UT hosted its annual program for prospective students, Explore UT, virtually for the first time on Friday and Saturday. The event drew attendees from 15 countries and 10 states, according to University Events.

Explore UT is a free event featuring activities and presentations by University departments and student organizations about opportunities on campus, according to the website. It was also the first event to be canceled when the University shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, said Doug Bolin, associate director of production for University Events. 

Since then, the Explore UT website has transformed from a list of busses and program times to an interactive experience, said Laurel O’Connor, communications manager for University Events. 

“The colleges and schools really got creative in terms of how to still make these different events exciting,” O'Connor said. 

The virtual Explore UT event transitioned booths and lecture halls into individual webpages for each department or organization, O'Connor said. She said some webpages host downloadable content and videos, which can be accessed at any time, while others were set up for live interactive events that took place over Zoom.

Amia Richardson, a high school junior from California, said she was excited to participate in the event remotely since cost and time constraints would have kept her from traveling to Austin.

Richardson said she hopes to attend UT in fall 2022 as a mechanical engineering major. She said while the academic rigor of UT’s program is what originally interested her in the University, the outreach and virtual accessibility is what moved UT to the top of her list.

“I just want a college that's really going to be as exceptional community-wise as it is for my academics,” Richardson said. “I'm really looking for what schools are doing the most to reach new students and show them that this is a place to do that … UT's probably the only one I would seriously really consider for that right now.”

Bolin said the event materials will continue to be accessible on the website after this year’s Explore UT, and they hope to continue providing some virtual options even after in-person events come back to campus.

“There's no substitute for being on campus,” Bolin said. “But I think that we see now that there is infrastructure support … that we can also make those (events) available (online).”