Start Here. Stay Here. Go Anywhere: From the Gulf Coast to Oxford’s Historic Halls
Lily Chabot ’26 takes her next ‘leap of faith’ at prestigious graduate school.
Graduating senior Lily Chabot ’26 has created a legacy of leadership at Texas A&M University of Galveston, where she served as Student Body President, 12th Man Lead Student Ambassador and Student Experience Manager, and a Maroon Delegate.
Lily Chabot has seen her future, and it’s exploring history – above and beneath the waves.
The graduating senior from Greene, Maine, whose journey has been shaped by leadership, curiosity, and discovery at Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) is preparing to take her next bold step: pursuing graduate studies at one of the world’s most prestigious academic institutions.
From the Gulf Coast to the University of Oxford’s historic halls, her path reflects both academic ambition and a deep fascination with maritime history and archaeology.
Years of hands‑on learning and student leadership have prepared the former Student Body President to walk ancient grounds where history and discovery converge — continuing a journey that began on the Texas coast and now stretches across the Atlantic.
Beginning this fall, Chabot will pursue a Master of Science in archaeology with a thesis centered around late Bronze Age trade in the Mediterranean. Her topic was inspired by working with the Institute of Nautical Archaeology on the Uluburun Shipwreck in Bodrum, Turkey, she said. “There’s just something so cool about holding a 3,000-year-old bronze sword in your hand.”
Chabot will head to England armed with a Bachelor of Arts in maritime studies and minors in anthropology and museum studies, plus every scuba diving certification offered by TAMUG.
Her interest in anthropology, archaeology and history ruled out a maritime academy in her home state. An executive with a global archaeology firm steered her to Galveston and the idea of exploring shipwrecks through a career in maritime archaeology.
“He said, ‘My favorite people to hire are Aggies, so if you can go to Texas A&M and then call me in a few years, that would be a good place to start,’” Chabot recalled. She got her first scuba diving training a few weeks before starting college.
Archaeology enthusiasts learn to expect “Indiana Jones” comparisons, and Chabot’s decision making is reminiscent of the blind “leap of faith” the hero takes in the “Last Crusade.”
Texas A&M University at Galveston was the only college where she applied, and she did so without ever visiting campus, deciding, “I’ll see it when I get there.” She’s also never visited Oxford.
In contrast, Chabot has loved leading Galveston campus tours for prospective TAMUG students as part of the Howdy Crew, for which she became the 12th Man Lead Student Ambassador and Student Experience Manager.
Near the end of her first year, she joined the prestigious Maroon Delegates, student ambassadors who engage with donors and other stakeholders.
And as Student Body President for the Texas A&M College of Marine Sciences and Maritime Studies, Chabot encouraged student leaders to develop as young professionals, exercise their creativity and foster an environment in which “all students could feel welcome and participate.”
As an award-winning campus leader, she would encourage future students to follow guidance she received her first year.
“Put yourself in situations that make you a little bit uncomfortable,” Chabot said. “It’s in those experiences where you can fail and learn, and where you will, in turn, see the most growth.”
