Case Study
AI Vols
AI Vols is UTK's AI student organization, a cross-major club teaching practical LLM and agent workflows through weekly workshops, built on custom infrastructure I wrote from zero.
Co-Founder & Engineer
2026
Problem
UTK had no student organization focused on practical AI work. Students across every major wanted to use LLMs, build with APIs, and understand where the field is going, but had no on-campus community, no shared resources, and no consistent place to learn the tools that are reshaping their industries.
Solution
I co-founded AI Vols, designed a repeatable weekly workshop format, and built the full-stack infrastructure: landing site, member sign-in app, Python slide-generation pipeline, and Supabase backend.
Impact
Grew to 15+ members in the first semester across multiple majors; shipped a branded sign-in app, a Next.js club site, and an automated slide pipeline that removes hours of manual prep from every weekly meeting.
Problem
UTK had no student organization focused on practical AI work. Students wanted to learn LLMs, APIs, and agents, but there was no shared place to start.
Build
- Co-founded the club and built the operating structure.
- Weekly workshop format: opening, main event, closing.
- 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
Early stage. 15+ members, two meetings complete, next meeting locked. Next: club landing site, reminder system, and official UTK registration through VolLink.
Why It Matters
The club is both community and product. The software reduces operational load so recruiting, teaching, and retention can compound.