MSC FLI hosted its first Soles 4 Souls campus-wide shoe drive on November 3-7. This community service project collected new and gently used shoes for the global not-for-profit, Soles4Souls, which benefits victims of natural disasters and children in orphanages in the United States and overseas. The mission of Soles4Souls is to fight the devastating impact and perpetuation of poverty through two methods. The organization distributes shoes and clothing directly to people in need as well as sells these items to micro-organizations that create self-sustaining jobs to generate revenue for communities in need. This year 150 pairs of shoes were donated at drop-off boxes in the Memorial Student Center and Commons. Representatives of MSC FLI took the donated shoes to a drop center in Austin, TX over Thanksgiving break.
Friday, December 5, 2014
Monday, November 17, 2014
Monday, November 3, 2014
Eyes Wide Open Week of Awareness
MSC FISH hosted its annual Eyes Wide Open Week of Awareness on October 13-17 to educate Texas A&M students on important topics that many students are unfamiliar with. This service project provides support to non-profit organizations while opening Aggies’ eyes to substantial issues and causes in the local community and around the world. Each FISH committee hosted a day during this week-long event and around 200 Texas A&M students participated each day.
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Whoop! for Troops Returns for its 14th Year!
Executive Director of Community
Service, Jessica Lochte ’15 from Fredericksburg, Texas, is heading up MSC LEAD’s
Whoop! For Troops this year. This community service project is special to her
because “it gives [her] the opportunity to do something great for troops during
the holidays when they are away from their families.” Started in 2003, Whoop!
For Troops sent 4,000 cards and 120 care packages overseas last year. Lochte hopes Aggie will help MSC LEAD
send even more cards and care packages to troops this year!
Labels:
care packages,
donations,
MSC LEAD,
service,
Texas A&M University,
u.s. troops
Monday, June 30, 2014
In Memory of A.P. Wiley, Major Benefactor of MSC Wiley Lecture Series
We are sad to announce the passing last week of A.P. Wiley, Jr. '46, who in 1984, along with his brother James Wiley, Sr. '46, established an endowment to support a new student programming committee at Texas A&M University's Memorial Student Center.
At the time that new committee had just hosted their first lecture, which featured former U.S. President Gerald Ford, former West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, and former British Prime Minister Edward Heath as guest speakers. The two Wiley brothers were so impressed with "how these young people were able to put it all together" that they volunteered to endow the organization, which was named the MSC Wiley Lecture Series in honor of the brothers' generosity.
The committee has continued to hold true to its motto to "bring the world to Texas A&M University" by hosting lecture programs featuring prominent speakers. This past April the organization hosted former U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice and historian Dr. Douglas Brinkley. In November, 2013 the committee hosted a panel discussion on the future of the U.S. military featuring General Stan McChrystal, Ambassador Ryan Crocker, New York Times Foreign Correspondent David Sanger, and General Montgomery Meigs.
Of course Mr. Wiley's philanthropy and service extended to many other endeavors during his lifetime. We invite you to read more about Mr. Wiley's accomplishments.
At the time that new committee had just hosted their first lecture, which featured former U.S. President Gerald Ford, former West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, and former British Prime Minister Edward Heath as guest speakers. The two Wiley brothers were so impressed with "how these young people were able to put it all together" that they volunteered to endow the organization, which was named the MSC Wiley Lecture Series in honor of the brothers' generosity.
The committee has continued to hold true to its motto to "bring the world to Texas A&M University" by hosting lecture programs featuring prominent speakers. This past April the organization hosted former U.S. Secretary of State Dr. Condoleezza Rice and historian Dr. Douglas Brinkley. In November, 2013 the committee hosted a panel discussion on the future of the U.S. military featuring General Stan McChrystal, Ambassador Ryan Crocker, New York Times Foreign Correspondent David Sanger, and General Montgomery Meigs.
