A "Bienvenidos Jags" sign with balloons and lights greets students walking through the first floor halls of the Central Academic Building during the first week of the fall 2024 semester. Photo by Saile Aranda
More than 8,000 students returned to or began their college journeys this week at Texas A&M University-San Antonio for the 2024 fall semester.
College campuses are always bustling and busiest during the first few days of the school year, and A&M-San Antonio was no different. The Mesquite saw people cooling off from the Texas heat with snow cones and food-truck treats, students testing out the new rec center and continuous construction in and around campus. Even the rain couldn’t put a damper on student life and activity.
Check out these photos to see what A&M-San Antonio looked like during its first week back in session.
A student zips through the Central Academic Building courtyard on a manual scooter under heavy rains on Aug. 27, 2024. Photo by Saile ArandaOngoing construction of the Public Health and Education building west of Classroom Hall as of Aug. 30, 2024. The $55 million facility is slated to open fall 2026. Photo by Saile ArandaStudent library worker Nadia Sotelo works at A&M-San Antonio’s library information desk on a slow Friday morning Aug. 30, 2024. Sotelo aids students, faculty and staff with accessing library resources on campus. Photo by Saile ArandaThe new Student Recreational Center building, located between parking lots two and three, officially opened Aug. 28, 2024. A&M-San Antonio students, staff and faculty can present their university ID at the entrance for full access to a basketball court, lockers and multiple fitness rooms. Photo by Saile ArandaA&M-San Antonio’s renovated Dining Hall welcomes students and faculty back with a new look and buffet-like dining system for the fall 2024 semester. The cafeteria includes a new breakfast and salad bar that can be incorporated into any student’s custom meal. Photo by Saile ArandaA&M-San Antonio’s class ring statue, formerly located between the first floor elevators in the East wing of the Central Academic Building, relocates to CAB’s main lobby. Herff Jones visited campus this week to assist students with class ring purchases for the upcoming university ring ceremonies in early November, in which participation is permitted only with Herff Jones ring purchases. The company will return to campus Sept. 4-6. Photo by Saile ArandaStudents visit a variety of food stands such as Delicious Nora’s, Chick-Fil-A and Tacos al Carbon Cabron, located between the Madla building and the Central Academic Building during lunchtime on Aug. 27, 2024. Photo by Saile ArandaStudents line up to get a personalized name tag for the Part-TIme and On Campus Job Fair held in the SciTech building Aug. 28, 2024. The next student career event will be the General Career Fair on Sept. 19 to be held in the Student Rec Center from 1-3:30 p.m. Photo by Saile ArandaArt Olague, A&M-San Antonio’s director of recreational sports, poses for photos with A&M-San Antonio’s dance team, cheerleaders and General the Jaguar during the grand opening of the Student Recreational Center building Aug. 28, 2024. Photo by Matthew LizcanoRain clouds hang over A&M-San Antonio’s campus during the second day of fall classes Aug. 27, 2024. Photo by Saile ArandaA Cloudless Sulphur butterfly passes over the Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Habitat located between A&M-San Antonio’s Auditorium and Sci-Tech buildings Aug. 28, 2024. Central Texas is an important part of the migration route Monarch butterflies take each fall. Photo by Saile ArandaStudents utilize the new weight room located in the recently opened Student Recreational Center Aug. 29, 2024. Students, faculty and staff have are permitted full access to the fitness room with a valid A&M-San Antonio ID. Photo by Saile ArandaHistory major Jazmin Streeper reads “Coming of Age in Mississippi” by Anne Moody in the Central Academic Building Courtyard Aug. 30, 2024. The book is a required reading for her U.S. History course this semester. Photo by Saile ArandaConstruction staff labor under the sun to work on the coming Public Health and Education Building Aug. 30, 2024. The $55 million facility is slated to open fall 2026. Photo by Saile ArandaStudents purchase refreshing drinks during the hottest day of the summer Aug. 21, 2024. The high that day reached 106 degrees Fahrenheit, which led to A&M-San Antonio rescheduling the Jaguar March for 8:30 p.m. from its originally scheduled time of 7:30 in order to avoid excessive heat. Photo by Saile ArandaA “Register to Vote: Very Mindful Very Demure” sign stands in front of the NextGen America booth Aug. 27, 2024. NextGen helps to register and inform students for the upcoming 2024 presidential election. NextGen America can be found on campus until Oct. 7, under a purple canopy setup. Photo by Saile ArandaMembers of A&M-San Antonio’s women’s basketball team practice on the new court located in the recently opened Student Recreational Center building Aug. 29, 2024. Chris Minner was appointed head coach for the new women’s basketball program earlier this year. Photo by Saile ArandaA&M-San Antonio’s Delta Chi fraternity brothers sell fruit-flavored raspas to raise funds for their student organization in the Central Academic Building courtyard Aug. 28, 2024. Photo by Saile ArandaEmergency management coordinator and A&M-San Antonio University Police officer Sgt. Gerardo Duran returns from surveilling vehicle traffic on University Way and Jaguar Parkway Aug. 29, 2024. Photo by Saile ArandaStudents walk to and from classes with umbrellas in hand to shield from the rainy weather Aug. 27, 2024. Some showers of rain throughout the day lasted up to 20 minutes. Photo by Saile ArandaA total of four lactation rooms are available for use by parents around A&M-San Antonio’s campus. This Classroom Hall location can be found in front of the first floor restrooms in Room #112 and is furnished with two couch chairs, a changing table with device charging ports and decorations for a peaceful ambience. Photo by Saile ArandaTacos al Carbon Cabron sells street-food tacos near the East Lawn Aug. 27, 2024. The newly welcomed food truck brings Mexican street cuisine to A&M-San Antonio campus. Photo by Saile ArandaGeneral the Jaguar makes a grand entrance to reveal the A&M-San Antonio mascot’s new look at the Student Rec Center grand opening Aug. 28, 2024. The General sports a numbered jersey with the year A&M-San Antonio was established, ’09. Photo by Matthew LizcanoThe Central Academic Building welcomes students, faculty and staff to A&M-San Antonio’s campus for the fall 2024 semester. A&M-San Antonio’s office of Student Life is slated to host three Weeks of Welcome that offers a lineup of events like DIY activities, free food, markets, theme park takeovers and more to welcome people to campus. Photo by Saile ArandaStudents enter the newly opened Estrella Hall resident building during a grand opening Aug. 21, 2024. Some students wore R.E.D (Remember Everyone Deployed) T-shirts in preparation for the Jaguar March scheduled later that evening. Photo by Saile ArandaThe Senator Frank L. Madla statue sports a pink Hawaiian lei necklace in honor of the President’s Picnic first day of school event Aug. 27, 2024. A&M-San Antonio’s Weeks of Welcome chose a Bad Bunny album “Un Verano Sin Ti” as its theme, which translates to “A Summer Without You.” Photo by Saile Aranda
