OPAS ENDOWMENT

Ensuring the future of MSC OPAS. This was the goal of MSC OPAS and university leaders when they teamed to establish the MSC OPAS Permanent Endowment. Specifically, the investment income from the endowment is devoted to student access and performance enhancement. Through gifts and planned gifts, endowment donors ensure a legacy of performing arts for the Texas A&M University community.

Play a role in the OPAS legacy by pledging to the MSC OPAS Permanent Endowment. To review additional information about the OPAS Endowment campaign, please open the brochure (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader). To receive a brochure in the mail, please email your request to the MSC OPAS office at sarah@msc.tamu.edu.

The Endowment at Work

suzanah “Like other students, being in OPAS provided me with numerous growth opportunities. It offered me the chance to learn communication skills, to lead and be led by my peers, to resolve conflicts and face challenges, and to set goals and achieve them. As someone who had considered a career in performance, it also allowed me to maintain a connection with the performing arts while pursuing my degree at Texas A&M. It afforded me exposure to the industry, insight into the business side of the arts, and the opportunity to attend invaluable performances and lectures. It was these experiences that fanned my spark of interest and furthered my creative aspirations. Today I work as an actor and live in New York City. MSC OPAS opened many doors for me and helped me to realize my dreams. Without my experiences in OPAS, I would not be where I am today.”
Suzannah Taylor, Actor
(BA Communications, Class of '97)

tad “In MSC OPAS, I was able to combine the pleasure of the performing arts with my passion for leadership. I came to Texas A&M in 1982 and joined MSC OPAS immediately. While academic classes paved the way for my medical career, the “other education” I received as a student leader really made me the person I am today. The leadership, organizational and communication skills I learned leading the student committee were vital to my later successes in leadership as a surgeon, as a managing partner of a large medical group, as chairman of a non-profit organization, and even as the leader of my family.”
Tad C. Pruitt, MD
(Orthopedic Surgeon, Little Rock, Arkansas, Class of ‘86)“

ray' OPAS was a life lesson in giving. It meant the world to me to be afforded the opportunity to give a bit of my time to the University and Bryan/College Station community through the promotion of the arts. Today, I find those Aggie experiences invaluable as an employee of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts… Still promoting the ingenuity of the arts; now internationally! Thanks to all who gave and continue to give to MSC OPAS…it means so much to so many!”
Raymond Boney (Class of '96)

| clark "Being from a small town I did not have much access to the arts. When I arrived to A&M, I was drawn to OPAS because of its ability to deliver high quality and diverse performing arts to the community. I stayed involved with OPAS because I wanted to make sure access to the arts is not only maintained but expanded on my campus. OPAS has allowed me to experience performances I would never have had the opportunity to view. I have also seen first hand the importance of lifelong volunteerism and have learned many other lessons that will be with me for the rest of my days.”
Clark Church (BS Biochemistry/Genetics, Class of '02)

Why I Gave to the Endowment

"OPAS enhances the quality of life in the Brazos Valley and it creates a special atmosphere which is unique among communities our size across the nation.”
-- Bookman and Florence Peters

“The arts play a vital role in our community, and OPAS has provided the leadership in bringing outstanding entertainment over the years comparable to the metropolitan areas. It has been rewarding to play a small role in promoting art and culture for our citizens. Through our various companies, we employ a significant number of individuals, and with Bryan/College Station being such a culturally-minded community, this greatly enhances the opportunity for hiring the most professional employees and associates from other areas.”
-- Don and Donna Adam

goode “I was impressed to see the men on the first truck into Kabul after the Taliban left were singing, after five years of imposed silence. Without music and the other arts, our souls would starve. Long live OPAS!”
-- Sara June Goode

wagners
“We support the OPAS Endowment because we support those things which are important in our lives…and OPAS is certainly that! Through the many OPAS performances that we have attended we have been entertained, exposed to the great diversity in the arts, and challenged to explore new ideas and perspectives. Yet there is another reason we believe supporting the Endowment is so important – and that is because of the impact this incredible program has on the students of Texas A&M. We can start with the students who have their first real exposure to the opera, ballet and the performing arts and the infuence this will have on them throughout their lives. Even more important to us is the tremendous opportunity the OPAS students have to learn, grow and develop as OPASites. Our investment in the OPAS Endowment is an investment in the future – ours and theirs!”
-- John and Carol Wagner