With more than 36,000 students, it can feel like a daunting task for a student to find where they fit on campus at the University of Tennessee. But for first-year student Madi Rogers, her Volunteer experience has been filled with connection from the very beginning.

Rogers signed up for a housing tour as a prospective student and was guided on campus by Sam Elliott, a Vols@Home tour guide with University Housing.

“I came to campus in March 2023 for a housing tour as I was really torn on which university to attend,” said Rogers. “I was seeing what would fit me best, and Sam gave me the best advice and shared a great outlook on the opportunities and experiences everyone loves at UT.”

A nursing major who will graduate in spring 2026, Elliott is in her second year of serving with the Vols@Home program that provides housing tours to prospective students in a small-group, peer-led setting.

“When you’re leading ambassador tours you’re giving tours to 50 people at once, but housing is more personal,” said Elliott. “That’s why Madi and I got along so well. It was just me, her, and her parents. Some tours aren’t as great as others, but we hit it off right off the bat.”

“She showed me Tennessee is where I needed to be,” added Rogers. She noted that everyone seemed to love it at UT, and Elliott was no exception.

“She gave a glowing review of UT and recommended I live in Hess Hall which is so communal,” says Rogers. “I’m a social person so she knew I would do well there.”

Fast forward to August when Rogers attended Ignite, a premier program at UT that welcomes incoming students to campus. Participating in Ignite helps students transition to Rocky Top and facilitates community service experiences to promote social, personal, and leadership success for new Vols’ first year at UT.

Lo and behold, one of Rogers’ team leaders for Ignite was Elliott.

“Sam was one of the first people I saw when I walked in, and she was one of my team leaders,” said Rogers. “She was my first person, my first introduction to the real experiences at Tennessee. She made my first experience at Tennessee unforgettable.”

“For her to be in my group at Ignite, what are the odds?” asked Elliott. “In my Ignite group when I was a first-year student, I was the only person from Tennessee. It was so eye-opening to hear other people’s perspectives. That’s why I became an Ignite team leader—it’s such a great way to dive in and be a leader on such a big campus. I seriously felt the magic and energy of Ignite.”

Elliott shared that in her experience it was intimidating to come to such a big school, but having an experience like Ignite where she could dive in and get to know other people and people from different backgrounds made her transition to campus much smoother.

“By the end of Ignite, strangers are your best friends,” said Elliott. “You build connections with upperclassmen, and you build connections within yourself as you find out who you are as an individual. We dig into deep topics to discover your own values and strengths.

For me, as a team leader, I love that I still have this connection with Madi. I’m not her mentor any more—now we’re on the same playing field.”

Rogers shared that Elliott helped her get organized the first couple weeks of school and having connections like that on campus made her fall semester and overall adjustment to college so much easier.

“The people here are why I came to Tennessee,” added Rogers.

“For Madi and I to be strangers on that housing tour and then dive into friendship at Ignite has just been the best thing in the world,” added Elliott. “She’s in a sorority with my roommate and we usually talk about once a week. We have a lot in common and see each other on campus often.”

For Elliott and Rogers, the campus community is amazing. Even though it’s such a big school, everyone is connected.

According to Elliott, “I have a connection of some kind with everyone.”