AUSTIN, Texas—University of Texas at Austin President Larry R. Faulkner will welcome more than 700 of the state’s brightest high school students to campus July 26 for the 20th annual Honors Colloquium — an intensive program designed to be a college search tool for outstanding students.
The three-day colloquium includes academic lectures, campus tours, group discussions and social events. The events provide the high school students a chance to interact with University faculty and students and learn about the educational opportunities at UT Austin. The high school students are chosen on the basis of test scores and academic achievement, and most will end up later competing in National Merit, National Achievement or National Hispanic Scholarship competitions.
The program introduces students to aspects of the UT Austin undergraduate experience, said Coordinator Paul Pedersen of the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs. "At the same time, it also provides the students with an example of how to evaluate their college choices, regardless of whether they choose to attend the University or another institution."
During the colloquium, the high school students will be able to choose from numerous academic lectures presented by University faculty members. Among the topics are youth violence, famous Texans, global-scale environmental problems, communication disorders, space weather, artificial intelligence and contemporary Russian film. One of the lectures will be a guided tour at Seton Medical Center intensive care units to observe various life-supporting technologies used with critically ill patients. The tour and lecture is sponsored by the UT School of Nursing.
Each student will be assigned to a cohort of 30 or 40 students to help with orientation and various activities. Four UT Austin student mentors will be assigned to each cohort. In addition, on Friday (July 27), each of UT’s colleges and schools will host interested colloquium participants for lunch.
For more information, contact Pedersen at (512) 232-3993.
