Love in Motion: How This Student’s Memory Lives On in Aggieland

Carrying on his life’s mission, loved ones of Nikman Sarraf ’28 create an endowed scholarship and service-oriented student organization in his honor.

By Kinley Foster ’25

Photos provided by Nina Almasy

February 25, 2026

Nina Almasy pulled into the busy car rider line at Doss Elementary School to pick up her son, Nikman Sarraf. Much to her surprise, as the youngster climbed into the vehicle, his first-grade teacher handed her a brown paper envelope. “Here, this is Nikman’s cash,” she said. Confused, Nina examined the front of the envelope. “$76?” she thought. She looked at the teacher quizzically. “Why don’t you call this phone number?” the teacher said, smiling and indicating that it belonged to a classmate’s mom. “She’ll tell you what it’s all about.”

The moment they arrived home, Nina dialed the number, eager to solve the mystery. Slowly but surely, pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. She listened as the mom explained that their family was in the process of buying a house. Just a few days before, the mom’s daughter, also in first grade, had told this to Nikman and, echoing her parents’ conversation, added that they were “70 short.”

A young Nikman dressed up as a pilot for Halloween.

Whether that meant $70 or $70,000, Nina didn’t know; nevertheless, 6-year-old Nikman, who always kept a stash of birthday cash, went home that afternoon and neatly gathered his entire life savings into his backpack. Without saying a word to anyone, he took the money with him to school the next day and handed it to his classmate. “Seventy dollars is for the house, and the rest is for you,” he told her.

Nina’s heart flooded with grateful awe and realization. “Your son is extremely special,” the mother’s voice rang through the phone.

Those who knew Nikman Sarraf ’28 wholeheartedly agree; he and his signature smile were one in a million. His giving nature and easy friendship, so obviously demonstrated in his early childhood, were something he never outgrew. During his 19 years of life, Nikman managed to touch the hearts of friends and strangers alike, sharing his endless positivity, consistent kindness and joy for life with everyone he met.

Enrolling in the Texas A&M-Blinn TEAM Program — a collaborative, co-enrollment partnership between Texas A&M University and the Blinn College District — in fall 2024, Nikman had big plans to become an Aggie engineer. Tragically, his unexpected passing in early 2025 prevented him from seeing that dream lived out. While his opportunity to graduate from Texas A&M University may have been cut short, the countless friends whose lives he touched provided a way for his loving spirit to live on in Aggieland through the Nikman Sarraf ’28 Memorial Endowed Scholarship.

A Pattern for Life

A survivor of childhood leukemia, Nikman knew what it meant to face personal challenges. His mother credits this early season, in which he underwent intensive treatment from ages 3 to 7, with helping mold his character of love and gentleness and setting a pattern for the rest of his life. Determined, thoughtful and unassuming, Nikman focused his energy and attention on serving others, showing up for them in meaningful ways. “His care for other people was unlike anyone I’ve ever met,” close friend Molly Donohoe '28 said. “Wherever he was, he would always make sure to go up to anyone who looked out of place to connect with them and each person he knew. He had this special way of making you feel seen, and not necessarily in a verbal way.”

Nikman enjoyed playing on the basketball team throughout middle and high school.

While never a big talker, Nikman’s presence alone immediately spoke to his dedicated, trustworthy nature. When he was a junior in high school, he worked at the Jewish Community Center in his hometown of Austin, and before long, he was entrusted with the daily task of opening and closing the center.

“He was such a responsible kid,” Nina explained. “He tried to do his best at everything he embarked on.” This dedication extended to practicing basketball, cooking new recipes and devoting careful attention to his schoolwork.

From Austin to Aggieland

Nikman came to College Station from a proud family of The University of Texas graduates. Despite the jokes that they couldn’t be friends with him during sports games between the rival teams, he fell in love with Aggieland at first sight. Nina remembers how impressed Nikman was by the engineering student presentations he witnessed during his first campus visit. Always methodically minded in his culinary concoctions and large-scale LEGO creations, Nikman had a special knack for building and organization. “We knew without a doubt he was going to be an engineer,” his mother said.

