Young Alumni: Meet UM's 25 Under 25

Lee Adler (’21) Missoula, MT — Since graduating from UM, Adler has held management roles in security at Community Medical Center and the Ranch at Rock Creek. He has also served in the Army National Guard, specializing in suicide prevention, for which he received an Army Commendation Medal. Currently, he is contemplating graduate school while he serves as a wildland firefighter for the DNRC. He recently returned from a DNRC assignment fighting fires in Northern Alberta. 

Austin Amestoy (’22) Laurel, MT — As a journalism student at UM, Amestoy created the Kaimin Cast, weekly news podcast recognized by NPR as one of the best college podcasts in the country in 2022. After graduating, he joined Montana Public Radio as an evening newscast intern before taking on a full-time role as the station’s morning news host. Amestoy also hosts MTPR’s podcast “The Big Why,” where he and other reporters answer listener-submitted questions about anything in Montana.

Chase Bartlett (’22) Frisco, TX — Bartlett worked as an assistant tennis coach while earning his MBA at UM. Inspired by his career in tennis, he founded MatchCoach, an online coaching company to help tennis players across the world access personalized coaching. The company has won prizes in several startup pitch competitions.   

Mariah Beckwith (’20) Sammamish, WA — Mariah is a First Lieutenant in the Army, currently serving at Fort Bliss, Texas. After graduating from the UM ROTC program, she began her career as an Intelligence Officer and served for a year in Korea as part of the continued support operations near the Demilitarized Zone. She recently completed a validation exercise at the National Training Center in California, leading the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle operations as an integral part of modern military strategy.

Charlie Booher (’22) Lolo, MT — Booher graduated from UM with a Master of Public Administration and studied wildlife biology & natural resource conflict resolution. At the conclusion of his time at UM, Booher was awarded the Boone and Crockett Fellow Outstanding Achievement Award in Graduate Research. He now works as a conservation lobbyist in Montana.

Alexa Coyle (’21) Bozeman, MT — Coyle competed for UM Women’s soccer for four years, before graduating and moving to Scotland to play professionally. With her teammate, she founded The Female Edge, which aims to mentor female athletes with services such as mindset mentoring, college recruiting and more. Coyle joined the Seattle Seahawks as an intern last year and has now accepted a full-time position on their business marketing team.

Brooke DeRuwe (’23) Spokane, WA — After graduating from UM with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science & Sustainability and a minor in Climate Change Studies, Deruwe moved straight to the Florida keys to start her dream job working at a facility for sea turtles. During her time on campus, she served as a UM Advocate and a research assistant. 

Sara Diggins (’21) Salt Lake City, UT — While studying journalism at UM, Diggins interned for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Missoulian. She now works as a photojournalist for the Austin-American Statesman. She and her team were recently nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of the Uvalde Shooting and its aftermath. Diggins also advocates for the mental health and well-being of journalists. Her work is regularly published across the USA Today network.

Noah Durnell (’22) Great Falls, MT — Durnell was drawn to UM as a music student and spent four years advocating for improvements to the School of Music. He worked to secure funding at the legislative level. Durnell also served as ASUM president. He is now part of the UM Foundation team, as Assistant Director of Development for the Davidson Honors College.

Devin Fillicicchia (’22) Marietta, GA — Since graduating from UM, Fillicicchia has been engaging with and advocating for Montana communities as Forward Montana’s Civic Education Organizer. His programming provides opportunities for high school students across the state to learn about the democratic process and to get involved. 

Jade Gordon (’23) Hyrum, UT — Gordon graduated from UM this year with a master’s degree in Speech-Language Pathology and is already putting her education to use helping others. She is working as a speech pathologist in Missoula, serving K-12 students and adults with disabilities. 

Maddie Hagan (’22) Portland, OR — Hagan studied history and philosophy at UM and participated in the Missoula County COVID-19 Documentation Project, for which her team won an Achievement Award from the National Association of Counties. Currently, Hagan is earning her graduate degree at Columbia University in New York City, where she also works as a preservation intern for Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. 

