Survey results show freshman class highly involved

Results show 72% of students lend at least one hour of time weekly

By: Madiha Rizvi

Posted: 4/23/08

More than 80 percent of students at Texas A&M are involved in extracurricular activities. Many of those students say they become involved because the experience helps them grow the skills necessary to take them into the future.

"One of the primary contributing factors for students coming here [Texas A&M] is not a question of if you get involved, it is a question of when you will get involved," said Kevin Jackson, assistant vice president for Student Affairs.

"It is an ethos that you are going to be something bigger than yourself. From the moment you step into campus, it is an understanding that you are going to contribute," he said.

A national survey, Your First College Year 2003, found that Aggies are coming in and becoming involved. The survey measured involvement of freshmen at the end of their first year of college. The results showed 72 percent of A&M freshmen spent at least one hour per week participating in student organizations compared to 55 percent of freshmen at other public institutions.

"I am part of Delta Kappa Delta, which is a South Asian Service sorority, and I attend events from other organizations as a patron," said Maryann Ansari, a sophomore biomedical science major. "Whenever I attend these events, I feel like I am part of their organization and embrace the organization's beliefs. This helps me grow within myself as I feel like I am part of many organizations and helping them with their causes."

Involvement has many facets, one of them being how it is a part of student development, happening outside the classroom.

"Going to an opera of performing arts, theater, to go to a cultural event that is different from the culture they have grown up in and I think that this is the extension of the learning that takes place outside the classroom," Jackson said.

The academic component is the primary focus of education, Jackson said, and involvement helps them test and supplement their classroom learning.

"My main goal in life is to be a practicing physician, and I realize that occupation comes with a lot of responsibilities," said Ahsan Farooqi, a senior biomedical science major. "The main quality I see that differentiates between a good physician and bad one is leadership. Texas A&M has definitely helped me cultivate my leadership skills [because of involvement] in this regard which I hope to apply one day in the future," said Ahsan Farooqi, a senior biomedical science major said.

Orgmatch, a program on the website for student sctivities, is one resource. It is a 15-minute survey helping students identify their interests and, based on how they answer the survey, it will match them with organizations.

"If 25 organizations come up, for example, which are well suited for you, then you can get the contact information for the organization or attend to a meeting. You can therefore take the interaction further. Looking at about 850 organizations can be daunting and overwhelming and this is a way to make the process quicker," said David Stackman, the director of student activities.

"The great thing about involvement is the ability of to improve the quality of life through the product you produce like the Big Event," Jackson said. "There are over a thousand families in Bryan and College Station areas who the students come out to help. There is an interaction within these families and these college students which leaves a lasting impression on both parties."

Jackson added: "It did not stop with just creating the Big Event. We have an outreach branch and it has helped other universities create their own form of Big Event. Our reaching out to them has made similar events on their campus."

Most of the time, they find what they want to do and they take off. Other times, people find other interest that they want to pursue as their part of their education. In this way, Jackson said, students have a chance to test their education.

"We are much more intentional here in developing leadership skills as compared to the other universities that I have worked at," Stackman said, adding, " Most of the students understand the value of their involvement and that it is just not providing a service to the greater community, but they are aware of the development of skills. This self awareness and this cultivating of skills are attributes that they will take with them outside college."

Becoming a leader not only involves being in charge but it means to take decisions for the betterment of others and the organizations that one is involved in.

"Social skills and leadership skills are things that can be taught, but will never be fully learned until practiced," Farooqi said. "Getting involved on campus has definitely helped with dealing with people, difficult situations, and has vastly improved my decision-making abilities."

There are 847 student groups and organizations in which students can get involved.

"Over the past two decades that I have seen it, our students have been involved and continue to be involved, and they want to be involved in things that are meaningful," Jackson said. "They want to be a part of something social but the most important part is that they want feel like they made a difference. This is the common theme that I see for Aggies, It is 'I want be a part of something bigger than myself and I want to know that I made a difference through that effort.'"