On Air With Student Affairs

Engineering student organizations at Texas A&M are doing amazing things every single day. Like building robots and race cars that go 0-60 in under 3 seconds. 

In this episode, host Elizabeth Drake talks with three senior Aggie engineers about what their involvement has looked like outside the classroom.

Kalen Jaroszewski, president of Turtle Robotics, Braydon Tougas of Formula Electric, and Muhammed Yousaf of Aggie Robotics share how their passion for engineering led them to their organizations, what each team builds, what they’ve learned from it and the experiences they will never forget.

They also talk about the people. All three describe friendships formed in the shop late at night, and older members who mentored them as freshmen. If you’re an engineering student wondering whether to join a student organization at Texas A&M, this conversation is for you.

Get ready to dive in, make your mark and embrace the Aggie Spirit! To learn more about how you can create your Aggie experience, visit our website and follow us on social media @tamudsa.

Transferring into a school as big as Texas A&M University can feel like a lot. But we promise you're not just playing catch-up, there's an entire Aggie Experience waiting for you here. 

On this episode of On Air with Student Affairs, host Elizabeth Drake sits down with student leaders from Aggie Transition Camps (ATC) who were once nervous transfer students themselves.

They talk about what it was actually like to step onto campus for the first time to the moment that it clicked for them that they were in the right place. 

For Tate, Maddie and Tayler, going to T-Camp, an extended orientation program within Aggie Transition Camps, really helped them get plugged into community and learn more about being an Aggie. It also helped launch their own involvement journeys — going from campers to members of the ATC student organization paying it forward to other transfer students. 

If you're new here, take a listen to this episode and know you will find your place here at Texas A&M, too.

Get ready to dive in, make your mark and embrace the Aggie Spirit! To learn more about how you can create your Aggie experience, visit our website and follow us on social media @tamudsa.

Before coming to Texas A&M, Tulsi Parikh thought that leadership looked like all eyes on you. A few semesters into being a Maroon Coat, she describes leadership differently, as service to others and what you do when no one's looking.

On this episode of On Air with Student Affairs, host Elizabeth Drake talks with fellow Maroon Coats for a discussion about how serving as student ambassadors for the Texas A&M Foundation has shaped the way they live out one of the most notable Aggie Core Values, leadership.

None of them started out as Maroon Coats, their paths each began in different places, with different reasons for getting involved. But they each landed in the same place: the choice to give back.

They talk about what leadership on campus really looks like and why no two Maroon Coats lead the same way. Some lead loudly. Others lead by listening. And for the Aggies who don't yet see themselves as leaders, their message is simple — you don't need a title to be one right where you are today.

Learn more about the Maroon Coats here: https://www.txamfoundation.com/about-us/maroon-coats.aspx

Get ready to dive in, make your mark and embrace the Aggie Spirit! To learn more about how you can create your Aggie experience, visit our website and follow us on social media @tamudsa.

No Aggie stands alone. Not the student who is struggling, or the friend who isn't sure how they can help. 
 
As part of the ongoing conversation about suicide awareness and prevention at Texas A&M University, this episode is a reminder that Aggieland stands together through good times and tough times, with a network of care, support and resources available year round.
 
On this episode of On Air with Student Affairs, host Elizabeth Drake sits down with mental health professionals from Student Life and University Health Services to talk through the signs that someone may be struggling and where to point them to next. 

It can be difficult to know what to say to in these circumstances, and you might not have perfect words, but simply communicating that you care can go a long way. This episode will help give you the tools check-in on your friends, or yourself and recognize when it may be time to seek additional support.
 
The conversation also covers the harder moments: 

• What to do when a friend asks you not to tell anyone they're struggling with suicidal thoughts
• How QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) gives you a place to start
• What Tell Somebody, Student Life and UHS Counseling can do, including for students who are only trying to figure out how to support a friend

Don't handle your toughest moments alone. There are so many people on this campus who want to help and support is within reach.

If you or someone you know needs help right now:
Call or text 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 24/7)
Crisis Text Line: text HOME to 741741
TELUS Health Student Support: 866-743-7732
If someone is in immediate danger, call 911

Learn more at tx.ag/NoAggieStandsAlone | Tell Somebody Reporting: tellsomebody.tamu.edu

Get ready to dive in, make your mark and embrace the Aggie Spirit! To learn more about how you can create your Aggie experience, visit our website and follow us on social media @tamudsa.

You don't have to have a perfect resume to make a career fair worth your time! This episode makes the case for showing up to career fairs early and often as the best way to get in reps talking to recruiters and build confidence as you seek internships and jobs. 

Get all the insider advice from Nathan Lam and Tess Corrales, Aggie student leaders who help run the largest career fairs on campus, and Spencer Pepper '19, who works with students on career prep at the Texas A&M Career Center every day. 

