The von Trapp family might have all shared Julie Andrews as their misfit governess, but they did not all wear the same school colors.
On UT’s final move-in day, the Gilman family brought their youngest child, Rosie Gilman, to UT. Gilman, freshman in English education, will be the ninth child in a line of siblings to have attended the university.
Despite having such a family legacy at UT, Gilman said she was initially hesitant to attend a university where seven of her siblings had passed through.
“At first, I did not really want to go to UT because so many of my siblings did,” explained Gilman. “I looked at a couple colleges, like Western Kentucky. But UT just ended up having the right feel for me when I visited.”
While the Gilman family is originally from Nashville, the youngest Gilman has frequented Knoxville her entire life by virtue of her family’s history of college education at the university. Even as a child, Rosie said that while she knew they might remain close, each of them would eventually pursue very different things in life.
“We all grew up going to the same Christian high school where our dad taught and everybody knew everybody,” Rosie said. “We all kind of wanted something different. We wanted to be able to branch out and find our own niche and meet new people who were not all carbon copies of each other.”
Of all her siblings who have attended UT, all except her brother Will Gilman, junior in political science and global studies, have graduated. Like his sister, Will initially wanted to branch away from the university, but has since come to love Knoxville and the opportunities the university has offered him.
“Even though [UT] may not have been my first choice, I am definitely really happy I am here,” Will said. “ I really love to be involved in things and UT gave that to me. I’ve had a great two years and met some great people. Also, I really love being in the mountains and being able to go hiking.”
While most of her siblings now live outside Nashville, Rosie explained that the connection she feels with them extends far beyond their shared college experience.
“As you get older, you sort of develop more personal and intimate relationships with people, and I think I kind of did that with my older siblings,” Rosie said. “Sometimes I think of some of them as like my parents, which is really weird to think of your sister as a mom, but at the same time it’s like I can still joke around with them.”
Rosie also mentioned that she has involved herself with Reformed University Fellowship, a Christian campus ministry that all her siblings congregated to during their years spent in Knoxville. Though the semester started only last week, Rosie said her connection to UT is tightening as she acclimates to a new city and possibilities that the college has to offer.
“I remember walking to class last week and the weather was perfect, and I was just thinking, ‘Wow I really can’t imagine myself being anywhere else,’” Rosie said.
