Photo of two students with awards

National Alumni Association Names Top Seniors for 2019

Each year, the National Alumni Association honors outstanding seniors who exemplify strong character and achievement while attending The University of Alabama. The awards are presented as a testament to the Alumni Association’s pride in these students.

Photo of two students with awards
Price McGiffert and Maret Montanari

The Alumni Student Awards honor one female and one male student in this year’s senior class. These students have excelled in academics and extracurricular activities, exhibited strength of character and maturity, and displayed exceptional hospitality toward guests and friends of the University.

Maret Montanari

The female recipient of the Alumni Student Award is Maret Montanari from Beaumont, Texas. She graduated this month with a bachelor’s degree in public relations. Montanari served as the firm director of the nationally recognized Capstone Agency, and she was the first UA student to receive the Outstanding Student Award from PRWeek. She is involved in Mortar Board and the Public Relations Student Society of America, and she was also one of 19 women honored as a UA Trailblazer —  the only student to be included. She serves as a mentor for READ Alabama, and she previously served as the public relations chair for Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

Price McGiffert

The male recipient of the Alumni Student Award is Price McGiffert from Tuscaloosa. He is majoring in civil engineering on the STEM path to the MBA and will graduate with his Bachelor of Science in May. McGiffert is a member of Capstone Men and Women, and he previously served as SGA president. He is a member of the Anderson Society, Mortar Board and Omicron Delta Kappa, among others. He also serves in positions in multiple local nonprofits, including service on the board of directors of the Tuscaloosa SAFE Center.

Outstanding Senior Awards

Alyssa Barefield: Barefield is from Birmingham. She served as the president of the UA Honors College Ambassadors and vice president of scholarship of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority. She is a member of the University Fellows Experience, the Blackburn Institute and the Order of Omega.

Matthew Barrett: Barrett is from McKinney, Texas. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society and Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society, and he is the co-founder and former president of Tide for Tusks, an organization to promote elephant conservation. In 2015, Matthew received the first-place award in International Projects at the University Research and Creative Activities Presentation.

Eryn Cooper: Cooper is from Vienna, Virginia. She is a member of Kappa Tau Alpha Honor Society, Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society and the Oakley Society. She is an on-air reporter for Crimson Tide Productions, and she has worked with the SEC Network, ESPN2 and the Huffington Post.

Ross D’Entremont– D’Entremont is from Birmingham. He served as vice president for academic affairs of the SGA and treasurer of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He is a member of the University Fellows Experience, Mortar Board, Omicron Delta Kappa and various other organizations. He currently works in the dean’s office for the University’s graduate school.

Amanda Flamerich: Flamerich is from Brooklyn, New York. She is the public relations and marketing manager of the Alabama Prosthetic Project and a researcher for the Catherine J. Randall Research Scholars Program. Her work experience includes positions in the marketing and communications fields. Last year, she presented her research at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in Washington, D.C.

Daniel Nielsen: Nielsen is from Rockford, Illinois. He served as president of the UA chapter of Habitat for Humanity and team leader for UA’s Center for Service and Leadership. He is a member of Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity, and his work experience includes an internship with Intel in San Jose, California.

Chris Painter: Painter is from Austin, Texas. He served as president of the Culverhouse College of Business Ambassadors, and he is a member of Mortar Board, Blue Key, Cardinal Key, Lambda Sigma and Phi Eta Sigma. He serves as an IT systems administrator for UA’s College of Continuing Studies.

Jessica Procter: Procter is from Tuscaloosa. She served as Miss Alabama 2017, placing in the top seven at Miss America, and she initiated Step Up to the Plate, an international philanthropy for Alpha Gamma Delta sorority focusing on ending food insecurity.

Amber Scales: Scales is from Johns Creek, Georgia. She is a member of the University Fellows Experience and Capstone Men and Women. She served as president of Mortar Board, vice chairperson of the Blackburn Institute, director of diversity, equity and inclusion of the SGA and president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. She is also a member of Omicron Delta Kappa.

Grace Turner: Turner is from Fairhope. She served as a strategy campaign manager for Capstone Agency, a public relations intern for the Tuscaloosa mayor’s office and a public diplomacy intern for the U.S. Department of State. She also served as a software business analyst intern for the NASA Glenn Research Center and the editor-in-chief of The Grit, a student-run e-newsletter platform for students at UA.