While she was wearing her Texas A&M graduation cap and stole — quite typical for senior photos — there was one 13-foot-8-inch difference in her photographs.

Yes, we're talking about the huge Texas alligator, and his name is Big Tex.

The Texas-sized gator weighs about 1,000 pounds and holds the national record for the "largest live-captured nuisance alligator," according to Gator Country, which is where Big Tex now lives. Gator Country is located in Beaumont, Texas.

But Noland didn't take her photos with Big Tex just for the fun of it. 

"He's one of my best friends here," the soon to be Aggies alumna told KTXS. 

Noland told The Wichita Eagle that she has been getting to know Big Tex since May 17 as part of her 3-month internship with the alligator adventure park and sanctuary. She'll be graduating with a degree in wildlife ecology this week.