By Vivian DiSalvo (Class of 2026)
In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, first grader Sienna Reid was learning how to read and write in elementary school. Ten years later, Reid (’25) sat in the same classroom at her elementary school as a teacher, creating a life that once seemed impossible to her.
Growing up in a low-income family, Reid felt that college was nothing but a dream. But scholarships made this opportunity possible for her. Now a recent graduate, Reid studied elementary education with a concentration in middle-grade sciences at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. And she is determined to give other students the same opportunity for education.
“I think little me would be very proud that I was able to go to college and break the generational cycle,” Reid says. “She didn’t expect to make it this far.”
Reid was very involved on campus as a student. She served as president of the Tennessee Speech and Debate Society and, this past year, helped organize the state tournament at UT. In addition, she was also a member of Tri-Alpha, the first-generation honor society, as well as an office assistant for UT Housing. Scholarships like the J. Clayton Arnold Teacher Scholarship that Reid received have allowed her to have a college education and immerse herself in the college experience.
“When you grow up low-income in a town with higher economic status, you start to think there’s no light at the end of the tunnel,” says Reid. “Then I found UT had so many scholarship options and was so supportive of helping me stay financially stable, and the tunnel didn’t seem so dark anymore.”
Reid recently worked as an Extended School Program (ESP) teacher at Mitchell Neilson Elementary, where she attended elementary school. This summer, wrapping up her rotation post-graduation, she transitioned to another school also located in her hometown. Through this program, Reid has explored the teaching environment to discover her interests, working across different specializations with children in elementary through middle school.
“For many of the elementary and middle school students Sienna has taught during her time at UT, they may become future first-generation college students,” says Jennifer Jordan, elementary education coordinator and clinical associate professor of elementary education. “Many of these students come from families where college was not an option or even a consideration. Sienna made an impact by planting the seed in their minds that they can attend college after high school.”
During Reid’s time with ESP in her hometown, she has worked mostly with students in second through sixth grade whose parents have jobs or obligations during the day. Some kids are there from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, but they stay engaged with Reid, who is in charge of several different activities, such as fairy garden camp. For this activity, students use air-dry clay to create and decorate fairy houses for display.
Like ESP, experiential opportunities through UT have confirmed and clarified Reid’s plans for the future, and her scholarship awards provided a clear path to UT and all it had to offer.
“Scholarships have allowed me to pursue internships and other educational experiences outside the college classroom that have been integral to my education,” says Reid. “With scholarships, I could still pay my bills even while pursuing my college classes and the internship program within UT’s undergraduate elementary education program.”
As for the future, Reid’s most cherished hope is to inspire a new generation of learners to pursue higher education just like she did, to show them nothing is impossible when you’re a Volunteer.
