History of The Big Event

Mr. Joe Nussbaum, then Vice President of the Student Government Association at Texas A&M, began The Big Event in 1982 as a way to say “Thank You” to the surrounding community of Bryan-College Station.  Joe Nussbaum envisioned a one-day service project where students of Texas A&M University could show their appreciation of local residents by completing various tasks at their homes.  He thought that after years of loyal support from the community, the very least college students could do is give back for one day.

The Big Event has seen tremendous growth over the past 31 years.  Participation has grown to 17,684 students completing more than 1800 jobs in the communities of Bryan and College Station.  Presently, over 75 Big Events occur at other universities across the world.  Although The Big Event has become the largest one-day, student-run service project in the nation, our message still remains the same:  simply saying “Thank You.”

At Austin Peay, The Big Event was started by the Student Government Association in 2015. This year's service event will be held on Saturday, April 6, 2019