UA Premier Awards

As a woman in STEM, Kittson Hamill is setting the bar high for future generations. Holding various leadership roles across campus and receiving numerous accolades while enrolled in a rigorous course load — she’s also showing them that anything is possible. Hamill, a Rhodes Scholar finalist, is a computer science major focusing on data security and analytics and a triple minor in the Randall Research Scholars Program, Chinese and art. She earned first place in the 2022 Alpaca Owners Association Student Design Competition using her weaving skills and showcasing how she excelled not only in her STEM major but also in the arts. She has received recognition for her academic and research endeavors from local, national and international organizations and interned with the U.S. Department of Defense and the NOAA Hollings program, among others. Hamill’s other work in helping to detect Early-Stage Alzheimer’s disease and with the United Nation’s Girl Up program, all while maintaining a perfect GPA, are just more examples of her commitment to doing the work it takes to be part of the global good.

Abilene Morthland is a Spanish and philosophy major from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Her research in the UA School of Law alongside RRS student Lewis Fischer used legal analysis to draw conclusions about First Amendment infringements on marginalized populations. She is passionate about human rights advocacy and is pursuing a JD/PhD program in philosophy to ultimately use toward that mission, either through research or nonprofit work. Between graduation and law school, she will be an apprentice for Dr. Bob Art in New Orleans. Abby has served as Chief Justice of the Student Government Association, where she worked to increase campus education on student rights, responsibilities, and resources. She also serves as president of UA Phi Sigma Tau philosophy honor society chapter and as an ambassador for the College of Arts & Sciences. She also created RRSP's first trans-generational newsletter, and she's excited to stay engaged long after graduation.

Originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, UA senior Jackson Foster studies religion and history, with minors in the Blount and Randall Research scholars programs. Jackson has published extensively in early-modern English history—namely, on Tudor criminal law—and the global-critical philosophy of religion, where he uses machine learning to map inclusive futures for the field. He is co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Crimson Historical Review, and he spent last year earning his bureaucratic stripes as an intern at the National Endowment for the Humanities. Before the covid-19 pandemic, Jackson was slated to plan and teach a class at the Tuscaloosa Juvenile Detention Center—carceral education and reform being long-standing passions of his. In his free time, Jackson plays tennis, soccer, and cricket, dyes his hair, listens to punk music, and paints. As a Marshall Scholar, he will pursue a master degree in medieval and early modern studies, then another in data science for the digital humanities, at Durham University.