Of course Mr. Wiley's philanthropy and service extended to many other endeavors during his lifetime. We invite you to read more about Mr. Wiley's accomplishments.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
MSC FLI’s Annual Donation Drive Benefits Houston’s Burmese Refugee Community
For the past three years, MSC Freshman LeadershipInternational (FLI) has developed a relationship with Life Cycles, (or on facebook) a non-profit
organization in Houston that helps refugees
build new lives in the Bayou
City . In previous years
FLI members have conducted a bicycle drive, collecting used bicycles and
bicycle parts, which they then delivered to Life Cycles founder Jeremy Howell. With
the help of some of the members of the Burmese refugee community, Howell would
repair the bicycles and distribute them to community members.
The bikes are important, says Alex Heinze ’16, Assistant
Director of FLI’s International Service and Outreach subcommittee, because the
refugees would use the bikes to get them to and from work. “They can barely
afford food, much less buying a car,” she says. When a member of the community
receives a bicycle from Life Cycles, she says that means “either the kids can
get to school or the parents can get to their jobs in a way that isn’t
economically expensive.” The refugees,
Heinze says, “want to be successful, and they want to support their families. They’re
using these bikes to support themselves.”
Heinze says that as a freshman last year she was moved by
the refugees’ stories of the persecution and violence they had left behind. For
example, she recounts the trials of Kai, a Burmese refugee that Howell and his
wife, Laurie Stone-Howell, who Heinze says is really “the soul of Life Cycles,”
adopted. She says that Kai and his
brother had been forced to join the national army as pre-teens. When Kai and
his brother escaped the army and returned to their village, the villagers
expelled them out of fear of retribution from the army if they took the two
boys in.
Tuesday, April 15, 2014
Learn About Careers in Public Service at Aggie Vision
Students interested in making a career out of public and
community service—or just have a strong passion for and want to learn more
about community service—have a great opportunity to learn about the non-profit
industry at MSC LEAD’s inaugural Aggie Vision program on Saturday, April 26th.
According the Jessica Lochte, Community Service Director with MSC LEAD, the purpose of the program is to give students the chance to listen to speakers who are already leaders in the non-profit industry and then give them a chance to spend an afternoon working with and learning about a specific non-profit organization.
Lochte says that the day will begin with a free breakfast and a presentation by Gabriella Medina, who is the Executive Chairwoman of the George Bush School Public Service Organization. After the speaker, program attendees will travel to a local non-profit where they will be able to meet with staff members there, learn about the non-profit’s mission, and contribute service to the organization.
Participating non-profits include:
According the Jessica Lochte, Community Service Director with MSC LEAD, the purpose of the program is to give students the chance to listen to speakers who are already leaders in the non-profit industry and then give them a chance to spend an afternoon working with and learning about a specific non-profit organization.
Lochte says that the day will begin with a free breakfast and a presentation by Gabriella Medina, who is the Executive Chairwoman of the George Bush School Public Service Organization. After the speaker, program attendees will travel to a local non-profit where they will be able to meet with staff members there, learn about the non-profit’s mission, and contribute service to the organization.
Participating non-profits include:
- Adopt a Senior
- ChildreNinos
- Keep Brazos Beautiful
- Population Media Center
- Prison Entrepreneurship Program
- Project Unity
- Single Moms Create 4 Change
- Twin City Mission
- Voices for Children CASA
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Kyle Field Day Brings Service and Fun to Blue Bell Park!
“Lend a Hand, Make Your Mark!” That’s the motto for MSC FISH’s Kyle Field Day, an event that gives students the chance to give back to the community at the same time they’re enjoying a day out in the fresh spring air. The fourth edition of Kyle Field Day, which will take place this Sunday, April 13 from noon-4pm, will be a little bit different than past editions because the event’s namesake is currently undergoing a massive renovation. As a result, Blue Bell Park will be the temporary home for Kyle Field Day 2014.
In addition to the new location this year’s event will be bigger than it has ever been with over forty campus and community organizations hosting service and awareness booths. According to Brittany Witt, a Kyle Field Day organizer with MSC FISH, SAS has donated 200 pairs of shoes, which will be decorated and distributed in Mexico “in areas where shoes are a rare commodity.”
