Campus Life

Aggies Navigate Bridge Closure, Save UTMB Grad’s Big Day

Anna-Barbara O'James onboard Texas A&M University at Galveston's inland research vessel, the Mydas.

On May 15, a barge broke free from its tugboat and allided with the Pelican Island Bridge, closing the only road to and from the small island. Home to the Texas A&M University Galveston Campus, industrial companies, a popular fishing pier and several residences, the resulting bridge closures caused significant disruptions to anyone who attends classes, works, visits or lives on Pelican Island.

Anna-Barbara O’James, a resident of Pelican Island, was one of those impacted by the multi-day bridge closures. On May 17, O’James was getting ready for her graduation ceremony at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, where she recently completed her master’s degree in public health. She was joined by family and friends that had traveled to Galveston from out of town for the occasion, visiting from Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and some as far as California, when the group discovered the bridge closed to all traffic. 

“When we were first told the bridge was closed even for pedestrians, I was devastated,” said O’James. “I thought I would have to watch my graduation online. I had no hope left.” 

That is, until two Galveston Campus employees from the Office of Marine Education Support & Safety Operations, Executive Director Allan Post and Director Vernon Camus, who O’James called “angels,” drove by in a golf cart asking if she needed assistance. 

“We told them we were heading to the graduation and they decided to help, no questions asked,” O’James said. 

O’James and her guests added life jackets to their graduation outfits while Port Captain David Klaproth and student professional Reid Skinner helped them board the Mydas. Klaproth and Skinner then ferried the group across the Galveston Ship Channel, leaving them as close to UTMB as possible.

Camus and Post quickly arranged transportation to UTMB on one of the university’s research support vessels, the Mydas.

Thanks to this Good Bull, O’James made it to her graduation despite the bridge closure. “I’m so thankful to them,” she said of the Aggie staff that ensured she and her loved ones could celebrate this milestone.