An Aggie Tradition: Spend Spring Break Focusing On Service

Texas A&M University students are known for having a strong tradition of community service, and that will be evident on several fronts when thousands of Aggies take off for spring break next week.

When most people think of “college students” and “spring break,” they picture crowded beaches filled with partying students, but for many Aggies, it’s an opportunity to take a break from their academic responsibilities to help others. And many of these students will return from spring break service projects to take part in Big Event, the largest one-day student-run service project in the nation, scheduled for April 2.

Although no central clearinghouse exists to keep track of all of the spring break and year-round service projects being undertaken by Aggies — in many cases, they just do them without public notice or fanfare — several student projects have been confirmed.

While many such projects are expected to be carried out around Texas, those being conducted out of state are more challenging logistically and involve more planning and related activities, so university officials are more aware of them, officials note.

Texas A&M even has a student organization called “Alternative Spring Break” that was formed in 2000 just for the purpose of providing students the opportunity to serve others during their week away from campus. Several groups of Aggies will pay their own way to travel to various places around the country to volunteer their services.

One group of students interested in water conservation and environmental awareness will volunteer at Living Lands and Waters in Memphis, Tenn. Their time will be spent exploring part of the Mississippi River and learning the importance of maintaining a crucial environment while helping on a clean-up project.

Another group will go to New Orleans to volunteer with Animal Rescue of New Orleans. There they will care for mistreated or disabled animals and help those who run the shelter as needed.

Those helping with the Exceptional Foundation of West Tennessee, also in Memphis, will spend their time planning and engaging in activities for those with developmental disabilities such as autism, Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy and other such disorders.

Students volunteering with the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Lawton, Okla. will aid in maintaining this 59,020-acre habitat that is home to mammal, fish, bird and plant species. They will remove trash and invasive plants and lead nature hikes.

The Texas A&M Center in Mexico City and the university’s Soltis Center in Costa Rica have also given Aggies participating in several study-abroad programs an opportunity to serve the communities where the two centers are located.

Every year, during Spring Break, the Memorial Student Center Freshman Leadership International (MSC FLI) embarks on a service trip abroad. The group selects an international location where members can learn about another culture, do community service and make lasting memories. In the past the students have visited Guatemala, where the focus was on agricultural service, and Belize, where they provided potable water.

Last year MSC FLI took a trip to Costa Rica and will return there this year. They work with another group of Aggies, the Freshmen In Service and Hosting (FISH) organization, at Texas A&M’s Soltis Center. The students will spend some time in local elementary schools, where they will provide English-language tutoring and other services. They also will help the center’s staff with rainforest cataloging and trail maintenance, including constructing erosion barriers and installing trail markers and signs.

Members of the Aggie Catholic student organization are taking on two projects this spring break. Fifteen students will be headed to Penitas, Texas to work with the Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary serving the people in south Texas. The group will be painting houses and leading afternoon activities for the children as well as serving in a few other places.

An additional 18 students will go to the mountains of Honduras to serve the people there. Rachael Cadena, a campus minister at St. Mary’s Catholic Center, an Aggie Catholic student organization, says each year the students go on mission trips to the mountains of Honduras where they help with many different projects that are basically helping the poor in Honduras. They also will join other Christian student groups from different colleges and universities working in the area. They travel to a number of small villages offering whatever help is needed.

Other Aggies, individually and in groups, will work with churches, community action agencies and charities as they live out the university’s core values of leadership, excellence, integrity and selfless service.