According to Katy King, advisor for MSC FISH, attendees are
also encouraged to bring canned foods to Kyle Field Day. “We typically collect
over 700 pounds of food,” she says, adding that “this year we have made plans
to donate what we collect to the 12th Can,” the organization that
operates a food bank for needy students, staff, and faculty here at Texas
A&M University.
Other organizations at Kyle Field Day will provide
information about and opportunities to serve in the areas of global outreach,
animal abuse prevention, youth outreach, environmental preservation, and
disabilities and special needs.
The day’s activities will also include games, food, and
entertainment. To learn more visit MSC
FISH’s web site, their Facebook page, or follow them on Twitter. We’ve also
posted some photos on our flickr page and a video on our YouTube page.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
MSC Sending Students South for Spring Break Service
Instinct and tradition lead students south during spring break, especially when weather patterns make College Station feel like the icy Upper Midwest. While students across Texas will be hoping for beach weather temperatures on South Padre Island, Will Hughes '16, the Travel Coordinator for MSC Freshmen Leadership International (FLI), has his sights set lower--on the map, that is. The sophomore Geology major from The Woodlands is coordinating MSC FLI's annual spring break service trip to Costa Rica, where the weather will certainly be warmer than it is here.
Trip Planning Since School Started
Hughes and his team have been working on trip logistics and making travel arrangements since mid-September. "Most of my fall has been involved in sitting down and working out the budget, flights, hotel rooms, and getting pricing figured out," Hughes says, but he and his team also conducted an applicant review and selection process, began fundraising for the trip, and strove to communicate as much information about the trip as early as possible to the twenty-two freshmen selected to participate .
"That was a big thing I focused on. Last year, when I went home for Christmas break I told my family that I was going on this trip but I wasn't able to give them many concrete details because I didn't really know any," Hughes says. He wanted students to be armed with more details about the trip, so at pre-departure meetings this fall Hughes says "we were able to give a couple of presentations and we had a really good handout, a rough itinerary and a general overview of the trip--where we’re staying, what we’re doing, where we’re going."
Trip Planning Since School Started
Hughes and his team have been working on trip logistics and making travel arrangements since mid-September. "Most of my fall has been involved in sitting down and working out the budget, flights, hotel rooms, and getting pricing figured out," Hughes says, but he and his team also conducted an applicant review and selection process, began fundraising for the trip, and strove to communicate as much information about the trip as early as possible to the twenty-two freshmen selected to participate .
"That was a big thing I focused on. Last year, when I went home for Christmas break I told my family that I was going on this trip but I wasn't able to give them many concrete details because I didn't really know any," Hughes says. He wanted students to be armed with more details about the trip, so at pre-departure meetings this fall Hughes says "we were able to give a couple of presentations and we had a really good handout, a rough itinerary and a general overview of the trip--where we’re staying, what we’re doing, where we’re going."
Labels:
Costa Rica,
freshmen,
MSC,
MSC FISH,
MSC FLI,
service,
spring break,
travel
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
U.S. Troops in Afghanistan Whoop back at MSC LEAD
Each fall for the past six years MSC LEAD, the Memorial Student Center’s sophomore leadership organization, has conducted Whoop! For Troops, a care package and greeting card donation drive to benefit U.S. troops serving overseas. Local schoolchildren once again created thousands of greeting cards, and thousands of Texas A&M students signed them with expressions of good wishes and gratitude for the sacrifices U.S. soldiers make throughout the year. For several weeks in November and December LEAD members once again collected donations of shirts, toiletries, non-perishable food, calling cards, and other care package items.
According to Taylor Smith ‘15, Director of MSC LEAD’s Community Service subcommittee, which led Whoop! For Troops, this year’s efforts resulted in a record amount of donations. In early December the group was excited to discover that they had collected over $5,000 of donations—over 120 boxes of merchandise and over 2,000 greeting cards—to send to Support Our Troops, a national non-profit organization that coordinates care package shipments overseas. “It was the biggest shipment we’ve ever made,” said Smith.
