UT Opens New Admissions Center With El Paso Chapter Help

By Rose Cahalan in Chapters on September 29, 2011 at 1:30 pm | 1 Comment

Young Texans from all over the state flock to UT-Austin. But some of them find it extra-convenient to apply: they have a hometown UT Admissions Center where they can meet with a counselor and get help with the application process.

Now El Paso students have joined their ranks. The El Paso Admissions Center celebrated its grand opening Wednesday.

About 150 people attended the event at the almost 2,000-square-foot center, which is UT’s eighth local admissions center. The others are in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, the Rio Grande Valley, New York City, Lubbock, and Longview.

With just three staff members, the El Paso center is the state’s smallest, center director Michael John Talamantes said. But it serves a crucial purpose.

“In terms of higher ed, there are only two tickets in town,” said Talamantes. “UT-El Paso and El Paso Community College, which are both open enrollment. So a lot of kids from here are mystified by the holistic review process that UT-Austin uses. We are here to demystify that process.”

President Bill Powers, student government vice president Ashley Baker, and vice provost and director of admissions Kedra Ishop spoke at the grand opening.

“It was great to see even toddlers wearing burnt orange yesterday,” said Talamantes. “It made me realize that we will be building Longhorn pride in this community, even in little kids.”

Texas Exes El Paso chapter president George White said he’s thrilled about the center.

“As alumni, it’s our responsibility to reach out to young people,” he said. “Whenever I talk to a prospective student, I always try to get them excited about Texas. Now we have a group of professionals to help us do that.”

See more photos from the day below: