By Vivian DiSalvo (Class of 2026)
With the Class of 2026 just graduated, it’s time to welcome in the Class of 2030 to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Every year, UT’s alumni chapters celebrate the newest generation of Volunteers with Student Summer Send-Offs.
These events give new students, current students, parents, and alumni the chance to connect prior to new Vols’ first semester on Rocky Top, often serving as the first impression of the Volunteer community.
Whether just beginning your UT journey or repping the Big Orange 20 years down the line, Summer Send-Offs are a great way to get connected with Vols in your area and experience a taste of home sweet home.
Patrick Hyland serves as the scholarship and philanthropy chair for the St. Louis UT Alumni Chapter.
“The send-off parties are especially helpful for out-of-state first-years because they might not have friends from high school going to UT,” says Hyland. “This gives them an initial network at UT until they develop new networks on campus, though they’ll always have the alumni here rooting for them.”
Throughout the event, students and parents are given the opportunity to ask questions and mingle with alumni. For St. Louis’s Student Summer Send-Off, this often includes a slideshow of the UT landscape, a brief introduction of each student, and announcing the recipient of a $2,000 scholarship, and some frozen custard for celebration.
“The goals of this event are for first-years and their parents to meet and bond with counterparts starting on the same journey, hear about the experience and advice from returning students, and parents, and ask unanswered questions of the returning students, parents, and alumni,” says Hyland.
This first impression assures students that they made the right choice and that they’re joining an expansive network of individuals that will support them, push them to grow, and celebrate thier wins.
“The Student Summer Send-Offs are a long-term investment by the alumni,” says Hyland. “Hopefully, when today’s first-years become alumni, they will fondly remember their send-off and want to give back to UT by being active in a local alumni chapter.”
Though the Student Summer Send-Offs can help students who previously had few connections, they are also impactful for in-state students who might be more familiar with UT’s network. Angela Danovi serves as a member of the Memphis alumni board and coordinator for the Memphis Student Summer Send-Off for the Memphis UT Alumni Chapter.
“Memphis is a six-plus hour drive from Knoxville, and there can be major cultural differences as well for students who grew up in Memphis,” says Danovi. “It helps these students to meet and know people from their hometown who are first-year students going through a similar experience.”
Much like the St. Louis chapter, the Memphis Student Summer Send-Off also includes opportunities for students, alumni, and parents to mingle,exchange contact information,and participate in different activities designed to engage the community.
“Today, not every student has an opportunity to attend in-person orientation before heading off to campus,” says Danovi. “Starting with connections from home will help them through these weeks in the summer and early fall when everything and almost everyone around them is new.”
The send-off also gives alumni the chance to show students that being a Vol doesn’t end after graduation—it goes beyond their four years at UT.
“As alumni, we show students and parents that there is a place for you once you graduate,” says Danovi. “As I’ve heard UT representatives say, the goal isn’t for you to be a student; the goal is for you to become alumni. Alumni involvement has helped me connect back to campus and to connect with people who share my love of UT, and I hope to give that experience to these students so they can share this with the next generation of first-years.”
Find a Student Summer Send-Off in your area.
