Texas A&M offers the opportunity for students to hold membership in over 1,000 student organizations ranging from pre-professional, social, academic or service based organizations.
While some boast involvement from upwards of hundreds of students, other smaller organizations provide tightly-knit communities for specified interests. Because A&M is home to more than 60,000 students, there is a group for almost every passion.
The Student Event Planners Association, SEPA, is one of the student organizations with a smaller membership. At meetings, members frequently interact with professionals in the industry. In past meetings, this has included the CEO of the Houston Rodeo. SEPA president Heather Herrick said being a part of a small organization can provide vital opportunities for networking.
“Our mission is to develop student event planners into professionals,” Herrick said. “It’s an organization that caters to millennials in the event planning and hospitality industry. We also provide opportunities for our members to participate in events as a volunteer or as an intern. Just getting hands-on experience in the industry is something that’s really important.”
Founded in 2013, DJs of Aggieland is an organization that seeks to educate students in the process of creating and producing electronic music, building a community founded on collaboration. Clayton Wells, computer science senior and DJs of Aggieland president, said the organization looks to help its members gain experience in the industry.
“Primarily what we do is hire out our members to student organizations or fraternities or whoever needs them in the Bryan/College Station area,” Wells said. “We’re booking as far as Austin this semester.”
The Sam Houston Sanders Corps Center Guard is a service organization housed in the Corps Center. Electronic systems engineering technology junior Dakota Riggs is the Cadet 1st Sergeant of the organization.
“We maintain the Corps Center,” Riggs said “So we do work projects there, and we give tours to prospective students. We’ll also give tours to old Ags who may have never seen the corps center. A while back we had the class of ‘47 reunion so basically whatever happens in the corps center, we’re there working it somehow.”
According to Riggs, small organizations offer unique, distinctive experiences to their members. For the Corps Center Guard, that has included being the honor guard for Chancellor Sharp in the Brownsville parade along with a variety of service opportunities.
“We also go out into the community and do service projects,” Riggs said. “For example, we volunteer at the Bryan Animal Shelter and volunteering at the food bank. We also encourage our members to go out and get involved in other organizations like Build or Habitat for Humanity.”
Sophomore Leaders Impacting, Developing and Educating (SLIDE) is a new sophomore leadership organization recruiting for the first time this fall. Biology and agricultural engineering junior Martha Priestley is one of the directors for SLIDE serving on the development committee. Priestley said she has enjoyed how deeply she has gotten to know other members of her small organization.
“What we’re trying to do is raise awareness about mental health and also sexual assault awareness,” Priestley said. “It’s not only a social committee, it’s about outreach.”
According to Wells, involvement in smaller organizations affords the ability to develop a unique sense of camaraderie. Wells said he has witnessed this firsthand through his experiences in DJs of Aggieland.
“There’s a really strong sense of community,” Wells said. “We all come out to each other’s gigs to support and lend equipment. Our network isn’t huge, but it’s really strong.”