Alumni – Page 2 – College of Arts & Sciences

Paying It Forward

January 15, 2021

Gordon-Palmer Hall surrounded by pink flowers

From the 2020 Collegian | “It was an interesting time to be at the University,” says Ed Braswell, a 1967 graduate. George Wallace’s famous “Stand in the Schoolhouse Door” took place mere weeks before Braswell would arrive for freshman orientation. He was also a student during the tenures of three of his heroes—President Frank Rose; the legendary Colonel Carleton K. Butler, director of the Million Dollar Band; and Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. While at UA, Braswell studied math and played […]

Hats Off to the Graduates

January 15, 2021

From the 2020 Collegian | We are so proud of all of our incredible 2020 Arts and Sciences graduates. To celebrate their resilience, ingenuity, and dedication to their education, we want to highlight a few of our newest alumni. Join us in congratulating the Class of 2020! Lota Erinne | English and Finance My Post-Graduate Plans: I’m currently proofreading for Grammarly and participating in a book editing mentorship, and next year I’ll be working as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant […]

The Curious Case of DP Lyle

January 15, 2021

From the 2020 Collegian | DP Lyle isn’t a man who makes decisions lightly. But when a decision is made, he doesn’t think twice about it—he sticks to it, and lets it shape the course of his life. While growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, Lyle says he was always working towards one thing: going to medical school. He’s known since a young age that he was destined to do medical work, but not because it’s what his family did, or […]

A&S Grad Assisting With Saliva-Based COVID-19 Test

September 30, 2020

From the October 2020 Desktop News | When Anne Watkins started her master’s of public health at Yale University, she never thought she’d work with any sort of sports team, let alone a whole league. Now, she and her colleagues are partnered with the National Basketball Association to create a new COVID-19 testing procedure that she hopes will make testing more accessible and affordable for all communities. Watkins, a 2019 graduate of UA’s Department of Biological Sciences, is working in […]

Giving Back

July 22, 2020

The Edward Ervin Guy Jr. Endowed Scholarship in Communicative Disorders, established in 2014, aims to give back to the students working to help those with language, speech, and hearing disorders. The scholarship allowed Summer Ensor, a 2019 recipient and communicative disorders major, to take classes over the summer and participate in the Undergraduate Clinic at the UA Speech and Hearing Center, an invaluable experience to her as a future speech-language pathologist. “I was able to have my first two clients […]

Biodiversity Fellowship

July 22, 2020

Since 2012, the Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Fellows Program has allowed students to immerse themselves in a wide range of biodiversity research within the state of Alabama. Emma Arneson, a PhD student in biological sciences and Wilson Biodiversity Fellow, studies invasive crayfish and their impact on native crayfish in Alabama. The state has the largest number of species of crayfish in the country, and invasive crayfish often negatively impact the ecosystems in which they are introduced. Arneson has sampled crayfish […]

Dean’s Message: Moody Music Building Fire

April 20, 2020

On the night of April 19th, a fire damaged the Million Dollar Band wing of Moody Music Building. The fire was contained after valiant efforts by firefighters and fortunately, no one was inside the building at the time and thus there are no reported injuries. Much of the equipment was secured and moved to another location.

The Power of a Song

April 20, 2020

Over the past few weeks, Dr. Paul Houghtaling and his opera students have used video conferencing and phone calls to sing to the elderly and others who may be isolating alone. Even when times are uncertain, music can bring joy into someone’s life.

Birmingham Judge Shares Experience, Gives Advice to Students

February 19, 2020

From the February 2020 Desktop News | For Nyya Parson-Hudson, every day in the office is another opportunity to change the lives of people in her community. As a municipal court judge for the city of Birmingham, the UA alumna spends her time listening to cases that deal with everything from mental health to domestic violence. With each case, she takes the time to balance the costs for all parties involved: the victim, the defendant, and their families who might […]

Taking Up Space

January 27, 2020

Josh Burford in orange, pink, and purple lighting.

From the Winter 2019 Collegian | Over the past year, Joshua Burford’s life has been a whirlwind. After being featured in newspapers and radio shows around the country, including The New York Times, he was selected as one of NBC’s “Pride50,” a group of 50 veteran and up-and-coming activists in the LGBTQ community in the United States. But for Burford, all of this pales in comparison to expanding his life’s work: saving and creating a space for Southern queer history. […]