Agribusiness major from Houston appointed Student Regent
A&M Law School Student also appointed to Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Annie Valicek, a senior agribusiness and economics major at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, as the next student regent for The Texas A&M University System.
“We are honored to have Ms. Valicek on the Board of Regents for The Texas A&M University System,” said Chancellor John Sharp. “Agribusiness is one for the core focuses for The Texas A&M University System, and I am sure Ms. Valicek will do an outstanding job of representing her fellow students’ interests.”
Valicek, a Houston native, is the immediate past student body president at West Texas A&M University. She also is a founding member of West Texas A&M’s Collegiate Farm Bureau and is chair of career and personal development for Chi Omega sorority. Valicek interned at the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Sprouse Shrader Smith PLLC and American Farm Bureau Federation. She plans to attend law school after graduation.
In her spare time, Valicek leads a church youth group and volunteers with Special Olympics.
In 2005, the 79th Texas Legislature authorized the governor to appoint non-voting student regents to each university system’s board of regents. The chancellor of each university system recommends at least two students to the governor from applications submitted by participating universities. The Texas A&M System’s Board of Regents meets quarterly with special meetings arranged as needed.
Valicek replaces former student regent Demetrius Harrell Jr., a criminal justice major from Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Abbott also appointed second-year Texas A&M Law School student Cage Sawyers to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Sawyers’ legal education at Texas A&M is focused around capital markets and private equity. Sawyers is from the Texoma region of North Texas, graduating as the valedictorian of Van Alstyne High School in 2017 while also being named a 2017 Coca-Cola Scholar. Sawyers majored in Public Policy and Energy Technology at Texas Christian University, graduating summa cum laude in 2021.
Sawyers is currently the founder and managing partner of 903 Capital + Advisory, a rural Texas investment fund active in national franchise brands, core economic businesses and consumer items.
Philanthropically, Sawyers is the founder and executive director of Sawyers’ Salute to Service, a veterans’ non-profit organization that assists post-service veterans on their path to better physical, mental and spiritual health.
Sawyers grew up in rural Texas and is focused on the intersection of capital markets and public policy with rural America. Sawyers currently splits time between Fort Worth and Grayson County. He has traveled to over 30 countries, actively plays polo and tennis, is a passionate Christian and enjoys quality fellowship with family and friends in his favorite spot of Seaside, Fla..
About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $7.2 billion. Through a statewide network of 11 universities, a comprehensive health science center, eight state agencies, and the RELLIS Campus, the Texas A&M System educates more than 152,000 students and makes more than 24 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceed $1 billion and help drive the state’s economy.
Contact: Laylan Copelin
Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications
(979) 458-6425
(512) 289-2782 cell
lcopelin@tamus.edu