Students, families and faculty gathered for Bobcat Pause to honor Bobcats who have passed on Monday, April 13, in the LBJ Ballroom.

Bobcat Pause is an annual memorial ceremony where the university recognizes students, faculty and staff who passed away over the past year. For many attending, Bobcat Pause serves as more than a remembrance but a moment to reflect on the lives behind the names.

VocaLibre, the student choir, sang “Never Alone” to start the ceremony, with memorial tables displaying photos and personal items throughout the room. Gizelle Flores, pre-med junior and member of the Honors College and Kappa Delta Chi, read aloud the names of those passed to honor them.

Abby Myers, student body president, said it is important to honor Bobcats who have passed because they are remembered for their lasting impact on the community they are part of.

“I think because it shows us how valuable this community is,” Myers said. “Because not only are we invested in a student while you go here, but if you also pass away, you’re still apart of the community.”

The memorial opened to the campus community at 5 p.m. and the ceremony started at 5:30 p.m., however, families were invited to arrive before the ceremony started to create personal tributes for their loved ones, displaying photos and meaningful items on tables.

Valerie L. Holmes, associate vice president for student success and dean of students welcomed guests and Texas State President Kelly Damphousse offered words of comfort throughout the ceremony.

Myers said Bobcat Pause is important to her, even though she didn’t personally know those being honored.

“It shows us how valuable this community is,” Myers said. “Even if faculty or students leave or pass away, they’re still a part of it.”

Students come to the event to reflect on the meaning of community, to recognize the lives that helped shape the university and highlights how each person at Texas State leaves an impact on the university community, Myers said.

“You’re not just this number here at Texas State. You are a person, an individual who had a whole story and a whole life,” Myers said.

Lloyd Wright, who taught graduate students in psychology and special education at Texas State for 30 years was being honored. His wife, Nina Wright said the event allows colleagues, friends, students and all the people who knew her husband throughout his career to share their memories with him.

“This one was especially meaningful, because two of his colleagues that I knew for so long also passed during the last year,” Wright said.

Wright said the ceremony highlights the lasting connections formed during her husband’s decades at the university.

At the end of the ceremony, Wright said she hopes her husband is remembered for the impact he had on others.

“I hope they remember the good things he did for them,” Wright said.

Denisa Smart, former dean of McCoy College of Business, said she has attended multiple Bobcat Pause ceremonies and views the event as one of the university’s strongest traditions.

“We knew a lot of the people that had passed away. So, it’s good to take a moment and reflect,” Smart said. “We stop, and we reflect on how meaningful it is for us all to be Bobcats in some fashion, and it brings out the humanity in all of us.”

Smart said the ceremony reflects the humanity within the university community and allows people to come together for a moment of reflection, regardless of their role or connection to those being honored.

As the ceremony concluded, families and guests remained in the ballroom, embracing one another and revisiting memorial tables before quietly departing.

A full list of those honored, along with details about the memorial service, can be found on the university’s Bobcat Pause website.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed Myers as the person who read the student honorees. That has since been updated.