Why am I here? I came for several reasons, but the greatest attraction at the University of Texas for me was its unique programs. As a student and an individual, I have always valued education as a means of personal fulfillment, something that increases my state of well being and as well as providing me “resources for [my mind’s] happiness when it cannot go abroad” (Bump 313). However, I feared that I would squander future career opportunities by focusing on such a liberal education. In other words, I felt as Newman explained, “that to give undue prominence to one is to be unjust to another; to neglect or supersede these is to divert those from their proper object” (309). I did not want to become a teacher or historian, but rather a successful business person or engineer. However, I did not desire to be the engineer who speaks only in the language of math and science. UT opened a window for me so that I would be able to focus on both educational paths, allowing me to preserve the Liberal education I see so necessary for my own state of mind, as well as providing technical skills that I may use in the future as a professional engineer.

By gaining knowledge and expertise in both the Plan II program and engineering department, I feel that I may be able to relate both fields to each other as I progress through adulthood. “Not to know the relative disposition of things is the state of slaves or children” (Bump 310). Hopefully, upon obtaining my degree I will be better suited to focusing more on the ‘big picture’ rather than getting hung up on minor points in life. I hope to view everything I come across with the knowledge of “their true place in the universal system, of understanding their respective values, and determining their mutual dependence” (Bump 310).

Along with these lofty educational aspirations, I felt that the University of Texas, better than any school I had previously considered, succeeded in creating an interaction between the social and the educational. Despite its ‘party school’ reputation, the University allows for an incredibly wide range of social opportunities both on and off campus, and the city of Austin provides a unique place for this social maturation. I feel that this embracement of University/Austin culture is just as important in becoming the well balanced, educated individuals that the University hopes we will all someday become. It is my hope, as should be the hope of any and all universities, that we should master “the art of social life, and its end is fitness for the world. . . . [gain] a clear conscious view of [our] own opinions and judgments. . . . see things as they are. . . . fill any post with credit, and master any subject with facility” (Bump 313) as best as our college experience can provide.