A FOURTH GRADER BECOMES A TEE-SHIRT ENTREPRENEUR

…This was the students original design

The University of Tennessee has a new Tee Shirt Logo design

Every once in a while, you come across an article about something that just make you feel good.  That’s what this article is about.

It happened when it was “college colors” day at an elementary school in Altamonte Springs, Fla., and one of a fourth-grade teacher’s student wore an orange T-shirt, representing his favorite school, the University of Tennessee.

 “He was so excited to show me his shirt”, said Laura Snyder, the student’s teacher. “ I was impressed that he took it one step further to make his own shirt label,” Snyder wrote this on Facebook, explaining that he drew his own UT logo with pen and paper and attached the paper to his shirt.

Unfortunately, after lunch, the student came back to her room crying.  “Some girls at the lunch table next to his, who didn’t participate in college colors day event, had made fun of his sign that he had attached to his shirt, he was devastated,” she wrote. “I know kids can be cruel, I am aware that it’s not the fanciest sign, but this kid used the resources he had available to him to participate in a college spirit day.”

In an effort to cheer him up, she wrote that she planned to buy him a real University of Tennessee shirt. She asked on Facebook, if anyone out there had any contacts at the university “to make it a little extra special for him.”

What happened next was amazing.

Her post had gone viral on Facebook, eventually reaching a number of University of Tennessee fans and then to the university itself.

The university responded to the viral post by sending the student a package of UT shirts, hats and promotional items for him and his classmates.

“I’m not even sure I can put into words his reaction. It was so heartwarming,” the teacher wrote in an update to her post. “My student was so amazed at all the goodies in the box. He proudly put on the jersey and one of the many hats in the box. All who saw had either goosebumps or tears.”

But then things got even better.

The university’s official shop announced Friday that it decided to take the student’s handmade logo and turn it into an actual shirt, and some of the proceeds will be donated to an anti-bullying organization.

…This is the new UT Tee Shirt

The University of Tennessee had loved the imagination of a fourth grader designing his own shirt, that they decided to take his design and offer a real UT tee shirt of his design.  Anyone can now pre-order a Tee shirt with the student’s design for a late September delivery.  A portion of the proceeds from every shirt will be donated to @STOMPOurBullying. 

“When I told him that his design was being made into a real shirt and people wanted to wear it, his jaw dropped,” the teacher wrote. “He had a big smile on his face, walked taller, and I could tell his confidence grew today! Thank you to the UT Nation for that!!”

The student’s mother also wrote a letter of gratitude that Snyder posted.  It said, in part, “I can tell you that I spent a lot of my day reading all the kind words in support of my son and I’m touched beyond words”.

This was a story that really brings on a smile.

Copyright G.Ater 2019