On Sept. 18, the University of North Alabama’s Office of Alumni Relations released its newest list of promising alumni. That morning, UNA National Alumni Association executive director Bishop Alexander made a long-anticipated announcement on the matter.

The students listed by Alumni Relations at UNA will be officially commended next weekend, as the UNA Lions gear up to face Eastern Kentucky University in a properly hyped homecoming game. Supplementary to the football game, homecoming celebrations are to include a parade and a pep rally.

Over the years, those selected promising alumni at UNA have earned the respect and admiration of their professors, not to mention their classmates. Future alumni granted the privilege to identity in such a way are cited by Alexander to “have demonstrated outstanding achievements and contributions in academics and campus involvement.” They represent all that UNA aspires to achieve. Potential promising alumni along this vein were nominated by UNA faculty members.

This year, over 30 UNA students were nominated for induction onto the UNA Promising Alumni Class of 2023.

UNA’s final collection of future successful alumni includes the following nine seniors and three graduate students: 

• Amber Sandvig (Senior)
• Audrey Beaver (Senior)
• Brody Sutherland (Graduate Student)
• Caroline Vance (Senior)
• Harold “Mack” McCluskey (Senior)
• Joshua “Garret” Statom (Senior)
• Mackenzie Martin (Graduate Student)
• Mario Sanchez Salcedo (Senior)
• Morgan Crouch (Graduate Student)
• Nydia Thomas (Senior)
• Shana R. Melton (Senior)
• Talon R. Pritchard (Senior)

Sandvig, Statom and Pritchard are business students, while Beaver studies nursing. Sutherland, Vance and Salcedo belong to the College of Arts, Sciences and Engineering. McCluskey, Martin, Crouch, Thomas and Melton are classified as students of the College of Education and Human Sciences.

Chosen along with the others for outstanding performance in academics and extracurriculars, Vance is a double major, specializing in Public Relations and Spanish. She also works as a freelance photographer. Of her two areas of study, Vance said, “In combination, they are a perfect fit for me. I’ve always been very people-oriented and empathetic. At UNA, I’ve connected with my professors and my classmates. We all have shared interests.”

As Vance sees it, promising future alumni at UNA are those who have “shown promise in their chosen fields.”

After graduation, Vance plans to stay in the South and work in marketing. “Somewhere near Atlanta would be nice,” she said. “I want to be able to use what I have learned about the Spanish language here in the South. I feel connected to this area. Companies looking to hire multilingual employees are probably going to be more inclusive. These are the sort of places I’m interested in; it is so important to have a layered understanding of the people around you, to live beyond your own experiences.”

UNA takes tremendous pride in its alumni, future and present alike. The Friday preceding its game against EKU, the university is throwing a Homecoming Alumni Celebration in the Marriott Shoals Conference Center, presented by the Florence Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau. The gathering will have a cash bar, heavy hors d’œuvres, live music and a photo booth. In addition to signifying five decades of the UNA name, this year’s homecoming sees the institution observing 50 years of active Greek life.