At the beginning of every semester, MSC Open House creates an avenue for organizations from all over campus to come together and recruit new Aggies.
MSC Open House will be held on Sept. 1 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. This semester there will be about 500 organizations present in the MSC, either handing out flyers or standing at booths for students to visit.
Jennifer Egan, MSC Open House director and psychology senior, said it offers a chance for all students, especially freshmen, to find their home at Texas A&M.
“MSC Open House, to me, is a great opportunity for new freshmen,” Egan said. “Coming on to such a huge campus, it might seem intimidating or hard to ground yourself — so I think that it is a strong suit of A&M to have so many great organizations.”
To help students navigate through the various organizations present, MSC Hospitality will provide stations of volunteers in about six different locations. These volunteers are eager to answer questions and equipped with resources like maps, said Alyssa Walz, civil engineering senior and member of MSC Hospitality.
“We’re there to help, whether it’s showing them where the tables are, walking them to that table or just pointing them in that direction,” Walz said. “We’re also there to help them out with all of the events that happened during the day, whether it’s the dances or the singers that are coming out, to help them make sure they see what they want to see.”
The organizations will be divided into sections and spread out through the MSC. The Freshman Leadership Organizations (FLOs) will all be located in Rudder Plaza and stretch to the Rudder Exhibit Hall. Groups with large items, such as the boating and sports clubs, will be located in the Kyle Field Plaza. Other organizations will be grouped based on similar affiliations, such as all Greek life in one place and men’s and women’s organizations in another, Egan said.
Remembering her time as a freshman, Egan said students should come early, bring a bag for flyers, come with a friend, remember the organizations outside the MSC and be courteous to others in the crowded hallways.
“It’s always fun to navigate a with a friend because you both get to see what you’re interested in,” Egan said. “My freshman year, my roommate and I went together. We both ended up applying to the same two orgs, got in and it was cool.”
With so many organizations present, it can get difficult to figure out where to begin. Walz said she urges students to take a map, sit down, find the organizations they want to go see and ask a volunteer for help before getting started.
“We’re there to make your life easier when you’re going through to the Open House,” Walz said. “So many things are going on there and we want to make sure that students get the most out of it because Open House is put on for students by students. It’s there for them.”