Graduating senior Mason Vucinic was standing in the VolShop at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in a sea of orange and white merchandise when he made the decision to attend Tennessee’s flagship institution. It wasn’t the choice he’d originally anticipated making when he began his higher education search, but it was an easy one to make after touring the Knoxville campus.
“I just remember, as soon as I got to campus, it just felt different from the other ones. I immediately felt welcome and that it was somewhere I should be,” said the communications studies major.
With bags of freshly purchased Vol gear in hand, Vucinic was set to take the next big step of his life. But, unlike many first-year students, the Chicago-native was no stranger to making big, life-changing decisions; the first time he became a volunteer, it was when he enlisted in the Navy right out of high school.
Vucinic served in the Navy for six and a half years as master-at-arms—the Navy’s military police—before being honorably discharged. He had started taking online college courses before his return to civilian life but hadn’t quite figured out where he wanted to use his GI Bill or what he wanted to study. His first instinct was to check out schools on the West Coast, as it was a place he’d never been before, but he was accepted into several other universities that he wanted to tour before pinning down his final selection.
Now that he’s on the verge of officially graduating with a Bachelor of Art in Communication and Information, Vucinic said he’s glad he followed his gut and chose UT.
“It really does feel like home when you come to this campus; when you say Rocky Top is home sweet home, it really is,” he said.
While he picked the right university, Vucinic’s first major choice, environmental science, wasn’t quite the right fit for the former sailor. He started perusing the UT undergraduate catalog to see what other majors appealed to him, and that’s when he landed on communication studies.
As a sailor and master-of-arms, Vucinic said it was imperative for him to learn how to communicate well, especially when the pressure was on in situations with high stakes. While he said he developed good communication skills during the time he served, the soon-to-be-graduate said learning the science behind communication brought the major to life for him.
“Communication studies seemed more relevant to me as a person,” he said. “The faculty within the college are fantastic and really made me feel like I was in the right place, and all of that together affirmed that it was the right choice for me.”
Like many who graduate from a communication-oriented major, Vucinic particularly values the versatility his new degree affords him in the job market. While he is open to a variety of jobs, Vucinic said he would particularly enjoy a position where he can create content for social media.
He has already landed multiple interviews, including some with marketing companies, and he is ready to jump into the field when he gets a good job offer. Pairing his degree with his years in the Navy has proven valuable in his job search as prospective employers can see that, in addition to his academic achievements, Vucinic has experience working in a high-pressure environment.
“The military teaches you so many good things; it teaches you first and foremost good work ethic, you have to perform your duties, you don’t have a choice. It’s kind of do or die. It teaches you that you can’t just take the easy way out, and I’m really glad I did it for that reason,” he said.
Being a nontraditional student on a college campus did make Vucinic feel like the odd one out at times, as he was typically older than his classmates and had a very different life experience and perspective than them. However, the UT Veteran Success Center made it easy for him to find other Vol veterans on campus through their open-door policy and events they host, such as the “bootcamp” they host for veterans who are new students.
“It was just an overview of what to expect at college as a veteran, and there were a bunch of other veterans there, too, and I still have friends from that event,” he said.
Even though he wasn’t a typical undergraduate student, Vucinic said he did make friends with other students through classes but even more so through other opportunities offered through CCI and the School of Communication Studies. He joined the Communication Studies Club early on and that led to him participating in two of the school’s networking trips, to Atlanta and Nashville.
“These trips are really valuable for expanding your network. I made all kinds of connections, got to meet all kinds of people, it’s nice to see people that were in your shoes at one point and have become successful,” Vucinic said, noting both trips included opportunities for students to engage with professionals in their workplaces as well as at receptions where interactions could be more informal.
Throughout his entire time at UT and CCI, Vucinic has continued to feel that welcoming sense of community that first beckoned him to Rocky Top. In fact, after some time here, he realized there’s already a phrase coined for that feeling: Volunteer spirit.
“I really think it is mostly about community, making those around you feel welcome and doing whatever you can to make this campus feel like a home to everybody is the Volunteer spirit. Honestly, just doing what you can to make the world a better place,” he said.