This post was written by members of the Texas A&M Parent and Family Advisory Council. All members of the advisory council are parent or family members of current Texas A&M University students.
As humans have the innate drive to connect, contribute, and belong, and that is no different for our students. Even more so as they begin their new lives away from their family and friends, and as parents, we want to support our student’s development of a sense of belonging at their new home. As they begin walking through campus, going to class, living away from home, and being surrounded by other students, it’s hard to imagine them feeling lonely. However, this feeling commonly occurs with new students in their transition.
At Texas A&M University, being involved in student organizations or having an on-campus job is highly encouraged for developing interests, gaining experiences, and making connections and lifelong friendships. Your student is surrounded by peers that have an abundance of extra-curricular interests and experiences and also desire to be involved. However, sometimes it can take a little while for your student to find their perfect match. Opportunities such as Fish Camp, Aggie Transition Camp, and Howdy Camp enable students to walk onto campus with established friendships. Often, these friendships make the transition into a new home much easier, especially as an out-of-state student. Other events, such as Howdy Week or the MSC Open House, extend the opportunity to get to know student organizations and the on-campus resources available. Once on campus, choosing an activity or group to get involved with helps alleviate the potential feelings of loneliness and develop their belonging.
As parents, we can help them by suggesting what they may find interesting. For example, if your student participated in student council in high school, they might be interested in joining the Student Government Association in college. However, it’s important also to support your student’s need to discover the many different opportunities for themselves and find out what they feel would be the best fit.
What does ‘involvement’ look like for your student?
“I encourage my son to find a way to be involved at Texas A&M. He had an amazing ultimate frisbee team in high school. He loved the game, and we encouraged him to investigate playing at A&M. He considered it but, in the end, chose not to play. Instead, he spent much time at the rec center playing basketball and formed a team. As my son found friends through the rec center and basketball, I could hear the excitement in his voice when we spoke as he shared about his games and practices. He seemed less stressed, and he also managed his time better to fit in this extra activity. As parents, we found that we needed to be careful in allowing our son to make choices that worked for him. While his involvement wasn’t the way we imagined, college is a time to try new things and explore new interests!”
“We have three sons with significantly different interests, aspirations, and personalities, and with each of them, we naturally and holistically encouraged them to get involved at A&M. As most students are accepted to A&M with exceptional extracurriculars, our students are used to being involved as an asset to their schools and community. My oldest, a Biomedical Science, pre-med major, was driven to find as much experience as possible in the medical field. By joining TAMECT (Texas A&M Emergency Care Team), he gained much-needed experience, obtained his EMT license, and returned to work part-time for TAMU as an EMT. This experience was a great asset cementing his decision to continue in medicine and ultimately being admitted to Medical School, where he is now in his second year. My middle son, an accounting major, diversified his portfolio by being heavily involved in the University Finance Association, which gave him more exposure to companies and employers in the business world. My youngest, a Poultry Science, technical/pre-vet path major, chose to join the Corps of Cadets, which requires a significant amount of time. Still, because he is pre-vet, he has also made time for the Pre-Vet Society, where he gained distinguished member status his first semester based on his degree of participation. The Pre-Vet Society has allowed him many hands-on experiences, which allow him to fine-tune his specialty interests and opportunities to shadow veterinarians in the local community. He chose to join the Corps to be a part of something very special, grand, and honorable. Having a built-in family formed within the unit from day one, the Corps allowed for the ultimate sense of belonging and value. Although being a “fish” is challenging, requiring extreme discipline, responsibility, and precious time to earn their brass, he is confident in his decision as he will become a well-educated, strong, disciplined, future leader of character.”
How do you support your student’s involvement at Texas A&M?
“In every endeavor my students choose to undertake, I support them fully, especially when it helps their path of success for their future, the creation of lifelong friendships, and to develop of their sense of belonging. As they are involved with groups of students with like interests, friendships are naturally created that will hopefully remain in their future. Encouragement to get involved is as robust as the “Howdy!” at A&M once the student accepts their NSC date and has chosen to become a future Aggie! NSC, Fish Camp, Venture Camp, Howdy Camp, Howdy Week, FOW (Corps of Cadets), Student Government, FLOs, and the many special interest clubs and societies all enlighten and provide students the opportunities to find their coterie and flourish within the remarkably large population of Texas A&M, ultimately making the students’ lives at A&M more meaningful and productively advantageous to all.”
“Encourage your student to pay attention to opportunities that present themselves and to say yes to those opportunities! But also, be patient. If your student doesn’t find something to be involved with right away, don’t fret. It could take several weeks or even the first semester to find the right match. Continue to encourage your student to explore opportunities and not be closed off from trying something new. Being involved is important, and it will make a difference in your student’s overall happiness and success in college. It just might look different than we expected.”
If you have a question for the Aggie Parent and Family Advisory Council or if you have a suggestion for future content that the Advisory Council should cover, please fill out the form at: tx.ag/QuestionsandSuggestions
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