She attributes the group’s success, at least in part, to some new collaborations the group was able to form this year. “The biggest difference for us this year was in our outreach to vendors,” Smith said. “Aggieland Outfitters especially helped us by donating a lot of t-shirts,” she says, also noting that Aggie Moms clubs also made significant contributions to Whoop! For Troops. The group also experienced great success when they informally teamed up with the student chapter of Patriot PAWS, an organization that trains and provides service dogs for American veterans. According to Smith, “having the service dogs with us at our resource tables attracted a lot of attention. Everyone wanted to pet the dogs, so while people were waiting, we could ask them to sign a card and make a donation for the troops. It helped Patriot PAWS let people know about their organization too.”
Even more exciting than collecting a record amount of donations was the response those donations generated. Shortly after the care packages were shipped, MSC LEAD received a handful of thank you messages from the 831st DDST and the 2nd Anglico Marines stationed at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan. The full text of those thank you messages are included below.
According to Taylor Smith ‘15, Director of MSC LEAD’s Community Service subcommittee, which led Whoop! For Troops, this year’s efforts resulted in a record amount of donations. In early December the group was excited to discover that they had collected over $5,000 of donations—over 120 boxes of merchandise and over 2,000 greeting cards—to send to Support Our Troops, a national non-profit organization that coordinates care package shipments overseas. “It was the biggest shipment we’ve ever made,” said Smith.
She attributes the group’s success, at least in part, to some new collaborations the group was able to form this year. “The biggest difference for us this year was in our outreach to vendors,” Smith said. “Aggieland Outfitters especially helped us by donating a lot of t-shirts,” she says, also noting that Aggie Moms clubs also made significant contributions to Whoop! For Troops. The group also experienced great success when they informally teamed up with the student chapter of Patriot PAWS, an organization that trains and provides service dogs for American veterans. According to Smith, “having the service dogs with us at our resource tables attracted a lot of attention. Everyone wanted to pet the dogs, so while people were waiting, we could ask them to sign a card and make a donation for the troops. It helped Patriot PAWS let people know about their organization too.”
Even more exciting than collecting a record amount of donations was the response those donations generated. Shortly after the care packages were shipped, MSC LEAD received a handful of thank you messages from the 831st DDST and the 2nd Anglico Marines stationed at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan. The full text of those thank you messages are included below.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
MSC SCONA Speakers Share Their Experiences Working in the Middle East
Shannon Sedgwick Davis, who currently leads the Bridgeway
Foundation in its efforts to fight violence and oppression and promote
peacemaking in the world’s poorest countries, has also played an important role in the campaign to capture Joseph Kony, the Ugandan man wanted by the International
Criminal Court for abducting tens of thousands of people for conscription into
the Lord’s Resistance Army. Stuart Bowen served as the “taxpayer’s watchdog” in
Iraq for nine years in his role as the Special Inspector General for Iraq
Reconstruction. General James Mattis, USMC, commanded assault battalions in
Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and also commanded Marine forces
during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Dr. Andrew
Natsios led efforts to deal with the Darfur crisis as the U.S. Special Envoy to
Sudan and is currently Director of the Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs.
These four speakers will all be on campus this week Thursday
and Friday, February 20th and 21st, as part of the 59th
MSC Student Conference on National Affairs (SCONA). The title of this year’s SCONA is “Caught In
the Sandstorm: from Persia to the
Sahara,” so all four speakers will share with conference delegates their
experiences and expertise working in the Middle East. These speaker programs are also free and open
to the public as part of the MSC SCONA committee’s ongoing effort to provide
students with access to diplomats and national affairs professionals and the
knowledge they can provide.
The speaker schedule is as follows:
Stuart Bowen – Thursday, February 20 at 9am in MSC Gates
Room
General James Mattis, USMC – Thursday, February 20
at 2pm in Rudder Theater
Dr. Andrew Natsios – Friday, February 21 at 9am in MSC Gates
Room
Shannon Sedgwick Davis – Friday, February 21 at 2:30pm in
MSC Gates Room
Complete speaker bios are available after the jump.
