SWAMPSCOTT – One local family is crimson with pride.Harvard University senior Alexander J. (A.J.) Tennant, 22, was elected as First Class Marshall for the Class of 2008.A.J. said he was on Church Street on Tuesday when another student told him he was the first class marshal.”I was really surprised,” he said. “I was really shocked when I found out I was first marshal. I’m so pumped.”Alexandra Monti, who is with the Harvard Alumni Association and acts as the senior class liaison, said there are approximately 1,600 students in the Class of 2008 and A.J. was one of 61 students who ran for the position. There are eight class marshals in all, but only one first class marshal.”He won by a pretty sizeable victory,” she said. “What impressed me is he received a lot of support from other people, who were running against him.”A.J., a government major, said he wants to make a career in the business world and decided to run for class marshal because he has had a great experience at Harvard and wanted to find a way to get more involved and stay involved after graduation.”One of my main motivations for doing it is it’s a great way to stay connected to my class and give back to Harvard,” he said. “When you’re an alumni that’s when you can have the biggest impact on the University.”But before A.J. is an alumnus he has his work cut out for him.Monti said to the best of her knowledge, A.J. is the only first marshal who hails from Swampscott and the marshals’ main duty before graduation is to plan class events, including Class Day and other events leading up to graduation. After graduation, the marshals’ main duty is to organize class reunions.”He will be the point person making a lot of decisions,” she said. “This can be a life position because we like the class marshals to be as involved as possible.”A.J.’s father, Sandy Tennant, said he is incredibly proud of A.J. and his other children as well.”We never dreamed he’d be first marshal of his class,” he said. “He works hard and is very modest. A.J. will be playing some role in the commencement and as first marshal he will be running reunions and organizing fundraising. It’s like being class president.”Sandy said his son is the vice president of Harvard Student Agencies, a $6 million business run by students and is captain of the JV basketball team.Despite his demanding schedule, Sandy said his son always makes time for family.”He tries to make it to all his siblings’ games,” he said. “He’s very into family. All the kids support each other.”Sandy graduated from Harvard in 1974, received a Master’s degree from Harvard in 1975 and in 1983 completed his PhD at Harvard. His daughter Raegan is currently a research assistant at Harvard but Sandy is quick to credit his children’s success to his wife Cindy.”I graduated Summa Cum Lucky,” he said. “Their mother is the reason they have done so well.”