Tennessee offers scholarship to bullied fourth grader after homemade 'UT' shirt goes viral
The boy won't have to worry about tuition if he elects to attend the University of Tennessee
A fourth grade student in Central Florida was bullied earlier this week when he clipped a piece of paper saying "UT" onto his shirt to show his support for the University of Tennessee during his school's "college colors" day.
After the boy's story went viral, and the school sent the boy some UT gear, Tennessee decided to offer him a four-year scholarship and an offer of admission for after he graduates from high school.
Vol Nation, you united around a #FutureVol who created his own UT shirt. And now we are thrilled to offer him a spot in the Class of 2032 and a four-year scholarship.🍊🎓 https://t.co/TjviKrMtLF
— UT Knoxville (@UTKnoxville) September 12, 2019
The boy wore an orange t-shirt for the spirit day and decided to modify it a bit in order to give it some Tennessee flavor. His teacher, Laura Snyder, then posted on Facebook about the boy being bullied.
In addition, University of Tennessee Interim President Randy Boyd got involved and was personally touched by the story. The fourth grader, who attends school in Altamonte Springs, Florida, received tons of Tennessee gear from the school.
I was touched to learn of a young Florida school student’s heart for the University of Tennessee, and I LOVED his imagination behind designing his own shirt. So many of us admire his love for UT and it’s awesome to see everyone step up to send him some UT gear!#EverywhereUT pic.twitter.com/83YqjzBxag
— UT Interim President Randy Boyd (@UT_President) September 5, 2019
Tennessee also created a t-shirt resembling what the student made on his own. The proceeds of all shirt sales will go to the nonprofit organization "Stomp Out Bullying." 50,000 of the shirts have already been sold and with word of the story continuing to spread, more sales could be on the way.
















