The Hobo Day Committee thrives on tradition, and what better way to continue that tradition than passing on the legacy through families?

Junior agricultural communications major Mariah Kessler is following in her mother’s footsteps on the Hobo Day Committee and in other areas of life.

“I joined the Hobo Day Committee kind of because of my mom,” Mariah said. “She has been such a great role model to me and has inspired me in so many different ways.”

Mariah’s mother, Colette Adrian Kessler, graduated from SDSU in 1989 with a double major in speech and journalism. She is now the state public affairs officer for the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

This mother and daughter duo share many commonalities, including attending SDSU exactly 30 years apart, living in the same residence hall, having a strong passion for agriculture and being involved on campus.

Colette was on Students’ Association and completed three minors, while Mariah is involved in Chi Omega and is president of the Collegiate Farm Bureau. The rarest commonality they share, however, the Hobo Day Committee.

Mariah is the dignitaries coordinator for the parade, while Colette was Hobo Week publicity chair.

“A parent can help their child to grow up to be independent thinkers, so her decision to go to SDSU and join the committee was her own, and I was tickled by that,” Colette said. “It’s fun as a parent to see your kids grow and develop and make choices that are for good positive things.”

Miranda Mack, senior music education major and assistant pooba for marketing, also has former and current family connections on the Hobo Day Committee.

She has been on the committee with her older sister Maddie for a year and is currently working alongside her younger sister Marlee. She said her older sister Maddie was largely the reason she joined the Hobo Day Committee.

“If Hobo Day is about anything, it’s about tradition and legacy,” Mack said. “I think what makes all of this cooler and worthwhile is that it has been handed down and passed on.”

Mack is also Mariah’s “big” in Chi Omega, meaning she’s her designated big sister.

Colette said Hobo Day has changed since she was part of the committee.

“It’s just a lot different now with social media and digital communications, cell phones,” Colette said. “I think there’s so much more communication that’s happening that it helps create a buzz that wasn’t possible when I was on the committee.”

One thing that remains a constant through the years is the family’s love for the parade, which both Colette and Mariah said is their favorite part of Hobo Day.

Mariah aspires to follow her mother’s footsteps by working in communications in agriculture, just as she’s followed her mother’s footsteps through involvement at SDSU.

“Being a legacy is so cool. Just being able to say I did something that my mom did in college is awesome,” Mariah said. “If I have kids in the future and they decide to come to SDSU, they will have the opportunity to follow in our footsteps which I think is so cool.”