Hannah Franke: Local student thrives in cosplay club
As a College Station native, Hannah Franke always considered Texas A&M University as one of her top school choices. But it wasn’t until she attended the Geosciences Exploration Summer Program (GeoX) during her sophomore year that she made her final decision.
GeoX is an exclusive opportunity to work alongside top-notch geoscientists researching every aspect of our environment — from the heights of the atmosphere to the depths of ocean floor trenches and on to the extraterrestrial mountains of Mars. During the week, students are immersed in hands-on field experience and utilize state-of-the-art technology across all domains of geosciences.
“Just knowing that Texas A&M is one of the top geosciences colleges in the U.S. made it really convenient,” Franke said. “So why would I go anywhere else when I can get the best education right here in my hometown?”
Her interest in geosciences started a long time ago. She was always a “rock nerd,” but fell in love with gems and minerals in high school after visiting her first rock shop. Hannah was collecting different things and creating artwork, so she merged the interests and started making jewelry. And just like that, her company Hannah Franke Wire Wrap was created. Her products can be viewed and purchased on Etsy.
What is Cosplay?
Hannah’s interest in cosplay started around age 11. Cosplay is defined as the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book or video game. Hannah describes it as the art of costuming, taking a character that already exists, bringing them to life and figuring out how this character's designs translate to the real world. Initially Hannah’s family didn’t support her new hobby. She was told things like “cosplayers don’t have friends” or “cosplay is a nerdy thing.” Eventually she stopped caring what others thought, and by high school she was creating outfits through thrifting or clothes already in her wardrobe. For example, she would utilize dress up days at school to test her creativity.
From little support to now serving as president of Texas A&M’s Cosplay Club, Hannah appreciates the growing cosplay community in Aggieland. When she joined the club in 2019, there were six members. Her most recent count showed a total of 47 members.
“You don’t think of Texas A&M and say ‘Wow, there’s so many cosplayers there,’” Hannah said. “But the cosplay community is definitely way bigger than you would think. It’s been crazy to see how many people have come out of the woodwork to join.”
Most of the members are new to the art and working on their first or second cosplay. There’s a handful of members who are experienced and they usually become officers. Hannah considers herself the mother hen of the group, but everyone is always willing to help.
“One of my favorite parts of the club is that we can just ping pong ideas off of each other,” Hannah said. “At meetings, everybody's always focused on helping each other save money and get the best deals on how to make the best product possible.”
The Cosplay Club meets once a week at Rudder Tower. Every other week they host informational panel style meetings where the officers put together a presentation about a topic. For example, they may discuss convention etiquette or how to handle a convention emergency.
Through this club, Hannah has been able to find her community — which is something that she appreciated as a transfer student. She attended Blinn at the Bryan campus for three semesters before transferring to Texas A&M. While at Blinn, she served as historian for the Student Government Association.
Club Culture at Texas A&M
Beyond the Cosplay Club, Hannah said there’s an outpouring of support for student organizations at Texas A&M. It’s one of her favorite things about the university because that type of culture isn’t everywhere. Hannah has friends at other schools who have struggled to start clubs. But at Texas A&M that’s not a problem — with more than 1,100 active student organizations, there’s still room for more.
In addition to the supportive and welcoming community, Hannah loves how diverse the Cosplay Club.
“There's a misconception that cosplayers are one very textbook type of person and that’s not true,” she said. “We literally have students from all different majors and all different walks of life.”
As Hannah concludes her time at Texas A&M, she hopes to continue wearing her big pink frilly dress around campus to serve as a reminder that it’s OK to be yourself. By wearing alternative fashion and simply existing in a space as big as Texas A&M, she’s empowering others to do the same.
Post-graduation, Hannah plans to conduct gem and mineral research while pursuing a master’s degree in planetary geology. She advises prospective students to get plugged into student organizations.
“Everybody has a place where they can thrive, so you've got to put that effort into finding where it is,” Hannah said. “Once you find that place, it’s only up from there. Your place and your people can really change your life.”
