I'll Be There for You

Rachel ’94 and Ross Morgan ’94, childhood friends turned lifelong soulmates, show their love for Texas A&M University.

By Kristin Baird Rattini

Lead Photo by Jason Kindig

February 13, 2024

Long before the TV megahit “Friends” first aired, Rachel ’94 and Ross Morgan ’94 were the original “Rachel and Ross.” The love story of these childhood friends, Texas A&M University sweethearts and devoted Aggie supporters surpasses anything Hollywood screenwriters could dream up.

“I don’t remember life without Rachel,” Ross shared. They met as 3-year-olds in their daycare class in Corpus Christi, Texas, and discovered right away that they had something in common: They were both born on Valentine’s Day.

They started celebrating their birthdays together, and in a picture from their fourth birthday party, Ross stands in the back row in a navy sweater, while Rachel is front and center, smiling at the camera and wearing a red velvet dress sewn by her mother. “For a long time, I wore that dress in every single childhood picture,” Rachel recalled. “Ross’ grandpa used to see pictures of me and ask Ross, ‘When are you going to marry that little girl in the red velvet dress?’”

Alongside their 1976 preschool classmates, Rachel (pictured center wearing a red dress) and Ross (pictured in the back row wearing a navy shirt) celebrate their fourth birthdays together.

A Blossoming Relationship

Friendship came before courtship for many years. They shared the same church, the same schools and the same social circle. Ross had growing feelings for Rachel, but since she had a boyfriend, he put them aside and stayed in the friend zone.

They arrived at Texas A&M via distinctly different paths. For Ross, it was a foregone conclusion he’d be an Aggie. His father, William Clayton Morgan ’69, was a member of the Corps of Cadets and a wrestling champ. Rachel had hoped to follow in her mother’s footsteps to The University of Texas, but a scholarship made Texas A&M the right decision for her family. She entered Fish Camp reluctantly, “but I ended up loving it,” she said. “I thought, ‘If I’m going to this school, I’m going to be all in and go to everything.’ And I did.”

When Rachel broke up with her boyfriend over Christmas break their freshman year, “Ross swooped in,” she recalled. “He was really nice and helped me through a rough time.” Their first official date, lunch at the Chicken Oil Company, was—naturally—on Valentine’s Day, to celebrate their 19th birthdays.

As part of their shared Aggie experience, Rachel and Ross recall standing proudly together to cheer at every Texas A&M Football game.

The rest of their Texas A&M experience was an intimately shared one. Ross, a mechanical engineering major, tutored Rachel, an English major, late into the night for her business calculus class. They attended formals and Halloween parties held by her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and his fraternity, Kappa Alpha. They commuted four hours each way to see each other during their junior year when both participated in cooperative education opportunities. And they cheered at every football game together.

After graduating in 1994, Rachel earned her J.D. from The University of Texas Law School, while Ross earned an MBA from Rice University. They married on Jan. 2, 1999, in the same Corpus Christi congregation their families had attended together. Christmas trees and poinsettias decorated the church, and Aggie friends filled the pews. In memory of Ross’ grandpa, who died three months earlier, they dedicated the day to him and wrapped all the floral bouquets in a red velvet ribbon.

Living the Core Values

Texas A&M remained an important part of the Morgans’ lives as they established their careers and their family of four, with children Elizabeth ’27 and RJ, now a high school junior. Their home in University Park, Texas, was festooned in maroon, the kids grew up attending Muster in Dallas and football games in College Station, and Elizabeth followed in her parents’ footsteps to Texas A&M and pledged her mother’s sorority. “Texas A&M set a foundation for the way we live our lives and the values we’ve instilled in our children,” Rachel said.

Rachel and Ross pictured with their two children, Elizabeth '27 and RJ, now a high school junior.

Both Rachel and Ross have exemplified the core value of excellence in their careers. Rachel practiced labor and employment law and commercial litigation for two large firms for nearly 15 years. In 2012, she transitioned to in-house counsel for AT&T. “I spent the next decade taking nearly every position in the legal department,” she said. “It was an unbelievable education and made me uniquely qualified to become general counsel.”

In June 2022, she started her dream job as executive vice president and general counsel of Nexstar Media Group, the largest local media company in the United States. “The job has exceeded every expectation,” she shared. “I’m in the job I was born to do.”

Ross started his career as a sales engineer, but after earning his MBA, he pivoted to the financial services sector. He worked at Credit Suisse First Boston before joining a boutique investment firm. In 2012, he hung out his own shingle at RCM Advisors, where he counsels business owners and family-office clients on a variety of wealth and portfolio management issues. “I enjoy working with my clients,” he said. “They’re like family.”

Showing Their Love for Texas A&M

In 2023, as the Morgans took stock of their own portfolio, “we recognized we’re at that point in life where a lot of the major decisions have been made, our kids are in good shape and we have a bit more discretionary income,” Rachel explained. They decided the time was right to give back significantly to the university they love so much.

“It’s impossible to overstate Texas A&M’s impact in our lives,” Rachel said. “Our children have seen our loyalty and commitment to Texas A&M. The university gave us our friend network, the memories we have and the traditional values we share. It’s a culture of community that is rare these days.”

It’s impossible to overstate Texas A&M’s impact in our lives. The university gave us our friend network, the memories we have and the traditional values we share."
-Rachel Morgan '94

Working with the Texas A&M Foundation, the Morgans established the Rachel Bergstrom Morgan ’94 and Ross C. Morgan ’94 President's Endowed Scholarship (PES), a four-year award for incoming freshmen who have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement in high school. The Morgans also created a planned gift to further support Texas A&M after their lifetimes, increasing their impact for future generations. “When the time is right for you, the Foundation makes it so easy to give, and it’s so rewarding,” Ross said.

“The President’s Endowed Scholarship seemed the perfect fit for us,” Rachel added. “We wanted to give something significant that could grow over time. Using the PES to attract top talent to the university is important, and I liked that we could put our name on it so that people know we support Texas A&M. It’s a legacy; after we’re gone, people will know we helped students get a good education.”

This year, the Morgans are celebrating not only their 30th class reunion but also their 25th wedding anniversary. Their love and appreciation for each other have only grown stronger with each year.

“Ross is better than me in every single way,” Rachel said. “He is nicer, smarter, funnier and kinder. I’m very lucky.”

“Rachel is funny, beautiful and hardworking,” Ross shared. “She’s a bulldog at work and very successful. She fiercely loves her family. She is my everything.”

Like the Morgans, you can share your love of Texas A&M by supporting talented incoming Aggies with a President’s Endowed Scholarship. To learn more about how to create a PES, contact Al Pulliam ’87 below.