I knew UATX was different, but I didn’t know how different. Having completed a year and having talked with my friends at other schools about their freshman experiences I am all the more grateful for the opportunity I’ve been given. To someone who never toured a different college (my scheduled tours were canceled due to October 7th riots), the most surprising thing is when the UATX experience is viewed in contrast to the typical student’s. Two specific instances come to mind. The first comes from a friend who sent a photo of the “calming corner” at her college which was marked in multicolor text as a “safe space.” Looking in, I saw what could have easily been any kindergarten or Sunday school classroom from my childhood: colorful carpet with bright shapes, plastic containers holding markers and stickers, and more. I have full confidence that any UATX graduate will be highly intelligent, very thoughtful, and extraordinarily competent. That belief comes from UATX holding the high standards it does and expecting that students will rise to meet the challenge. The same cannot be said for other colleges who, by all appearances, really are just young adult daycare.

The second example was thanks to my roommate Peter. Peter had a friend at a college in Utah who created a club that would meet and hold philosophical debates. A couple UATX students joined via zoom to debate social responsibility vs individuality. It was the kind of debate you can find occuring daily in the UATX atrium, but other college students have to start an entire club so they can have that experience even once a month. Ultimately, it is that culture of chasing intellectual and spiritual growth combined with the community of highly agentic students that makes UATX so different and makes me feel so fortunate to be a part of it.