Membership

Fish Aides requires members to attend bi-monthly meetings which include guest speakers from various professions and walks of life. Information about upcoming programs and events is also discussed at the meetings.

There are two retreats that take place during the school year for Fish Aides, Fall Retreat and Spring Retreat. The purpose of Fall Retreat is to prepare the new Fish Aides for the upcoming year, set up their expectations for their experience in Fish Aides and, of course, give them an opportunity to get to know one another. The freshmen hear from several speakers at Fall Retreat and participate in leadership building activities. Spring Retreat provides a time in which the freshmen can reflect upon their experiences and growth throughout the year and strengthen the relationships that have already been created.

At the beginning of the year, each Fish Aide is placed with a Student Government committee, commission, or branch (i.e. COSGA, Big Event, Legislative Relations, Judicial Court, etc.) that he/she will work with throughout the year. Each committee provides a unique leadership experience for their freshmen, listed on our “SGA Service” tab. This opportunity gives the Fish Aides firsthand knowledge of the inner workings of Student Government and, more importantly, allows them to better serve the Student Government Association.

Fish Aides freshmen on the Fish Aides Service Committee will plan a service project for all the Fish Aides to partake in during the Fall retreat. This looks different each year, dependent upon what the freshmen that year plan.

Fish Aides sacrifices time during Winter Break to go serve a community together elsewhere in the United States. This is an excellent opportunity to work together for someone else’s benefit and bond as a group outside of Aggieland.

The Big Event is the largest student-run community service project in the nation. Fish Aides participates in Big Event as a group to serve and give back to the Bryan/College Station community.

The SGA Custodian Banquet is an annual event, planned and facilitated by the freshmen in Fish Aides, that was created to give back to the Texas A&M Custodian staff. Students in Fish Aides recognized a need for increased gratitude for custodians on campus. A committee within Fish Aides plans this event, and students from all over campus and SGA are invited to come participate in saying thank you to people who do a job that often goes unnoticed. The banquet provides free meals to hundreds of custodians and broadly increases awareness among the student body of the need to thank these kind people. Since 2021, the banquet has taken place in a Drive-Thru format, which has allowed us to reach many more custodians then years prior!

Each Fish Aide is paired with a freshmen of the opposite gender as their brother or sister in Fish Aides. Each pair of freshmen is then assigned to a pair of former Fish Aides, who then form a Fish Aide Family. The Fish Aide families program allows for relationships to form between Fish Aides and former Fish Aides and allow for the “parents” to help mentor the freshmen through their first year of college.

At every Fish Aide meeting, the Fish Aides are assigned a lunch buddy for the week. The lunch buddy system helps to encourage freshmen to pursue friendships and develop relationships amongst themselves and the leadership in Fish Aides.

Whether at Kyle, Olsen or Reed, Fish Aides get together throughout the year to cheer on their beloved Fightin’ Texas Aggies.

One of the greatest parts about Fish Aides are the random and spontaneous hang outs! Whether it be late-night trips to Whataburger, pick-up games of Ultimate Frisbee or a guys/girls night at a Co-Chair’s house, you can always bet that there’s something going on. These are the times in which the relationships in Fish Aides are truly developed and strengthened throughout the course of the year.