All it took was stepping on to the campus of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, for graduating senior Skylar Brown to make it her top pick. Previously deadset on attending her mother’s alma mater, Auburn University, Brown quickly changed her mind after getting the Rocky Top tour her senior year of high school.
“I feel it’s a universal feeling, how most people will talk about how they just come here and there’s something about it that just feels like home. I know it sounds cheesy, ‘home sweet home’ like the song,” she said. “I was walking around and seeing the students and I saw someone I knew, and I thought, ‘That could be me.’ It just felt like home ,and I actually could not see myself anywhere else.”
Brown’s gut feelings proved correct as she navigated her way through her undergraduate degree and made friends and memorable experiences along the way. She started out undecided on her major and found the School of Communication Studies after her advisor suggested it would fit her interests and skill set. It also allowed for more career options than most majors, and she liked that flexibility.
“There’s so many people out in the workforce who have graduated from this program who are doing all sorts of things,” she said.
Early on in her days at UT, Brown considered a future as a lawyer or finding a way to work in the music industry. She participated in the pre-law and government fraternity Kappa Alpha Pi while she was still considering a law career and learned through the experience that law wasn’t in the cards for her.
But the music industry is still on her radar, especially after she had the chance to intern with the Riverbend Music Festival in summer 2023. It was there she discovered her knack and passion for event planning and logistics.
“The internship was all-encompassing, and it made me realize that I like to be a planner—organizing, planning, communicating with people. Not so much being in charge but making everything run, which, communications, there you go,” she said.
Though she’s still on the job hunt for a coveted music industry job, Brown said the versatility her major allows her to keep her options open.
“I’m very thankful for my major,” she said. “I just feel like I have learned so many different aspects of communication and I really have enjoyed how this major differentiates the different forms of communication in classes: interpersonal class, organizational communication, and theories.”
In addition to her classes, Brown said a pivotal moment in her time at the College of Communication and Information was going on the Washington, D.C. trip this past February. She was awarded the John Haas Student Experiential Learning Endowment to help cover trip expenses, and she said it was the best experience she had in her entire college journey. Not only was she exposed to the various careers she could get with her major, she also bonded with other students as well as faculty—and she met Associate Professor John Haas, who she calls “the most influential person” she met at CCI.
“He’s my capstone professor this semester and he went on the trip and he’s a great person and wants to see students succeed. It’s great to feel that support from a professor,” she said.
She is also part of the Communications Studies Honors Society Lambda Pi Eta and has gained hands-on experience in leadership and teamwork through her Panhellenic sorority, Delta Delta Delta. Brown was selected to serve on Gamma Chi as part of UT’s Panhellenic Recruitment committee two years ago, which meant temporarily disaffiliating with her own sorority and learning how to work with many different people and situations.
“There were a hundred of us from all thirteen sororities and I didn’t really know anybody. It really helped me branch out and I learned how to deal with difficult situations. I was in quick response mode the entire time and I just had to think on my feet every single day, and it showed me that I can do that,” she said.
All her experiences at UT combined have built her into someone who feels prepared for the next big step of life after graduation. She also knows that she is truly a Volunteer now and better understands what the Volunteer spirit is after seeing students, faculty, staff, and alumni exhibit it during her years here.
“I just feel like the Volunteer spirit is such a real thing, and so many people here have such a good outlook on life and how to interact with people. You leave here with such an appreciative mindset of other people and just wanting to give back to everybody,” she said. “What I’m taking with me is just so many experiences that I would not trade for anything, so much knowledge that I don’t think I would be as appreciative of as I am if I hadn’t come to the University of Tennessee. I’m really sad to leave, but I’m excited to see what’s next.”