Emily Gruener's early commitment to leadership is already paying off.

As a sophomore, Emily Gruener has not had very much time to make an impact on The University of Texas, but her recent induction into the Orange Jackets will help.

After serving as a representative, senator, and president of her high school student council, Gruener entered the University focused on pursuing a career in policy. As a government and Plan II major, she has joined Students for Education Reform and Student Government. She also serves on the executive board of the Undergraduate Research Journal. These qualities, she says, helped her become a good candidate for the Orange Jackets, a longstanding women's leadership organization.

"I decided to apply because they've always had a really strong tradition of female leadership that I wanted to be a part of," Gruener says.

As both a Forty Acres Scholar and an Orange Jacket, Gruener will have plenty of chances to embody the Orange Jacket tenets of scholarship, leadership, and service. "I'm so grateful for both of these opportunities," Gruener says. "I can continue trying to carry the tradition of so many of the famous [alumni] before me."

"Emily is a compassionate, inquisitive, lovely new Tap [new Orange Jacket]," says the group's president, Maggie Gunn. "You can tell she is always thinking and always contributes volumes to the task or conversation at hand."

Gruener will work with other new members on a yearlong service project that will benefit UT and the Austin community. "My goal for this year is really just to be a great, productive member of the tappee project," Gruener says. "I really just want that to be a huge success."

Once the tappee project is completed in the spring, Gruener will be initiated as a member of The University of Texas' oldest honorary service organization. She will then be awarded the traditional orange vest worn by influential women before her, like Margaret C. Berry, Carol Keeton Strayhorn, and Lady Bird Johnson.

"In general, I just want to leave a beneficial impact here at UT because the University has just given so much to me," Gruener says.