Tennessee rowing's Katie Porter is 27th student-athlete to be Torchbearer

In her three years at Tennessee, Katie Porter has put the Vol in Volunteer.
That’s what Torchbearers do.

One of the most significant honors a University of Tennessee graduate can be given is that of Torchbearer.

It bears silent witness to the university’s Volunteer Creed: “One that beareth a torch shadoweth oneself to give light to others.”

It’s a mantra by which Porter, a member of the Lady Vols rowing team, has lived her life beyond the campus.

Porter came into UT as a sophomore, thanks to credits she earned in high school in Bethesda, Maryland. She will graduate next week with a 3.97 GPA in microbiology, with a lean toward pre-med. She will start medical school at the University of Central Florida in the fall.

In her “spare” time, Porter has volunteered in a community health clinic, been an active member of the pre-med honors society, as well as part of the VOLeaders Academy.

"Katie has made the most of the incredible opportunities Tennessee offers," said UT coach Lisa Glenn. "Through her willingness to live beyond her comfort zone as a student and an athlete, Katie has honed in on her individual goals.  Along the way she has become more aware of her teammates and the strides they are making in their own journeys." 

Her final competition at Tennessee will be at Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge at the Big 12 championships, May 12-13. 

A way of life wasn't by accident

The attitude and personality that allowed Porter to be among the nine Torchbearers in her graduating class — and the 27th student-athlete chosen since the honor's inception in the 1930s — didn’t happen by accident.

“I was honored to be recognized as someone who put others first,” Porter said. “It’s the way I was raised.

“There are 16 first cousins on my mom’s side (of the family). It really took a village to raise all of us. I did not grow up in my house, by any means. I grew up in my cousins’ houses. That experience led into who I am today.”

Her love for children — every volunteer activity she’s been involved in has focused on kids — increased last summer when the future pediatrician visited Vietnam with other VOLeaders to interact with third-generation victims of Agent Orange.

“The kids are special,” Porter said of the experience. “They’re so full of life and joy, even though they have nothing. They’ve been abandoned by their families, by their government, and yet they smile.

“There’s a stigma with kids with disabilities.”

Porter’s personality has also leaked into her athletic pursuits on the water.

“This is my first year in the stroke seat, setting the rhythm for the boat,” she said. “Usually, I was in the bow. I set the boat up for everybody else so they can do their jobs better.”

'I literally cried' hearing Rocky Top's 'Woo'

Tennessee is a long way from Maryland, but all it took was one visit to Knoxville and she was hooked.

“The first time I stepped on campus was February of my junior year (of high school),” Porter said. “I got to see a Lady Vols (basketball) game. Looking around, seeing there were people in their 70s and 80s still coming to the game, I thought it was incredible.

“When I came for my official visit (the next fall), it was the first time I was ever in Neyland Stadium. I stepped onto the field and that’s when I heard ‘Rocky Top’ in the stadium. When everyone said ‘Woo’ at the same time, I literally cried. 

“When they talk about Big Orange Country and the Volunteer Family, everybody is there for the same purpose; everybody is backing the same purpose. The unity was impressive.”

Don't call it winning an award

Since she has found out about the honor, Porter has wrestled to embrace its significance. Humility and her natural drive to serve have brought some complex feelings.

“The Torchbearer honors student leaders; people who put other people first so they can succeed,” Porter said. “Receiving an award for that is inherently opposite.

“To even call it an award is hard to say. As a servant/leader, you don’t want the attention. You’re someone in the background promoting others.

“I didn’t win anything. It’s just about what you do and why you do it.”

She has some advice for anyone interested in emulating that call to service: 
It’s really not that difficult.

“Try your best every day to do something nice for everybody else,” Porter said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s something like opening a door; letting (another driver) go at a stop sign. It doesn’t have to be anything big.

“Everything I’ve done in college has been about helping kids. Each thing takes about an hour out of my day. To me, that’s what being a Volunteer is about. That’s what I came here to do.”

Al Lesar is a freelance contributor.