BIG Event-Exhibiting Values

Community service is the activity that made me realize how real life experiences and interactions can teach us more than words in a textbook can. All my life, and especially in my college career, professors have emphasized the importance of working in a team, giving back to the community, and embracing new challenges. It was not until the "Big Event" that my interest to work on community service projects with my peers became a passion and a hobby.

Throughout my freshmen year, I have made visits to BUILD, a facility that builds portable clinics for underprivileged rural areas lacking hospitals and medical care. Healthcare and giving back to others has always been something I loved because knowing that our efforts can bring a smile to a person's face has motivated me. Assisting in the development of these clinics would bring tears to my eyes as I we were touching the walls that would soon bring in and treat sick, unfortunate families. BUILD was every week, but I wanted something more than just one organization; I wanted to do something for my own community as well.

This is when I decided to join my friend's Big Event crew. Big Event is an annual community service project Texas A&M University conducts that allows students to give back to the community of College Station/Bryan. My friend who I had joined for was now on a different team , leaving me to work with 10 other strangers for the next 9 hours. Waking up at 7 a.m. and sweating in the heat until 4 p.m. was worth it . My team was introduced to a very welcoming local family who was very active in gardening. We split up sending 5 people to the backyard and 6 to the front yard. A couple of us girls began to coat the rusted fences with sealer protectant, while a few others followed behind with the finishing paint after the sealant was dry. It became obvious that having 1 person continuously standing and sitting back and forth became tiring fast, and we only completed 7 fence poles. This is when the acquaintances I was working with became friends and we decided to split up the task. 2 people would work on the top areas and remain standing, while the others would work on the bottom.

The other teammates and I had slowly began to get to know each other and joking around.We began to help one another, come up with ways to speed up our work by working together on tasks, and get comfortable speaking to one another. This community service project soon became a group adventurous task and time began to fly. We acted as if we had known each other by messing around, taking pictures together, and wishing time would slow down . I began to love the people I was working with. I loved the thought that thousands of Texas A&M students were sacrificing their sleep and time and putting in effort for the sake of others. This was the first time I felt the values of this university as I was also living them. We were exhibiting selfless service, and maintained integrity and respect with the host who welcomed us in and trusted us with their home.

This community service experience made me realize that there is a special kind of joy in giving to others. The opportunity to work with people who have the same mentality as you and similar attitude to help others made the experience worthwhile. Since this day, I have actively participated in Habitat for Humanity and food drives in Bryan monthly with Muslim Student Association. I encourage my friends and peers to take a couple hours out at least once to experience community service, or A&M's well-known "Big Event."