The Big Event 2023: Bigger and Better Than Ever    

Every year, students from Texas A&M University at Galveston take part in The Big Event. This single-day event wholly dedicated to selfless service gives students the opportunity to give back to their community.

Since its inception in College Station in 1982, The Big Event has grown to national proportions. “As the largest student-run single-day of volunteering in the country, the Big Event is a tradition rooted in selfless service for over forty years,” Smith said. “I think it’s so important to give back to the Galveston community that we call home by lending a helping hand everywhere we can,” said Big Event Director Jensen Smith ‘23.

Volunteers painted, cleaned up trash, helped at the public library, planted trees and more, and with over 400 students and 21 different sites, this year saw the most volunteers since before the pandemic. This event is the exemplification of each of the Aggie Core Values–Respect, Excellence, Leadership, Loyalty, Integrity, and Selfless Service–it’s what Texas

 A&M is all about. The turnout far surpassed the organization’s officers’ participation goals and possibly broke a record for the largest Galveston Big Event ever, Smith told bldg. 311.

The Big Event gives students the opportunity to say “thank you” to the community. Sites included schools across the island, the Rosenberg Library, Galveston’s Own Farmers Market, Seawolf Park and more. Local residents, schools and business owners look forward to the annual event, which strengthens the relationship between Texas A&M University at Galveston and the larger Galveston community, separated only by a drawbridge.

Congratulations to the team that made this year’s event such a success and to each and every volunteer. Smith said “The togetherness we experience by serving with each other helps strengthen the Aggie family.” In the wake of The Big Event, one thing is for certain: the Aggie Spirit is alive and well in Galveston.