About 21,000 Texas A&M students attended the 35th annual Big Event of the school. It is the largest one-day, student-led community service project in the country.
According to the event's official website, the Big Event was introduced way back in 1982. Each spring, students at Texas A&M University come together to give back to their community as their way of showing gratitude to the residents of Bryan and College Station.
Students have completed service projects like yard work, window washing and painting for residents in the area. The Big Event is a member of the Student Government Association and a recognized student organization of the university.
This year, the 2017 Big Event was held at Kyle Field Plaza last Saturday. It kicked off with a ceremony with entertainment by DJ Mike. The speaker was Mr. Tyson Voelkel.
USA Today College reported that companies like KIND, Red Bull, Slovacek Sausage and Starbucks sponsored the event and provided free food for the students. The volunteers then went to more than 2,000 job sites across the Bryan and College Station area.
Over the years, the Big Event has spread to 126 additional schools all over the world. It has continued its legacy of students saying "thank you" to the community that gives them a home.
Dalton Harris, director of the Big Event and senior computer engineering major at Texas A&M, led a team of more than 357 staff members. They are delegated to committees, executive boards and the staff.
Speaking to The Bryan-College Station Eagle, Harris noted that the experience of organizing the event and managing the $150,000 budget for it is an experience that he and his peers can bring to their professional lives. The organization has helped them lead, grow and serve people.
The budget was used to purchase or replace the paint and tools used by the students each year. The Big Event is led by a 12-member core team but it needed more than 300 student participants on the day.
