Find Your Passion
Students at The University of Alabama find countless ways to get involved and expand their horizons through exploration and discovery. This section highlights students who have found their passion while pursuing their interests, and shows ways they are making an impact on the University, the state, and the world.
A Football Field in a Teaspoon
When Elizabeth Junkin, a junior majoring in chemical and biological engineering, thinks of a football field, she envisions fitting it in a teaspoon.
Lights, Camera, Russell
The lights, applause and thrill of the stage inspire Russell Stephens, a sophomore at The University of Alabama and self-proclaimed “theater geek.”
WWI Romance Helps Student Bring History to Life
Mae and Lige were a young couple going through the everyday ups and downs of any relationship. Now, 90 years later, their old-fashioned courtship has been saved in their collection of letters, brought to life by University of Alabama honors student Daniel Bush.
An Everyday Inspiration
Little did Kayla Terry know that her class project tribute to her older brother, born with Down syndrome, would leave her with more than a good grade.
Oorah! A Marine and a President
Cullen Millsap had all the qualities of a student leader before ever enrolling in his first class on The University of Alabama campus. Now, the UA senior is president of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, sharing his leadership skills for the benefit of others.
Former 'Walking Time Bomb' Launches Stroke Initiative
Sophomore Alan Blinder directs the new UA Pediatric Stroke Initiative, focused on education, advocacy and research.
Committed to Creativity
Not every 20-year-old can say they have premiered a film at the Cannes Film Festival in France. Nor can many say they are fluent in six languages. Laura Godorecci, a recent University of Alabama graduate, can.
Transformer of Characters First Changed Herself
The Grinch isn’t known for inspiration, but recreating and designing makeup to transform herself into the Grinch for a class project convinced Stesha Ross she had found her calling.
Speaking of Passion...
For a member of UA's nationally acclaimed Alabama Forensics Council, there seems to be no better quality than a love of words – besides, perhaps, enthusiasm.
Another Problem Solved
When Kyle Scott began his college search, he treated it like any engineer might – as a problem-solving challenge. Only this time he was on a quest to find an engineering program that perfectly matched his expectations.
Marathon Runners
A group of Honors College students is training to run the Country Music Half-Marathon, and they have found a supportive community and a passion for running in the process.
Crimson and Gold
When Mary Allison Milford made the decision to attend The University of Alabama, she wasn’t just thinking about Tuscaloosa – she was also thinking about Beijing.
Diabetes Advocate Changes How UA Eats
Whether or not you have met Dana Lewis, if you are a member of The University of Alabama community, she’s probably changed the way you eat lunch.
The Dancing Doctor in the Making
Most people have a distinct preference for one type of thinking: they are left-brained or they are right-brained. Frank Barber, a senior double major in dance and biology at The University of Alabama, commands both.
The Virtual Capstone
Students interested in The University of Alabama now have an exciting new way to "tour" campus – through an online "world," known as Second Life.
Helping Her Hometown
A University of Alabama student brings fellowship and health care together with a project she views as inspiration for a healthier Tuscaloosa.
A Bridge to Somewhere
The first time Ynhi Thai set foot on the Capstone’s campus, she felt at home. Culture has led Ynhi Thai to a new passion at UA – utilizing what she’s learned to help others.
The Glass Shaper
Staff member Rick Smith, the facility manager for the Glass Blowing Facility at UA, creates custom glassware for use in research projects in a shop he designed himself.
Overcoming Odds, Obstacles of Divorce
Michelle Hawthorne is not your average UA student. One thing important to Hawthorne has also become her passion – the study of parental alienation syndrome or PAS.
Leading By Example
For Phillips Thomas, service-learning projects are not just resume-fillers. For her, she says, they are about leading by example and impacting people’s lives in a hands-on, personal way.
A Sports-Minded Entrepreneur
It may be hard to imagine most 19-year-olds as veterans of their chosen profession, but Matt Wilson is a vice president for production for HSTV Southeast.
Total Immersion
Gustave Hahn-Powell entered UA looking for exotic topics. What he found was a strong interest in the language, music and philosophy of Japan, some 7,000 miles from Tuscaloosa.
Southern Roots Inspire Student's Love of Language
Questions about language and culture formed the spark for Jamie Lee McReynolds to research, while an undergraduate, the way we speak and how it sounds.
Caring for the Community
Josh Hamilton’s dedication to those less fortunate is inspiring, and he has extended the sense of caring he says he found at UA to regions far from the campus’ borders.
Atypical Path to Patients Requires Patience
There were times, Lynnette Moats says, when quitting work to pursue a nursing degree seemed like a 4-year poverty sentence for her entire household, including her daughter and the two nieces she’s homeschooled throughout her college career.
Combining Passions
Andrea Mabry was always catching her friends in the act. But her photo albums and scrapbooks aren’t filled with the usual “say cheese” pictures.
A Learning Adventure
Two of Aldrich Callins’ passions are foreign travel and collecting information about the economies of foreign countries. Another passion is helping people.
Making Lives Bigger
Junior Allison Garstecki unearthed a key sandstone artifact, some 800 years old, during the final days of an archaeological expedition in which she and classmates participated.
The Total Package
As a little girl growing up in Florence, S.C., Martha Addison knew she wanted to be an aerospace engineer. When the time came to choose a college, Addison wanted a school that offered her everything she deserved.
A Fashionable Storyteller
Making actors comfortable on stage is a big part of senior Peyton Blankenship’s role as a costume designer in The University of Alabama’s theatre and dance department.
Proactive and Positive
A 65-year-old research study, an HBO documentary, and his own research have helped solidify Phillip Jordan’s life-long passion to aid inner-city African-American children with issues such as self-esteem and expectations.