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Class of 2023 Kicks Off Semester with UGS

The School of Undergraduate Studies (UGS) hosted three events last week to celebrate the campus arrival of the class of 2023.

Leadership Summit

On Monday, August 26, more than 50 first-year students attended the Undergraduate Studies Leadership Summit. Students were joined by UGS Ambassadors, Alumni Guides, and Council executive officers and participated in a half-day retreat where they learned about their leadership styles, made new friends, and received advice from upperclassmen on how to ease the transition to college.

Dr. John Daly, the Liddell Centennial Professor of Communication, opened Leadership Summit with a talk on leadership skills and communication. Alisha Cahue from the Leadership and Ethics Institute and Dr. Tiffany Lewis and Thaïs Bass-Moore from the Fearless Leadership Institute each led workshops demonstrating how leaders use their unique skills and personality traits. Students also heard from a panel of former UGS students who shared what they wished they had known their first year of college. The event concluded with remarks from Dean Brent Iverson and a UGS Council social where students learned more about leadership roles on campus.

Reading Round-Up

Over the summer, incoming freshmen selected a book to read from a diverse list curated by distinguished professors. On the morning of Tuesday, August 27, students and faculty gathered to participate in the seventeenth annual Reading Round-Up. Students ate breakfast and socialized with their peers before joining one of the small group discussions led by the professor whose book selection they read.

“Reading Round-Up was an absolute blast,” said Professor Dixie Stanford, Department of Kinesiology.“I could not have hoped for more diversity, thoughtful interactions, and fully engaged students! I have already heard from several of them since, and believe it was an exceptional time for all of us.”

Gone to UGS

More than 250 students from the UGS class of 2023 attended the annual Gone to Undergraduate Studies celebration on Tuesday, August 27. Students socialized with their peers while enjoying a barbecue dinner, photo booth, prizes, and a class photo before attending the university-wide Gone to Texas event. Students met their UGS team from the Sanger Learning Center, the Vick Center for Strategic Advising & Career Counseling, Office of Undergraduate Research, and the First-Year Experience Office.

Dean Iverson welcomed the students to campus and led them in a practice round of “The Eyes of Texas.” Iverson said, “Just before the semester begins, incoming students are in the middle of a chaotic transition from thinking like high schoolers to thinking like Longhorns. Individually and together, these welcome programs make that all-important transition much easier. It is really gratifying to see students get off to a great start!”