UMSL biology student Alexander Entwistle (left) was honored as a 2023 recipient of the Remington R. Williams Award by the University of Missouri Board of Curators. Other recipients include (clockwise from top left) Martin De La Hunt of Missouri S&T, Ethan Joly of MU, Shonte Reed of UMKC, Rishabh Mahendra of MU, Gabriella Balaa of MU and Jonathan Jain of MU. (Photos provided)

Last summer, the University of Missouri–St. Louis community was shocked and saddened by the death of student Remington Williams, whose life was tragically taken by a drunk driver. Williams, 25, had recently earned his juris doctor from the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law and was also pursuing his MBA as a member of the inaugural cohort of UMSL’s Online MBA Program.

Williams was highly engaged in the University of Missouri community, having served as the student representative to the Board of Curators since 2020. To honor his legacy as a strong, compassionate student leader, last fall the board established the Remington R. Williams Award to recognize outstanding student leaders each year.

On Thursday, the board unveiled its inaugural class of recipients, including UMSL biology student Alexander Entwistle.

“These outstanding students are carrying on Remington’s legacy of leadership and high character,” Board Chair Michael A. Williams said in formally announcing the inaugural class during a meeting of the Board of Curators in Columbia, Missouri. “We can think of no greater way to honor his memory than to continue shining a light on those exceptional student leaders who excel in and out of the classroom and who do so with the utmost integrity.”

Entwistle, a junior, serves as president of the Pierre Laclede Honors College Student Association and is also a member of UMSL’s pre-medical society and Alpha Lambda Delta as well as an Honors peer mentor.

“His intellectual vigor, willingness to engage in the community, humor, irreverence and energy serve to energize the college as a whole,” Pierre Laclede Honors College Dean Edward Munn Sanchez said. “Alex is deeply committed to this academic community, and it is infectious. He passes this on to his fellow students through his presence and the many ways that he is visible in the college.”

As the highest non-academic award bestowed on students by the Board of Curators, the Remington R. Williams Award recognizes exceptional student leaders who exemplify and share many of Williams’ leadership strengths. These students, who must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 or its equivalent in their current program, have made an impact on their respective institutions, inspired growth and development of fellow students in both academics and extracurricular activities and exhibited outstanding character and collaborative spirit at all times.

The Remington R. Williams Award is being presented to seven students each year: one each from UMSL, UMKC and the Missouri University of Science and Technology, as well as four from the University of Missouri–Columbia. Award recipients will each receive $1,000 and a student-designed medal to wear during their commencement ceremony.

This year’s other recipients are:

• Gabriella Balaa, a second-year student at the MU College of Veterinary Medicine who serves as president of the MU College of Veterinary Medicine’s Class of 2025, president of the student chapter of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and member of the student chapter of the American Association of Equine Practitioners.
• Martin De La Hunt, a senior majoring in computer engineering at Missouri S&T who serves as drum major for the Miner marching band and vice president of operations for student council.
• Jonathan Jain, a senior at the MU School of Journalism who serves as tri-director of the Mizzou Homecoming Steering Committee and a member of Rockin’ Against Multiple Sclerosis (RAMS).
• Ethan Joly, a senior in MU’s Trulaske College of Business who also serves a director for RAMS, president of MU’s club soccer team and campus involvement chair for the Delta Tau Delta fraternity.
• Rishabh Mahendra, a graduate student in the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources who was the first president for Universities Fighting World Hunger-Mizzou, president of Division of Applied Social Sciences Graduate Student Association and director of the Deaton Scholars Program.
• Shonte Reed, a fourth-year student in the UMKC School of Dentistry who also serves as president of UMKC’s Student National Dental Association, treasurer of UMKC’s Dental Anesthesiology Club and a representative on the School of Dentistry’s (SOD) Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council.