TAMU grad poses with gator

BEAUMONT, Texas (AP) — A soon-to-be Texas A&M University graduate has taken her senior portraits with a nearly 14-foot alligator in a swamp where both spent the summer.

Makenzie Noland of Abilene posted photos of the huge gator — named Big Tex — on her Facebook page as she plans to graduate Friday in College Station.

Noland is a wildlife ecology major who’s been interning at Gator Country Adventure Park in Beaumont. 

She posted the comment “not your typical graduation picture” with the photos, with Noland wearing a Texas A&M cap and banner.

Noland, who’s seen standing in thigh-deep water, says it’s what she’s been doing all summer with Big Tex during shows at Gator Country.

One photo posted online by Noland shows her senior class ring atop the alligator’s nose.