Introducing the 2024 Alumni Award Winners

The Trinity University community will come together during Alumni Weekend to celebrate this year’s recipients of the Alumni Awards at the Alumni Awards Ceremony on Friday evening, October 25, in the Ruth Taylor Recital Hall.

Meet the awardees and learn how they are representing their alma mater in extraordinary ways.

Distinguished Alumni Award

Maj. Gen. Dianne Del Rosso ’89

Dianne Del Rosso received her Regular Army commission as a Distinguished Military Graduate in the Quartermaster Corps via the Reserve Officer Training Corps in 1989. She has been deployed to Iraq and Kuwait, earning the Bronze Star Medal and the Army Meritorious Service Medal (3 OLC), among other awards and decorations for her service. In 2002, she started her career at IBM, where she is now the global vice president of Technology Expert Labs Software Services. She received the rank of Major General in 2023 and is currently the Commanding General of the 79th Theater Sustainment Command.

Spirit of Trinity Award

Gerald ’70 and Kay ’72, P’05 Reamey

Geary and Kay Reamey have demonstrated exceptional devotion to Trinity. Through law careers, teaching, and raising their daughter, Anne ’05, the Reameys have maintained close ties with the University. They have remained engaged by chairing class reunions, recruiting students, serving on the Alumni Association Board, and volunteering for countless committees, task forces, and special projects. As Trinity Associates and Trinity True members, they know the impact giving back to their alma mater can have. They established the Reamey Family Endowed Scholarship to support current and future Trinity undergraduate students who have the greatest financial need.

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Chris Garagiola ’15

Chris Garagiola discovered his passion for broadcasting from his grandfather, Joe Garagiola Sr., who worked in Major League Baseball broadcasting for 58 years. At Trinity, Garagiola was the first broadcaster for the Tiger Network, the University’s livestreaming network covering athletics and special events for a worldwide audience. Using the hands-on experience he gained from the Tiger Network, Garagiola worked his way up the ranks of baseball broadcasting. On December 1, 2023, MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks named Garagiola the team’s official radio play-by-play broadcaster.

Tower Award

Jena Daggett ’13

Since joining NORAD and USNORTHCOM in 2018, Jena Daggett has distinguished herself through her work ethic and commitment. When a devastating hurricane stalled over the Bahamas in 2019, Daggett coordinated Department of Defense mission funding to ensure the United States could assist one of its closest neighbors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Daggett secured ultra-low temperature freezers to jumpstart the vaccine campaign in the Bahamas.

Ashanté M. Reese ’07, Ph.D.

Ashanté Reese is a writer, anthropologist, and award-winning associate professor of African and African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. The author of two books, Black Food Geographies: Race, Food Access, and Self-Reliance in Washington, D.C. and Black Food Matters: Racial Justice in the Wake of Food Justice, she works at the intersection of critical food studies and Black geographies.

Michael Quintanilla ’76

Michael Quintanilla began his career at the San Antonio Express-News before moving to the Los Angeles Times. While in New York City for Fashion Week in 2001, he became the ground zero reporter for the Los Angeles Times in the aftermath of 9/11. Quintanilla was among the nation’s first reporters to write about the AIDS crisis. Fondly known as Mr. Fiesta, he personifies the spirit of San Antonio’s annual Fiesta celebration with his handcrafted hats and costumes.

Fraternity/Sorority Life Alumni Adviser of the Year Award

Jill Grace ’85, P’16
 

Jill Grace has embraced many different volunteer opportunities offered to Trinity alumni. She has served as a member of the Alumni Association Board, volunteered on her class reunion committee, and has given back to her sorority as Chi Beta Epsilon’s Alumni Adviser, helping alumni and students stay in touch. She married John Grace ’85, P’16 in Parker Chapel and proudly watched their daughter, Chandler, graduate from Trinity in 2016.

Know any outstanding Trinity alumni who should be considered for next year’s Alumni Awards? Nominate them here.