
For one day each year, thousands of Texas A&M University students roll up their sleeves and give back to Bryan College Station residents during what has become the largest student-run service project in the nation. More than 15,000 students now participate in the Big Event, which began in 1982. It is organized by a committee of Texas A&M University’s student government and typically serves 2,500 local residents. However, after its cancellation in March last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Big Event team has had to take another look at how to best complete its mission of saying thank you to the community.
In years past, yardwork was the primary means by which the students showed their appreciation. “We rebuilt the Big Event from the ground-up this year, and it’s allowed us to re-evaluate and figure out how we can improve,” says Jordan Newsom, co-recruitment executive of the Big Event. “There are so many different options for us to serve in such unprecedented times, and we’ve enjoyed being able to refocus and rebrand, reminding us why this organization came to be in the first place.”

Both virtual and in-person service projects will be options this year, Newsom says. The Big Event team wants residents to be creative in their requests — not every request has to pertain to a physical need, she says. “We don’t know the need you have, but we would love to be able to meet it, whether that be putting on a cute skit for your kids to watch or tutoring them in math,” Newsom says. “We’ve talked about playing chess, checkers, or Battleship online — or even just video-calling people who may not be able to interact in-person right now.”
“Residents are always ready and waiting to sign up,” says Connor Harwell, Newsom’s partner and the event’s co-recruitment executive. “We opened sign-ups in early November this year to give residents the opportunity to understand what we’re doing to keep everyone safe and healthy. We’ve had a lot of people sign up already, and we expect a large number of people to sign up on the traditional January 1 date.”

The Big Event has already received hundreds of registrations for 2021, so it is important for residents to request service sooner rather than later, says Harwell. “We plan to serve 2,500 people again this year, and we typically have 100 to 200 on our waiting list before we cut it off. Unfortunately, once we fill those spots and pass the registration deadline mid-February, there’s nothing we can do besides encourage people to sign up next year.”
Another change to this year’s event is its service radius, which has been reduced in hopes of lessening exposure time among carpoolers, says Harwell. Organizers reduced the event’s range this year from a 25- to a 15-mile radius from the Koldus building on campus “as a safety precaution,” he says, which means that some residents who have been eligible in the past will not be able to sign up.

To sign up, residents can “go to bigeventonline.tamu.edu/jobrequest and select what kind of job they want,” says Harwell. “Two of our staff members will get in contact with them in the spring, at which time they will determine what needs to be done, as well as how many tools and students are necessary. This year, we are only allowing a maximum of 10 students per household.”
Staff members will perform in-person job checks for in-person service projects and virtual job checks for virtual projects, Newsom says. “On March 27, if in-person, student volunteers will show up with the necessary tools, socially distanced, wearing masks, and with everything sanitized as best as possible,” Harwell explains. “All in-person work will be done outside to help prevent COVID-19 transmission. This is really a different year because it allows for less resident-student interaction, but it’s an easy process to sign up and the minimal paperwork is virtual.”

The Big Event will take place on Saturday, March 27.
- Resident registration is open NOW.
- Resident registration closes in mid-February.
- Residents can register at bigeventonline.tamu.edu/jobrequest.
For more information, visit bigeventonline.tamu.edu.