Meet Hunter
Name: Hunter Matson
Hometown: Hot Springs, Arkansas
High School: Lakeside High School
Major: Government
Minor: Spanish
Expected graduation: May 2010
Ranking among the Best
I moved around a lot as a kid and experienced a lot of different places and Texas was the most enjoyable of all the places I had lived. I knew UT was a great university so I applied and was accepted. UT ranks among the top public universities in the country and after taking a tour of the campus, I felt like I truly belonged. Everything about the campus and Austin fit with my personality.
Encouragement from Advisors
In the College of Liberal Arts, students are only required to visit with their advisors at orientation. After that point, any student can go all through college without ever visiting with their advisor again. However, I have maintained contact with my advisors all the way through college thus far and as a result, I am now studying abroad for free. First, my advisors encouraged me to study abroad, stating it is one of the most worthwhile experiences of college. After I decided to study abroad, my advisors (both academic as well as study abroad advisors) helped me locate and apply for various scholarships. I received enough scholarships to fully fund the cost of my study abroad program.
Hunter’s Advice
On making friends
Join student organizations. 50,000 students can be overwhelming to take on as a whole, but if you join student organizations that are 50-100 students, you can start small and expand your friend base from there.
On living on campus
Live in a residence hall that has a community bathroom. You don’t have to clean it yourself, you don’t have to supply your own toilet paper or paper towels, and you save yourself almost $2000 per year.
I currently live off campus but I lived on campus my first year. I recommend living on campus to all students, even if they get supplemental housing, because it helps take a large city like Austin and divide it into areas that “new residents” can become familiar with in smaller sections, starting with campus. Also, most incoming students have never lived alone and are not equipped to handle everything that living alone entails. The residence halls provide a great transition to doing your own laundry, cooking your own meals, cleaning your own bathroom, while still providing resident assistants as guides.
On parking/transportation around campus
Do not bring a car. I thought I couldn’t live without my car so I brought it and paid the $750 to park in a garage and drove my car once or twice per month. Almost everything you need is either within walking distance to campus or a short Cap Metro bus ride.
SHARE
The SHARE program stands for “Students Helping the Admissions Recruiting Effort,” and it is one of the programs on campus that I have become the most involved with. I started as a simple volunteer that occasionally helped with on campus events. Now, I am a SHARE ambassador working in the Freshman Admissions Center providing daily tours of campus and continuing to help with on campus events. The SHARE program has put me in contact with numerous offices on campus, and helped me earn my biggest scholarship for studying abroad (Gilman International Scholarship).
Texas Pride
My favorite experience at UT was the very first football game against North Texas. During one of the breaks, a UT Austin tv ad (“Horns Up”) played on the Jumbotron with an aerial shot flying over Austin toward the campus, ending at the Tower that turns burnt orange. At that moment, the Texas pride in the stadium was overwhelming and it was one of the most unbelievable experiences I’ve ever had.
Hunter’s…
Biggest Challenge
Being an out-of-state student at UT. I did not know anyone or anything about Austin and had to start with nothing and build a new life.
Favorites
- Study locations on campus: Architecture and Planning Library & Flawn Academic Center
- Places to eat on or near campus: Spicy Pickle & Cypress Bend Cafe
- Class: Architecture and Society with Lawrence Speck
- Books: Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom & Memo to the President Elect by Madeleine Albright
- Movie: Music of the Heart
- Things about Austin: Auditorium Shores & Mt. Bonnell
- Recreational activity: Outdoor activities
Scholarships
Send Hunter an e-mail at hmatson@mail.utexas.edu