I initially wasn’t interested, nor did I think they would want me, but I decided to challenge myself thinking I could do a way better job, so I went for it!”

Kamryn continued, “Through this experience, I realized that a lot of the things that I thought I wasn’t good at really didn’t matter. It was more about the heart, and who you were as a person and as a leader, and I had that… That was a huge shift for me personally. It was a time for major personal growth, something I am now very proud of, although I know I have more developing to go.”

With a generous heart the size of Texas, Kamryn is recently most excited about her newest leadership role in being a Ross Volunteer. To her, it is about paying forward the blessings she has been awarded and her current role has provided numerous opportunities to give back to the community and be involved on a greater level.

“I have always had a heart for people, but it has been through my grooming here at A&M that I have gotten where I am today,” Kamryn said.  “There have been so many influential Aggies that have reached out to me and given me so many amazing opportunities, and I love being able to give back and pay it forward.”

Grateful for her cadet life and academic career, Kamryn attributes much of her personal successes to the countless Corps opportunities that have impacted her life in such a positive way.

“I have developed in ways that I would have never imagined. I have pushed myself to be a better person and a better leader and I am proud of how far I have come,” Kamryn said.

When asked the infamous, “why did you join the Corps?” question, Kamryn proceeded to answer by saying she was influenced by her brothers’ Navy experience, but also, she just knew she wanted to be “better.”

“What I mean is a lot of people just go to college and ‘go through the motions’, go to classes and do what needs to be done to get their degree. I just knew I wanted to do more,” Kamryn said.  “I wanted to be a ‘part of something bigger than myself’, and to push myself to do more. Being in the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets has given me the opportunity to test my leadership skills and have a higher discipline for myself.”

With a desire to pay it forward, upon graduation in 2020, Kamryn intends to use her mathematics degree to pursue a career in wealth management.  Also hoping to volunteer as a mentor to future students at Texas A&M, she will strive to stay connected to mentor future students just as she once was. It is Kamryn’s ultimate goal to one day have a family of her own with whom to share all of her Corps and Aggie stories, complete with a golden retriever.

Cadet Kamryn Hope Coryell has learned that she is not only physically, but mentally resilient. This young leader beautifully emanates grit with grace and is the perfect example of how the Corps changes people for the better. We are so proud of you Cadet Coryell, thank you for being a future world changer!