Behind The Scenes Of The Big Event

Thousands of Texas A&M students fanned out across Aggieland on Saturday, tackling thousands of individual service projects as part of a massive annual show of gratitude to local residents.

The Big Event is the nation's largest one-day collegiate service project, and it has been replicated at universities around the country. Many former Texas A&M students also participate in Big Event-style service projects in their local communities, often coordinated by a local A&M Club or through their workplace.

Although The Big Event is executed on a single spring day, planning and preparation is a year-long effort.

Steve Kuhlmann of the Bryan-College Station Eagle took a look at the work that goes into making The Big Event successful. He notes that the students organizers manage a $150,000 budget (all donated, including from The Assocation of Former Students) and a massive quantity of tools. They also have to organize a "staff" of thousands of volunteers working at locations across Brazos County.

Dalton Harris 17, this year's director for The Big Event, told the Eagle that the drive to serve the community is the greatest motivating factor for every person who gets involved in The Big Event: "We wouldn't do what we're doing without an undying need to serve our residents in this community."

Read Kuhlmann's full story in the Eagle at tx.ag/BigEvent17.