Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the July 19, 2022 flipbook.

Camp Texas is set to re-open its doors for incoming UT students this summer, finally returning to an in-person experience after two years of virtual camp due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For over 28 years, Camp Texas has provided new Longhorns with the opportunity to get to know their peers, connect with fellow Longhorns and professors, and learn about life on the Forty Acres, said Michelle Guzman, Camp Texas director and student engagement manager. Camp Texas is an off-campus, three-day retreat for incoming students run by Texas Exes and features four sessions this year, with the first beginning on July 31.

“Connecting to other Longhorns and other students is really vital,” Guzman said. “People connecting with people is what I’m really hopeful for, and for students to feel connected to the community of Camp Texas.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic halted in-person operations at UT in 2020, Camp Texas organizers turned to virtual options, such as a series of panels called “Camp Texas Connections” to help incoming students meet one another.

“We knew students were going to struggle kicking off their new semester as freshmen, so we still wanted to be a resource for them … as much as possible, because it was not going to be a traditional start to their fall semester,” Guzman said.

Guzman said the camp was supposed to return in person last year. But after a staff member of Camp Buckner, where Camp Texas is held, tested positive for COVID-19 the night before students were supposed to arrive, organizers canceled the retreat. 

“We got the (cancellation) email at 10 p.m. the night before we were supposed to load up on buses … We were so devastated,” Camp Texas counselor Gillian Neff said.

This year, Neff said the staff is excited to return to Camp Buckner in Burnet, Texas, about an hour west of campus.

“We all want it to be wonderful,” said Neff, a speech, language and hearing sciences senior. “This year is our first time that we get to do it in person and really have that camp experience in two years.”

Neff said she is excited for incoming students to gain the same feeling of belonging with the UT community at camp as she did when she attended before her freshman year.  

“Camp provides a safe neutral space,” Neff said. “No one’s there to judge you; everyone’s there to accept you with open arms.”