Together, they talk through: 

• What a career fair actually looks like once you step through those doors
• The skills you can gain by attending  — and how to avoid common mistakes
• What to say in the first 30 seconds at a recruiter's table
• Real success stories of what a single career fair conversation turned into & so much more

It's never too late, or too early, to begin. So whether you're exploring options as a freshman or job hunting as a senior, this episode gives you a reason to walk in with a plan. 

View the current career fair schedule here: https://careercenter.tamu.edu/events-and-programs/career-fairs/

Get ready to dive in, make your mark and embrace the Aggie Spirit! To learn more about how you can create your Aggie experience, visit our website and follow us on social media @tamudsa.

Welcome to Aggieland! It's your first six weeks of college and one of the most exciting times in life.

However, finding your groove might not happen all at once. For most new Aggies, it can come with some uncertainty and growing pains — and this episode helps put words to that.

Host Elizabeth Drake sits down with an RA, a case manager, and a Student Life staffer who work with new students every day to talk through what this transition really looks like, through both the excitement and the tough moments.

They also get practical: building a sleep habit that actually sticks, using the Get Involved platform to find your people, and why asking for help is one of the most useful habits a new Aggie can build early.

This episode supports Student Life's First Six Weeks Challenge, encouraging every incoming Aggie to start small, stay curious, and give themselves time to find their footing.

Learn more about the challenge here: https://studentlife.tamu.edu/programs/first-six-weeks-challenge/

Get ready to dive in, make your mark and embrace the Aggie Spirit! To learn more about how you can create your Aggie experience, visit our website and follow us on social media @tamudsa.

Freshman year at Texas A&M comes with a lot of firsts — and for many Aggies, applying to a Freshman Leadership Organization (FLO) is one of the biggest. 

In this episode, host Elizabeth Drake sit down with Jacob and Sarah, former FLO members turned student leaders, to break down what FLOs are and what its like to get through recruitment.

Jacob and Sarah share their own FLO journeys, offer real advice on interview and networking tips, and answer the question every applicant is asking: what do you wish you'd known before you applied?

With 28 official FLOs on campus, going through recruitment is a great way to put yourself out there and discover a community you feel connected to at Texas A&M!

Learn more here: https://flac.tamu.edu/flos/

Get ready to dive in, make your mark and embrace the Aggie Spirit! To learn more about how you can create your Aggie experience, visit our website and follow us on social media @tamudsa.

Welcome to life in the Residence Halls of Texas A&M University!

On this episode of On Air with Student Affairs, host Elizabeth Drake sits down with three Resident Advisors — Mary Clare, Lechner Hall RA, Kacy, Walton Hall RA, and Adoriam, Underwood Hall RA — to tell all about what res hall life actually looks like.

They get into what they wish they knew about move-in and their first day in their rooms, how to actually make friends on your floor (hint: it can start with a whiteboard game of hangman or an open door), what to do when you and your roommate aren't clicking yet, and why RAs are here for way more than you think. 

They also spill the tea on how every res hall has an unsolved mystery. Bread on doorknobs. A sock thief. A phantom origami artist. These RAs have theirs, and they still don't know who did it! 

Hit play to hear it all, then get ready to make your own legendary res hall memories at Texas A&M. 

Get ready to dive in, make your mark and embrace the Aggie Spirit! To learn more about how you can create your Aggie experience, visit our website and follow us on social media @tamudsa.

Howdy Week is Texas A&M's official welcome! An exciting week before fall classes start where events happen in every corner of campus.

This episode covers everything you need to know heading into the week: how to pick which events you should go to, making friends without knowing anyone yet, and why the connections you make during Howdy Week can end up shaping your whole semester — and beyond!

Feeling overwhelmed by all the options? Our guests share what they wish they'd known, whether you're an incoming freshman, a grad student, or anyone wanting to make connections and participate in this week full of the Aggie Spirit.

Open to all Texas A&M students, we'll see you there, Ags!

Learn more and see the full schedule: https://howdyweek.tamu.edu/

Get ready to dive in, make your mark and embrace the Aggie Spirit! To learn more about how you can create your Aggie experience, visit our website and follow us on social media @tamudsa.

This episode of On Air with Student Affairs, host Elizabeth Drake sits down with student Fish Camp directors Adrian, Adam and Marisa to ask the question — why Fish Camp?

Fish Camp is an extended orientation program that welcomes incoming freshman to Texas A&M. A loved Aggie tradition designed to help new students take down any nervous barriers about starting college, Fish Camp’s goal is to ease the transition into life in Aggieland.

Over the course of three days the summer before fall semester, campers find themselves letting their guard down in an experience like no other to learn about traditions, core values and campus resources available to them at Texas A&M. Before the three days is up, new students make lasting connections and friendships that extend well-beyond their time at Fish Camp.

This conversation covers what attending Fish Camp is really like and as Adrian, Adam and Marissa put it — there is something at Fish Camp for everyone!

Learn more about Fish Camp: https://fishcamp.tamu.edu/

Get ready to dive in, make your mark and embrace the Aggie Spirit! To learn more about how you can create your Aggie experience, visit our website and follow us on social media @tamudsa.