In the time Nikman called College Station home, he became an active member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, “Fiji,” and quickly made many friends. Matty Chan ’28 met Nikman in the fall of their freshman year when they both rushed the fraternity. Initially bonding over their shared interest in music and basketball, the friendship grew during the weeks and months that followed.

“He absolutely loved talking about his favorite artists,” Matty recalled. “One day, he convinced me that he could name every single track on Travis Scott’s ‘Utopia’ album. We listened to it, and he guessed them all in a matter of five seconds.”

Though Matty only knew Nikman for a few months, he felt like they had been friends for years. When Nikman was involved in a pedestrian accident near the Texas A&M campus and passed away from related injuries, it understandably came as a shock.

In the days that followed, Matty’s mind turned to his fall semester experience with the Gilbert Leadership Conference, an organization named after a student who had passed away as a sophomore 20 years prior. “What stood out to me about the organization was that David Gilbert was remembered so long after all his friends had graduated,” he said. “That’s what I wanted for Nikman.”

A Friend to All
“Nikman treated everyone with kindness and respect. He always saw the good in people and could put a smile on anyone’s face.”
- Simon Burns '28
An Old Soul
“We always said he was an old soul. It felt like he had been here before and he knew something we didn’t about life.”
- Maisy Groos '28
An Angel From Heaven
“Nikman was someone I could go to about anything. If I was down or upset, he was always smiling, brightening my day. I will always remember how he kept me in check with school and helped me achieve my goals. Nikman was an angel from heaven.”
- Jett Joseph '28

Matty and his pledge class, Gamma Mu, set out to create a similar student organization in Nikman’s memory at Texas A&M. Though still in the final stages of production, the Nikman Sarraf Foundation, a service-oriented organization for freshmen, is projected to launch in March. Its motto, “Smile, live and love like Nikman,” is a phrase that has been sported on wristbands since his passing and is also etched on the front of Nikman’s headstone.

“The service events will be centered around things that he loved, like basketball and cooking,” Matty explained. “For example, putting on a charity basketball tournament or donating to the local food bank. We want to benefit the community while honoring his legacy and the things he stood for."

A Living Legacy of Love

Around the same time the idea for a student organization was planted, Mary Fincken, former president of the Fiji Moms Club, and other club members began collecting donations to support the Sarraf family. “I knew from the start we wanted the donations to go to a scholarship for students at Texas A&M,” Nina said. “Nikman loved that university.”

On the day of Nikman’s funeral, each printed program contained a link to the memorial scholarship fund established through the Texas A&M Foundation, and his family requested donations to the scholarship in lieu of flowers. Cars lined the streets for miles, marking the largest attendance the Austin funeral home had ever seen. Many whose lives had been impacted by Nikman’s kindhearted and gentle soul were moved to contribute to the scholarship.

“It’s such a testament to his character that everybody who ever met him says the exact same thing,” Matty emphasized. “He didn’t change himself for different people or groups. He was just the same kindhearted person that was always a joy to be around.”

With donations pouring in at a rapid pace, Mary realized that the scholarship was nearing the $25,000 minimum to become an endowed scholarship, one that could be invested and continue giving to Texas A&M students year after year. In June 2025, the Fiji Moms Club generously filled in the remaining gap, and the scholarship reached the endowed level. Total donations at the time of the gift agreement signing in October exceeded the minimum by more than $2,000 for a total of $27,709, one of the fastest-growing funds to reach endowment level that the Foundation has seen to date.

Now, beginning spring 2026, funds have been allocated to provide a $500 scholarship to Aggies for the next two semesters, while the remaining amount is invested to begin collecting interest until it becomes self-sustaining. “This is something that he would have done himself after graduating,” Nikman’s friend, Molly, said with feeling, reflecting on the impact of the scholarship. “He had such a passion for people, and it’s an honor to be part of his legacy.”

For a student whose kindness shone brightest through his actions, establishing a scholarship felt like a continuation of his life’s mission. "Nikman's love is in motion through this scholarship,” Nina expressed. “We know his legacy and support of future Texas A&M students are in good hands.”