Monday, February 17, 2014
MSC Wiley Lecture Program Examines Texas' Political Future
Last Wednesday the MSC Wiley Lecture Series hosted "A Swing in the South: Texas' Future in American Politics." Guest speakers included Phil Shackelford,
former Democratic field representative; John Jackson, a Republican Party staff member; and Dr. Harvey Tucker, Professor in the Political Science department at Texas A&M University. You can read The Battalion's coverage of the program here.
Places in the Plaza Brings the Global Village to Rudder Plaza
MSC Freshman Leadership International (FLI), with the help of MSC Town Hall, MSC Hospitality, and the MSC Jordan Institute for International Awareness will be bringing the world to Rudder Plaza this Friday, February 21st from 5-8:30pm for a brand new program they are calling Places in the Plaza. This cultural festival will feature organizations representing cultures, religions, and international service projects from all over the world.
Each organization staffing a booth will bring games, food, and stories from the culture they represent, and event organizers from MSC FLI see this event as an incredible opportunity for students of Texas A&M and residents of the Bryan/College Station community to increase their cultural knowledge base and expand their global horizons. Alex Hager, a coordinator for the event says that "everyone from kids to adults will find something to pique their interests at the festival, and our aim is for everyone to learn in a fun and interactive atmosphere."
Each organization staffing a booth will bring games, food, and stories from the culture they represent, and event organizers from MSC FLI see this event as an incredible opportunity for students of Texas A&M and residents of the Bryan/College Station community to increase their cultural knowledge base and expand their global horizons. Alex Hager, a coordinator for the event says that "everyone from kids to adults will find something to pique their interests at the festival, and our aim is for everyone to learn in a fun and interactive atmosphere."
Friday, January 17, 2014
MSC Aggie Cinema Offers FREE Movies All Semester Long
Movie fans of all stripes should find something to like on the film schedule MSC Aggie Cinema has put together for this spring semester. "Ender's Game," based on the sci-fi young adult novel by Orson Scott Card, kicks off the semester tonight at 7pm in Rudder Theater. Other highlights of the semester include Oscar-Award candidate "12 Years a Slave," a Valentine's Day zombie double feature screening of (spoiler alert) "Shaun of the Dead" and "Zombieland," and the documentary films "Born Into Brothels," which will be screened during Social Justice Week, and "Girl Rising," which will screen right before International Women's Day. Perhaps the best thing about the upcoming schedule is that all the movies are free. Visit cinema.tamu.edu for a schedule and to see trailers, or follow them on Facebook or Twitter.
Click the image below to download a schedule of your very own. Print it. Hang it on your fridge. We'll see you at the movies.
Click the image below to download a schedule of your very own. Print it. Hang it on your fridge. We'll see you at the movies.
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Dark and Fantastic Images Subject of New Exhibition in MSC Reynolds Gallery
The Memorial Student Center Visual Arts Committee (MSC VAC) opens its spring schedule with an exhibition of
etchings by Spanish artist Francisco Goya and illustrations by Spanish-American
artist Federico Castellón. The
exhibition, titled “Fear and Folly,” opens on Tuesday, January 14
in the MSC Reynolds Student Art Gallery on the 2nd floor of the
MSC. An opening reception will be hosted
by the student members of the MSC VAC on Thursday, January 16
beginning at 6:30pm in the Reynolds Gallery.
“Fear and Folly,” which is organized through the Kalamazoo Institute ofArts (KIA) with generous support from Mary and James B. Crawley ’47, will
remain on exhibit in the MSC through March 15.
According to the exhibition
program produced by the KIA, the Goya prints in this exhibition, taken from his
last major series, los Disparates (roughly translated as the
follies), “are some of his darkest, most enigmatic creations.” The author notes that “nearly thirty years
earlier he (Goya) was painting lighthearted scenes of leisure activities to be
made into tapestries for the royal palaces.
In los Disparates, some of
Goya’s earlier subjects reemerge as disturbing and even diabolic images.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)