Freshman, transfers and current students alike gathered in the Memorial Student Center Sunday Sept. 3 to walk through the nearly 500 student organizations and find their perfect fit on campus.
Kaitlyn Simmons, economics junior and director of MSC Open House, began working on the biannual event when she got her position last April, making it about six months in the making.
Simmons said it takes a lot of teamwork to make the MSC Open House happen.
“I have a couple really great members and a lot of really awesome volunteers, so volunteer training on what to look out for and then making sure that we have a really clear registration process for all the organizations,” Simmons said.
This semester’s Open House had 470 organizations participate, Simmons said, and they hope to host more in the future.
Kim Nguyen, sociology junior and national ambassador for her sorority, Sigma Phi Omega, said they have participated in MSC Open House for years and that it is beneficial for their organization.
“MSC, I feel like it’s where a lot freshman and people who want to join new orgs come, so it’s a good way to not advertise, but put out our name,” Nguyen said. “I feel like it’s always crowded at MSC Open House, so it’s a good turn out all the time.”
Nguyen said participating in MSC Open House has given her sorority a good opportunity to recruit.
“A lot of our girls, actually, that we talk to came from us talking to them at MSC,” Nguyen said. “And they always come back to our events and say ‘oh yeah we met you and we wanted to come back to talk to y’all more.’ So yeah, definitely, MSC Open House does help us out.”
Jessica Olalde, animal science freshman, said she attended` Open House to find out what organizations are available for her to potentially join.
“I just wanted to get more involved,” Olalde said. “I saw a preview online and it interested me so I wanted to have a better look into it.”
Olalde said the organizations that stuck out to her were the Pre-Vet Society, TAMU Cupcakes and PAWS, thelast because of her love of dogs.
Olalde made her way through the crowds with her friend Alexia Marez, biomedical science freshman, who said she came for similar reasons.
“I came to see the different organizations, to see what would fit me best, with my personality and interests,” Marez said.
The volunteer organizations were of the most interest to, Marez said.
“I like the Pre-Med Society, the Red Cross Association, because I like to volunteer and do stuff like that,” Marez said. “I like to be out in the community and help out.”
With over 1,000 organizations A&M, MSC Open House serves to help students find the ones they want to join. Open House is held at the beginning of every semester has been part of campus life since the 1950s, according to their website.