Case study, 2026
AI Vols
AI Vols was a student-led Spring 2026 club at UTK for practical LLM and agent workshops, supported by a sign-in flow and slide-generation tooling I built.
Problem
Students across majors wanted a practical place to learn current AI tools and build together.
Solution
I co-founded the club, helped run 3+ Spring 2026 workshops, and built its v0.1 site, sign-in flow, and Python slide-deck pipeline.
Impact
Reached roughly 15 members in the latest verified Spring 2026 snapshot; shipped a sign-in flow and automated slide pipeline for the workshop format.
Build notes
- Next.js 16
- shadcn/ui
- Tailwind CSS
- Supabase
- Python
- python-pptx
Problem
Students across majors wanted a practical place to learn current AI tools and build together.
Build
- Co-founded the club and built the operating structure.
- Helped run 3+ Spring 2026 workshops using a repeatable opening, main event, and closing format.
- New-member sign-in app built with Next.js, Tailwind, Supabase, and Vercel.
- Form captures member profile, AI experience, goals, and contribution interest.
- Python slide-generation pipeline embeds QR sign-in links directly into decks.
Technical Signal
- Built a branded sign-in app instead of a spreadsheet workflow.
- Used Supabase so member data is queryable and reusable for attendance, projects, and future club tooling.
- Automated deck generation with Python and QR-code insertion so each meeting ships faster.
- Designed the club like a product: acquisition, onboarding, weekly release, retention.
Current State
The latest verified Spring 2026 snapshot records roughly 15 members and an open VolLink registration step. The club is not presented here as an active official UTK organization without a newer verification.
Why It Matters
The club is both community and product. The software reduces operational load so recruiting, teaching, and retention can compound.