Think big. Do good.®
At SMU, community means friends having your back as you push yourself to take risks, and doing your part to shape and improve where you live.
After move-in, it’s time to get acquainted.
Community building starts right away during Stampede, SMU’s orientation event where current students welcome new Mustangs, and help them settle in to their new life on the Hilltop.
MUSTANGS SAY:
I learned about the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega from my Stampede guide, and have loved being involved ever since! It’s my favorite group, and the perfect place to give back to the Dallas community and meet new students of all years and majors.
Julia Cunningham ’25
First-year students are randomly distributed among the Commons.
Find instant community on campus in any of our 11 Residential Commons – where you will live for your first two years at SMU and build lifelong friendships.
MUSTANGS SAY:
You meet people that you normally wouldn't interact with on campus. It’s a great way to transition to college, especially when you don't know anyone.
Anna McDonald ’25
Belonging leads to friendships and personal growth.
Get involved to help shape where you live and develop leadership skills. With 200-plus student organizations on campus to choose from, you can create your own college experience, find your niche and be part of a support system.
MUSTANGS SAY:
Serving and leading both a multicultural and a service organization, and being president of my sorority, really enhanced my SMU experience. I definitely recommend getting involved.
Dinobi Onyeagocha ’23
Stampeding toward success
On day one, Matthew Merritt ’23 started building connections and acquiring experience through involvement with the SMU Association of Black Students, the Upsilon Mu chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and the SMU chapter of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, and as a student ambassador within the SMU Office of Admission. Off campus, he served as assistant district director for the Texas region of Alpha Phi Alpha, the marketing manager at CollegePlus and was a choral scholar for Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas.
“To be a Mustang is to be a world changer. It’s someone who has the passion, drive and capability to impact their community in a major way, and who has the power to invoke positive change and foster environments for positive growth.” Matthew Merritt ’23
Do good. Make a difference.
SMU’s Social Change and Intercultural Engagement (SCIE) team connects you with service opportunities on campus and throughout Dallas. Top SCIE service programs:
- Engage Dallas – Student groups from SMU Residential Commons select sites to serve throughout South and West Dallas.
- Big Event – In this largest one-day student-run national service project, students across the United States dedicate a day to giving back to their local communities.
- Mustang Heroes – Students serve through ongoing projects in Dallas.
- Alternative Breaks – Students perform community service projects during their spring and fall breaks.
MUSTANGS SAY:
SMU is a pivotal part of Dallas, and students are positively impacting the surrounding area.
Abena Marfo ’22
Create a solution that makes a difference.
Through SMU programs such as Engaged Learning and undergraduate research opportunities, faculty and staff mentors help you transform your interest or passion into a hands-on learning or service project. You can test ideas with real impact on communities and come away with a real-world experience.
Use your voice
Tyne Dickson ’22 developed Equity Ahead through SMU’s Engaged Learning Fellowship program. Dickson’s app helps users plan protests and public demonstrations.
Undergraduates can do hands-on research
Azucena Milan ’20 grew up one mile from SMU’s campus in Dallas’ culturally diverse Vickery Meadow neighborhood, where giant potholes and unlit crosswalks created safety hazards. As an undergraduate, Milan held a key role as part of an SMU research team studying infrastructure inequities on her home turf and learned how environmental engineering impacts daily lives now and in the future. Milan now works as a design engineer at Quiddity Engineering LLC in Dallas.
“Maybe one day we can make this happen where all the neighborhoods in the country are treated equitably.” Azucena Milan ’20
Where you go to college matters.
You owe it to yourself to take advantage of remarkable growth opportunities through SMU and Dallas, an incredible university-city partnership. Visit us so you can see yourself here.
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