As a College Station native, Hannah Franke always considered Texas A&M University as one of her top school choices. But it wasn’t until she attended the Geosciences Exploration Summer Program (GeoX) during her sophomore year that she made her final decision.
GeoX is an exclusive opportunity to work alongside top-notch geoscientists researching every aspect of our environment — from the heights of the atmosphere to the depths of ocean floor trenches and on to the extraterrestrial mountains of Mars. During the week, students are immersed in hands-on field experience and utilize state-of-the-art technology across all domains of geosciences.
“Just knowing that Texas A&M is one of the top geosciences colleges in the U.S. made it really convenient,” Franke said. “So why would I go anywhere else when I can get the best education right here in my hometown?”
Her interest in geosciences started a long time ago. She was always a “rock nerd,” but fell in love with gems and minerals in high school after visiting her first rock shop. Hannah was collecting different things and creating artwork, so she merged the interests and started making jewelry. And just like that, her company Hannah Franke Wire Wrap was created. Her products can be viewed and purchased on Etsy.
What is Cosplay?
Hannah’s interest in cosplay started around age 11. Cosplay is defined as the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book or video game. Hannah describes it as the art of costuming, taking a character that already exists, bringing them to life and figuring out how this character's designs translate to the real world. Initially Hannah’s family didn’t support her new hobby. She was told things like “cosplayers don’t have friends” or “cosplay is a nerdy thing.” Eventually she stopped caring what others thought, and by high school she was creating outfits through thrifting or clothes already in her wardrobe. For example, she would utilize dress up days at school to test her creativity.
From little support to now serving as president of Texas A&M’s Cosplay Club, Hannah appreciates the growing cosplay community in Aggieland. When she joined the club in 2019, there were six members. Her most recent count showed a total of 47 members.
“You don’t think of Texas A&M and say ‘Wow, there’s so many cosplayers there,’” Hannah said. “But the cosplay community is definitely way bigger than you would think. It’s been crazy to see how many people have come out of the woodwork to join.”
Most of the members are new to the art and working on their first or second cosplay. There’s a handful of members who are experienced and they usually become officers. Hannah considers herself the mother hen of the group, but everyone is always willing to help.
“One of my favorite parts of the club is that we can just ping pong ideas off of each other,” Hannah said. “At meetings, everybody's always focused on helping each other save money and get the best deals on how to make the best product possible.”
The Cosplay Club meets once a week at Rudder Tower. Every other week they host informational panel style meetings where the officers put together a presentation about a topic. For example, they may discuss convention etiquette or how to handle a convention emergency.
Through this club, Hannah has been able to find her community — which is something that she appreciated as a transfer student. She attended Blinn at the Bryan campus for three semesters before transferring to Texas A&M. While at Blinn, she served as historian for the Student Government Association.
Club Culture at Texas A&M
Beyond the Cosplay Club, Hannah said there’s an outpouring of support for student organizations at Texas A&M. It’s one of her favorite things about the university because that type of culture isn’t everywhere. Hannah has friends at other schools who have struggled to start clubs. But at Texas A&M that’s not a problem — with more than 1,100 active student organizations, there’s still room for more.
In addition to the supportive and welcoming community, Hannah loves how diverse the Cosplay Club.
“There's a misconception that cosplayers are one very textbook type of person and that’s not true,” she said. “We literally have students from all different majors and all different walks of life.”
As Hannah concludes her time at Texas A&M, she hopes to continue wearing her big pink frilly dress around campus to serve as a reminder that it’s OK to be yourself. By wearing alternative fashion and simply existing in a space as big as Texas A&M, she’s empowering others to do the same.
Post-graduation, Hannah plans to conduct gem and mineral research while pursuing a master’s degree in planetary geology. She advises prospective students to get plugged into student organizations.
“Everybody has a place where they can thrive, so you've got to put that effort into finding where it is,” Hannah said. “Once you find that place, it’s only up from there. Your place and your people can really change your life.”