The plaza outside the Sanders Corps of Cadet Center contains nearly 13,500 bricks all purchased by former students to honor the memory of a friend or family member. This sentiment is an act coated in Aggie tradition and reverence. However, keeping the donor brick program and tradition alive has proven to be a challenge for the last few years. 

Three years ago, Carly Davis ‘16’ realized the donor brick program needed a better locating system. As the Corps Center is the face of the Corps for new students, Davis understood her job was much more than just ordering and installing bricks. She needed to create an efficient and innovative way for people to locate them. Each brick honors an Aggie and represents their story and experience at Texas A&M University. In turn, each brick can help recruit a new cadet who will eventually have a story of their own at Texas A&M and encourage new donors to support future students. 

To provide a solution, IT professionals in Technology Services researched methods used by other schools and cemeteries to determine viable options for Davis to test as the Commandant’s lead on the project. They discovered a licensed module already being used by another department that was easily adaptable for the brick program. 

QR codes for the new brick locating system can be found outside of the Corps Center. Anyone can search for a name with the new system, and the section, row and brick numbers related to the search will populate.

With brick spaces quickly filling up, no matter where new bricks will be located, the Corps Center now has a more efficient method to help locate them. Due to the success of this solution for brick locating, fellow departments within the Division of Student Affairs are exploring ways to utilize this tool to locate other items in other areas. 

The full feature about the partnership among Technology Services, the Division of Student Affairs and the Corps of Cadets is posted online.