@utaustintx

When Emily Slaughter was in high school, one summer her mom said, “You shouldn’t go swimming every day. Why don’t you go get some meaningful experience?” So Emily began volunteering at a Fort Worth hospital. “I was basically a candy striper but in a really critical care unit. The nurses knew I was interested in medicine and took me under their wing and said, ‘Why don’t you come and see what we do?’” From then on, nursing was her calling. She knew UT’s School of Nursing had a great reputation, and on a whim, applied for the full-ride Forty Acres Scholarship. Finalists for the scholarship are brought to campus for a weekend. “By the end of that weekend, I was like, ‘I don’t care if I get the scholarship; I have fallen in love with this school,’” she remembers. “This is a first-class school. This is a first-class institution. I’m coming no matter what!” She already has accepted a job offer from Ascension Seton in Austin, but graduate school and certification as a nurse practitioner are likely in her future. The School of Nursing empowered her to advocate for change in the profession. In one course, each student picked a legislative bill to advocate for and testified at the Capitol. (She testified in favor of a bill that would help opioid addicts get treatment in prison.) “For a lot of students in my graduating class, getting to the finish line seems like an accomplishment that was never going to happen. With COVID changing learning from in person to online to hybrid, being here on campus and graduating is an awesome feeling.” Read more about Emily and meet other graduates at news.utexas.edu/class-of-2022 #UTGrad22

Mihir Kamble is thinking long term — really long term. “At some point in the very distant future, I feel like humanity will need to transition to being a multiplanetary kind of species.” He wants to be a part of that story and loves the idea of human space flight. “I want to be involved in reaching the next destination, whether that’s the moon or Mars — to be able to make some significant contributions and help that become a reality.” His greatest challenge in college was getting comfortable in situations he didn’t understand. “I’ve been pretty fortunate to have been involved in research since my freshman year, and one part of research that’s different from other areas of academics is a lot of times you’re working on things that no one’s done before or no one has the answers to. There were times when I was tasked with stuff and had zero idea of where to start. Figuring out how to find people to help you and make use of the best resources available is something I learned.” After graduation, Kamble will begin a master’s program at Stanford. “At UT, I got a strong academic foundation and found a good network of people so that in the future, if I wanted to start my own space company, I have everything I need to be successful from my time being here.” Read more about Mihir and meet other graduates at news.utexas.edu/class-of-2022 #UTGrad22

Congratulations! You've reached a digital resting point. Feel free to stay a while.

Grace Farley remembers the exact moment she decided to attend UT. The Plan II Honors Program and social work double-major was waiting to attend a lecture with a small group of students. When the professor arrived, she brought vegan brownies for the students. “I thought, ‘Wow, that’s a really kind and caring person,’” Farley says with a laugh. “She let us inside the classroom and gave us a mini lecture to show us what a typical class would be like, and it was an amazing lecture. But my first impression of the social work professor was that she was so welcoming.” Farley, one of our outstanding graduates from the class of 2022, was nervous about moving to a new city and leaving behind her close-knit family in Keller. But the experience at that lecture made an impact. As a first-generation college student, Farley knows how important it is to have a welcoming and strong support system. She relied on the help of school social workers, teachers and counselors to help her apply to college. Moved by their dedication, Farley wanted to study school social work to help students like her. Read more about Grace and meet other graduates at news.utexas.edu/class-of-2022 #UTGrad22

No better place to call home 🤘 #HookEm

During the aftermath of Hurricane Hanna, which had made landfall in the Rio Grande Valley in July 2020, Lucious McDaniel IV spoke to someone who had lost their home and two cars to flooding. It was a tough loss, but thanks to the work of aid groups and McDaniel’s startup Phly, that person was able to receive food, shelter and a sense of relative stability and safety. Phly stands for “philanthropis on the fly” and provides a platform for mutual aid groups and local communities to collect, track and send money that they raised for their respective causes. “That was the moment where I thought, ‘Wow, we are actually building something that is making a difference in the world,’” he says. In addition to being the founder of Phly, a Forty Acres Scholar and one of our outstanding graduates from the class of 2022, McDaniel is above all a problem-solver. He will graduate with degrees in business honors and management information systems with a certificate in elements of computing. Read more about Lucious and meet other graduates at news.utexas.edu/class-of-2022 #UTGrad22

This is a digital rest point. Lower those shoulders. Unclench your jaw. Breathe in and out. Repeat as needed 🤘

It ain’t braggin’ if it’s true! The new season of @thecollegetourtv is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, on Freevee and at TheCollegeTour.com. Watch the full episode to hear authentic stories and perspectives from 10 UT students on how global opportunities, hands-on experiences, and access to innovation and research have prepared them to succeed in the classroom and beyond 🤘 #WhatStartsHere

Relax and enjoy the sounds of the Spring ‘22 Concert brought to you by the @texascarillon 🤘

Congratulations you’ve reached a digital resting point, stay as long as you’d like. If you need a real life resting point there are some great ones on the @utaustintx campus and nearby. Find this resting spot in the southeast corner of @waterloogreenway, across the street from Dell Med. Or visit the Turtle Pond, Ellsworth Kelly’s Austin at the @blantonmuseum, Waller Creek or one of several outdoor balconies in the Health Learning Building.

The UT Tower will darken Friday, May 6 in memory of Longhorns who died during the past year. Held annually on the last day of the spring semester, UT Remembers gives the university community a time to gather in remembrance of students and current and retired faculty and staff who died during the past year, while also reflecting on who they were, what they gave to the university and what they meant to the people whose lives they touched. This tradition is an in-memoriam recognition of their lives, and provides a time to remember those whom we have lost and honors the impact they had on the larger university community. This year’s UT Remembers started with a lowering of the flags ceremony on the Main Mall and will conclude when the sunrise lights the darkened Tower.

Last day of classes. Finish strong y’all 🤘