When Liam Gold (Tennessee, 2028) arrived at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, he was more than 2,000 miles from home.

Originally from the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, Gold was looking for something different when he began his college search. A counselor suggested Tennessee, and after visiting Knoxville, something clicked.

“I fell in love with it,” Gold said. “I could 100% see myself here for the next four years.”

Now finishing his second year as a mechanical engineering major, Gold has built a life on campus that blends academic rigor, fraternity leadership, Jewish identity, and a growing passion for mixed martial arts.

Liam did not know many people when he first arrived in Knoxville. He also quickly realized that the Jewish community on campus was smaller than what he had known growing up in Los Angeles. That changed when AEPi reached out.

Gold credits Brother Grant Baxter (Tennessee, 2025), a former chapter master and rush chair, with helping make Tennessee feel like home. Baxter called Gold early in his freshman year and invited him to a barbecue at the AEPi house.

“He picked me up from my dorm, brought me over to the house, introduced me to some of the brothers,” Gold said. “It was really nice just to have that immediate first outreach, especially as someone who didn’t really know anyone, and also I didn’t really know anyone else Jewish at the school.”

That first invitation became the beginning of Gold’s AEPi story. Since joining, he has become a leader in the chapter, serving as rush chair for three semesters, social chair, and previously as Jewish identity chair. For Gold, AEPi has been more than a fraternity. It has been a place to build community, especially as Jewish students continue to find their way to Southern campuses. “We’re starting to get the chapter ready for Rush this upcoming fall since there’s more and more Jewish people coming to the Southern schools every year,” he said. “We’re trying to take advantage of that and really make sure we’re here and we’re ready to make a home for them.”

Gold’s Jewish experience at Tennessee is closely tied to the relationships he has built through AEPi and the broader Jewish community in Knoxville. With Passover approaching, Gold and several brothers planned to attend a Seder at Chabad. In true college-student fashion, they also marked the holiday with a little humor. “We did a little pre-Passover send-off where we just ate a bunch of chametz,” Gold said. “Got some Olive Garden to try to get it all out of our system.”

That combination of tradition, brotherhood and humor reflects the way Gold has embraced Jewish life on campus. Whether through AEPi events, Chabad, rush or chapter programming, he sees Jewish community as something that must be actively built.

And when Brother Gold steps into the cage for an MMA fight, that sense of Jewish pride goes with him.

At his most recent fight, a group of AEPi brothers came to support him in person, while others gathered at the chapter house for a watch party. The support changed the way Gold experienced the fight. “I had all that support,” he said. “It felt like I was really able to fight for something bigger than myself, like I was going out there and representing not only AEPi, but the Jewish community.”

Gold grew up playing baseball and, as a young child, also tried karate. His path to MMA began in high school, when he started training in jiu-jitsu in Los Angeles. Then, almost by accident, he found something new.

“I showed up to an MMA class by accident,” Gold said. “The coach told me, ‘Take your gi off, put gloves on.’ I did the MMA class, and I thought, this is awesome. I want to keep doing this. That was the most fun I’ve ever had, and just like that, I was hooked.”

Balancing engineering classes, fraternity leadership and MMA is not easy, but Gold has committed himself fully to the sport. “I’ve been training twice a day before and after my class,” he said. “I’ve been really working hard at that.”

Gold had his first amateur fight during winter break of his freshman year, back home in Los Angeles. He won a difficult split decision. His second amateur fight came later, and he said the experience reflected the growth he has made through training.

The opponent was a strong kickboxer, so Gold knew he needed to be strategic. “As soon as the bell rung, I put pressure on him, hit him a couple times, and took him to the ground and just controlled it from there,” Gold said. The fight lasted about seven and a half minutes, going halfway into the third round.

Gold’s parents are supportive of his dedication, though perhaps not entirely thrilled that MMA is the passion he chose.

“They really love that I’m so passionate about something,” Gold said, “but they wish I was passionate about something else.”

For Brother Gold, AEPi has become one of the defining parts of his college experience. Asked for his favorite AEPi memory, he pointed to a chapter cabin weekend, an annual tradition.

“Being there, spending the weekend with all my brothers, not really having to worry about anything, it was really, really fun,” he said. “But I would say in general, just being part of AEPi and having that brotherhood, has been a highlight of my college career.”

That brotherhood now extends into every part of Gold’s life, including the moments before and after he competes. When his brothers show up at a fight or gather for a watch party, they are not just cheering for an athlete. They are supporting a brother, a Jewish student leader, and someone representing AEPi beyond campus.

Brother Gold is not slowing down. In the classroom, he is preparing for exams. In the gym, he is back to training and staying ready for the next fight opportunity. In AEPi, he is helping plan events, prepare for elections, and build the chapter for the next class of Jewish students at Tennessee.

From Knoxville to the cage and everywhere in between, Brother Liam Gold is proving that being part of AEPi means embracing every part of who you are…and fighting for it.

#ProudtobeaPi