These are the people and the things that make us realize how incredibly blessed we are to be doing what we do. I am thankful to be taking away a little bit of cheerleading and taking with me a lot of things that have made me who I am today.

Cheering at a school like the University of Tennessee is really special -- the deep tradition and pride the athletes, coaches and fans connect through is something you can't shake. Once you put on that Tennessee orange and walk into that stadium… there's no turning back.

Senior cheerleader, Katrina Caronia told us about her cheer career at UT.

"Being a part of the cheerleading program has been more than I could have ever expected. The things I will take away from my experience at UT is traveling across the world, cheering some of the most exciting games in Neyland Stadium in front of 102,455 fans, cheering on The Lady Vols in NCAA tournaments, along with some rewinds, full ups, and a ton of pyramids. The things I will take with me for a lifetime are the experiences with my teammates who now I consider family, the "momma Joy" life lessons that we get more than we realize, the one memorable interaction with a fan who says we made their day, and the love and joy from the little girl at Vol Walk who want to be just like you.



The things I'll miss most about being on the team are the times we've laughed so hard we couldn't stop. Traveling on a bus for 10 hours... which always made for the best trips. I will miss the games that end in tears because who would have thought we'd beat Florida 11 years later... GO VOLS! I will miss the times where cheerleading meant so little and the people around us meant so much more. The time when running a 300 at workouts was so hard but the people around you made it easy. I will miss the opportunities we are given to meet the coolest people and travel to the coolest places. I will miss having Ms. Joy being a second mom to me when mine was 10 hours away and being part of a program that turned into my family when my family was too far.

My advice to future rookie cheerleaders on how to make the most of their years in the program is to try to sit back and look at the big picture. Put aside what cheerleading is supposed to be, put aside winning a national championship, and really look at the big picture of what being a Tennessee Cheerleader really is. Remember how much you would have given everything to have a uniform in your closet and don't ever lose that drive and determination, because when cheerleading is over that drive and determination will get you far in life. Remember that at the end of the day it is cheerleading and the sun will rise the next day no matter if you learned a double full basket or not. Enjoy every appearance, game, away trip, Christmas party, and 'Joy Extravaganza' because four years go way faster than you could ever imagine it would and these will be the best times of your life."

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Katrina and the Tennessee Spirit Squads rally their fans on game day in the new film, It's Game Day: Tennessee!

Watch the trailer