Stephen Haymond and Abby Truitt winning the titles of Mr. and Ms. Montevallo. Photo courtesy of Haymond. By Kendall Murray
As part of this years’s College Night festivities, Stephen Haymond and Abby Truitt were announced as the winners of this year’s Mr. And Ms. Montevallo titles.
Crowning a Mr. and Ms. Montevallo is an annual tradition, meant to honor two senior UM students who embody the spirit of Montevallo. Students are nominated during the fall semester, and voted on by the student body leading up to College Night.
Originally from Huntsville, Ala., Haymond shared his journey of transferring from Brigham Young University in Utah to the University of Montevallo, where he found a sense of belonging and a second home.
“I don’t know, just in terms of Montevallo, this is like a second home to me,” said Haymond.
Haymond described a circuitous path to Montevallo, saying, “So I took a break, and then COVID happened and I took a longer break and ended up here,” said Haymond.
Haymond points towards his involvement in Montevallo’s Greek life and theatre as part of what makes Montevallo his home.
“I was Alpha Kappa Lambda’s secretary until this last January which, I very much enjoyed,” he said.
He’s been involved with several theatre productions, including last year’s production of “The Lightning Thief,” and has also been on Gold Side’s cast.
Truitt, similarly, has found Montevallo to be a second home as her family moved from Illinois to Florida after her high school graduation, before relocating again to Virginia. The bonds she has formed with her sorority sisters have embodied the Movevallo spirit.
“After I graduated—that was during COVID—me and my family moved to Florida, and then recently we moved to Virginia in my sophomore year,” said Truitt.
Truitt shared her experience as a member of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and Gold Side for the past 4 years at Montevallo.
“My sorority, all my sisters, I know I could call any of them whenever I need them, and they would always be there, and I’d be there for them as well,” said Truitt.
For Haymond and Truitt, both members of Gold Side’s cast, this College Night season was a huge success, as Gold Side cinched a victory and they were crowned Mr. And Ms. Montevallo.
“I feel like Saturday itself just felt like a perfect night similar to my Montevallo experience, Just very much like the Gold Victory and being part of that show and just putting all that time into that, having that pay off and then becoming Mr. Montevallo,” said Haymond.