Brittany Hellman (’22) Missoula, MT — After graduating early from UM with honors, Helman is working to take over her family’s large health insurance business, while also managing Cambie Taphouse in Missoula. Helman recently earned her Health Insurance agent license. She also spends time volunteering and coaching sports in the community. 

Devin Hunt (’21) Colville, WA — Hunt studied biology and microbiology at UM while working as an undergraduate research assistant. He is currently earning his MD-PhD at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore. A recipient of the Intramural Research Training Award from the National Institutes of Health, he spent a year as part of a clinical research team at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. He also recently received the 2023 CAP Distinguished Medical Student Award. 

Alex Hurlburt (’23) Salem, OR — Hurlburt played football at UM with a limb disability, while earning two degrees. He recently accepted a position as an audit associate with KPMG, U.S. in Oregon. He also competes in powerlifting and aspires to encourage and mentor other athletes with physical differences. 

Oscar Kronenberger (’21) Butte, MT — Kronenberger studied psychology at UM and earned the President's Outstanding Senior Recognition Award. He is now working as a post-baccalaureate research assistant at UM and focuses on eating disorder care in Montana. He will start the Clinical Psychology Ph.D. Program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Houston this fall.

Marcus Lynch (’21) Butte, MT — Lynch graduated from UM summa cum laude with a degree in wildlife biology. He is now applying his scientific education and commitment to conservation in his role with the U.S. Forest Service. Lynch hopes to continue his career by pursuing a Ph.D. in wildlife biology.

Justina McDirmid (’22) Spokane, WA — With a bachelor’s degree in environmental science and Sustainability, McDirmid recently completed an AmeriCorps position with Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks as an Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator. In this role, she assisted public education on invasive species and helped build partnerships between the state and local communities and businesses. This year, she accepted a position as a water rights technician with the WGM Group in Missoula. She also sits on the Missoula County Aquatic Invasive Species
Board. 

Taylor Miranda (’22) Spokane, WA — Miranda earned her bachelor’s degree in geosciences from UM while completing several impressive internships, including with the U.S. Geological Survey and NASA. She is passionate about environmental sustainability and is currently planning to pursue a master’s degree in geospatial informational sciences.

Kaila Parkin (’20) Missoula, MT — Parkin is a teacher in a combined classroom of first and second graders in Superior. She also coaches junior high basketball and is a wife and mom to two young boys. She plans to pursue her master’s degree to further serve her students.

Olivia Quintero (’21) Missoula, MT — After graduating from UM, Quintero joined the Peace Corps and is serving in the health sector in Senegal. She works on projects in maternal, newborn and child health in a small town in the Tambacounda region. Over the next 2 years, she plans to focus on youth health clubs, water and sanitation, malaria prevention and nutrition.

Anthony Quiroz (’23) Cheney, WA — As a student at UM, worked part-time in Intercollegiate Athletics in the equipment room and was a sous chef at the Poverello Center. After completing internships with both the New York Jets and Kansas City Chiefs in equipment management and graduating from UM, Quiroz is now completing a post-graduate internship with the US Track & Field Team. He is focused on his dream of working in NFL equipment management.

Augusta Reinhart (’22, ’23) Bozeman, MT — With both an undergraduate degree and a master’s degree in political science, Reinhart is building her career in the field of international relations with a focus on service. She recently worked with the City of Missoula, Soft Landing and the International Rescue Community to facilitate refugee employment. She currently works as an International Program Manager at UM’s Mansfield Center.

Caroline Thornberry (’21) Mountain View, CA — Passionate about animal welfare, Thornberry volunteered with several animal organizations and worked full-time as a vet tech while studying organismal biology at UM. She is now earning a doctorate in veterinary medicine at Washington State University. Her contributions to their intensive care unit and blood bank have helped save the lives of countless cats and dogs. 

Marcus Welnel (’23) Helena, MT — While donning the #37 jersey for the Griz on the football field, Welnel was also busy earning a bachelor’s degree in finance with minors in Mathematics and Economics, a master’s in business administration, and a master’s in business analytics. He now works as a Financial Representative for WestPac Wealth Partners, where he specializes in helping business owners and professionals achieve their financial goals.