From the 2021 Collegian | For Brand Elverston, going to The University of Alabama was the chance of a lifetime. Now, he wants to help other students have that chance through the Brand L. Elverston Endowed Eminent Scholarship in Criminal Justice. “My biggest desire is to help a student who wants to go to college, but maybe can’t afford it,” Elverston said. “I want to help the Brand Elverston of 2021.” Elverston graduated from UA in 1983, after transferring to […]
From the 2021 Collegian | When Carla Rountree recounts her childhood, she remembers her father’s floor-to-ceiling library, filled with novels, biographies, travel guides, and historical books. Her father, Dr. Thomas Rountree, served as UA’s creative writing program director from 1963 to 1971, before moving to the University of South Alabama to become chair of their English department. But before he began his time as a faculty member and writer, he was a master’s student at UA, mentored by Hudson Strode. Strode, who began […]
From the 2021 Collegian | When Jeffrey Levitetz graduated from The University of Alabama, he left with a sense of determination, a dream, and a business he ran out of his car. Now, he returns to campus to share what he’s learned as a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist. Levitetz began his career while he was a New College student, where he sold surplus merchandise and other goods out of the trunk of his car to students and locals. This business, […]
From the 2021 Collegian | When Brittany Hamner graduated from UA in May 2021, she walked across the stage prepared to take on the world. The 2020 Campbell-Portera Scholarship winner had spent the past four years learning all that she could, getting involved in multiple organizations on campus, and making memories that will last a lifetime. Hamner, a Tuscaloosa native and first-generation college student, decided to go to UA to be close to her large, tight-knit family. UA gave her the opportunity […]
From the 2021 Collegian | Dr. Jacqueline Trimble’s first impulse after learning to read was to write, so at the age of six, she wrote her first piece of work: a one-paragraph autobiography. Though she talks fondly of the memory now, her accomplishments assure she has much more to add. Trimble, who earned her masters and PhD at UA and serves as the chair of Alabama State University’s department of languages and literatures, was one of only 35 selected as […]
From the 2021 Collegian | Caroline Yuk has always known she wanted to make a difference in the world. COVID-19 brought many challenges to UA’s classrooms. For Yuk, a senior, it spurred a new challenge—figuring out how to learn all that she needed to when communication was muffled by cloth face covering and plexiglass—and an opportunity. “I’m always thinking about how things can be better,” Yuk said. “How can things improve? And what ways can they? I think I’ve always had this mindset of wondering why we […]
From the 2021 Collegian | In the heart of Tuscaloosa County, a small stream runs through the woods. Here, frogs hop from stone to stone, insects and butterflies flutter about, and water transports fish and other river dwellers downstream. Locals spend their days on the creek’s banks, swimming, hiking, and adventuring in their own backyard. This stream is known as Hurricane Creek, a tributary of the Black Warrior River. A landmark to Tuscaloosa natives, Hurricane Creek has long been […]