Every year at homecoming, Geneva College recognizes a number of alumni who have shown exceptional service to the College, community, and God. There are three specific types of awards that can be awarded: Young Alumni Award, Alumni Award, and Distinguished Service Award.
Young Alumni Award Recipients
The Young Alumni Award recognizes alumni who have graduated from Geneva within the past 10 years and demonstrate outstanding service and leadership in the church, career, community, and/or Geneva College.
This year, the following alumni are awarded this honor: Lois (Piscatello) Montgomery ‘19, Matthew Montgomery ‘17, and Stephen Noell ‘15.
Lois (Piscatello) Montgomery, a Summa Cum Laude graduate from Geneva in December 2019, earned a BS in computer science with minors in cybersecurity and mathematics. She was also honored with the Computer Science and Cybersecurity Outstanding Student Award. Lois was highly involved on campus, participating in the First Year Honors Program, the Academic Partners Program, the computer science club, and Genevans. She also worked for The Cabinet, the College newspaper.
In January 2020, shortly after graduating, Lois participated in an IT rotational program at Highmark. She is actively involved in the cybersecurity community and currently works as a Senior Breach Readiness Consultant at SentinelOne. She has completed several industry certifications, including the CompTIA Security+ and the GIAC Certified Forensic Examiner (GCFE). Lois has also been interviewed by World Magazine twice to discuss a Christian perspective on technology and cybersecurity.
Outside of work, Lois collaborates with her husband, Matthew, on musical projects. She is actively involved in the music and AV aspects of worship services at church. Lois has a deep passion for singing scriptural truth, particularly the Psalms, and advocates for the continued use of them in both private and corporate settings.
Lois and Matthew married during her senior year of college. They have been blessed with one son and are expecting another baby in the beginning of next year. The Montgomery family recently relocated to Lexington, Kentucky, where they attend Tates Creek Presbyterian Church.
Matthew David Montgomery is a western Pennsylvania native who graduated from Geneva College with a BS in music education in 2017. As a student, Matthew was involved with the music community on campus, playing in the marching and jazz bands, singing with the Genevans, Eight Bells, and New Song, and playing for other various campus events. It was his involvement with the touring music ministries of Geneva (Genevans and New Song) which most impacted Matthew as a student, being exposed to psalm-singing, reformed theology, and having the opportunity to live in Christian community alongside other believers.
Since graduation, Matthew has worked as a church musician, session guitarist, and recording artist. While still living in Pennsylvania and upon graduation, Matthew served on staff at the First Presbyterian Church of Bakerstown (EPC) and at Grove City College, where he oversaw the musical leadership for weekly chapel services. In the spring of 2021, Matthew and his wife, Lois, moved to Nashville, TN, where Matthew joined the staff at Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Green Hills, TN. While living in Nashville, Matthew also toured and performed with various artists as a guitarist, road manager, and featured artist. Matthew recently accepted a staff role at Tates Creek Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Lexington, KY, where he now serves as the assistant director of music & worship.
Matthew continues to write and record original songs, instrumental compositions, and congregational psalm-settings. He has shared the stage and worked with artists that he deeply admires, such as Phil Keaggy, Malcolm Guite, Fernando Ortega, Gregory Wilbur, Jeremy Casella, and many more. His musical releases include Simple Words (2018), Fingerstyle Hymns (2020), Psalms for Singing (2020), Fingerstyle Hymns Vol. II (2023), The Sacred and the Profane (2024), along with various singles and EPs.
In his spare time, Matthew enjoys roasting coffee, bourbon hunting, and tobacco pipes. Matthew is husband to Lois, father to Leland, and debtor to mercy alone.
Stephen Noell earned his BSc from Geneva College in 2015 with a major in biology (cellular & molecular biology concentration) and minors in chemistry and music. While at Geneva, he participated in several years of undergraduate research with Dr. Essig, as well as singing in the Genevans choir for two years. He got a taste for international travel during his semester abroad at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, as well as through his participation in the international Genevans tour in the Philippines and Malaysia, all in 2014. He completed his BSc as one of the valedictorians of his class. Crucially, he also gained a strong grounding in how his faith impacts his scientific endeavors and research interests.
Stephen next attended Oregon State University for his PhD from 2015 - 2021. His doctoral research was under the supervision of Prof. Stephen Giovannoni, with a focus on marine microbiology. During his PhD, he also married Tamara (Blackwood), with their first son, Ralph, born in mid-2020.
After completing his PhD, Stephen then got a job in mid-2021 as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand. His research at the University of Waikato has been under the supervision of Profs. Craig Cary and Ian McDonald, with a focus on the microbiology of Antarctic geothermal sites, especially the active volcano Mt. Erebus. He has been to Scott Base (NZ Antarctic base) and Mt. Erebus twice for field work as part of his research, with more trips planned. In 2025, he was awarded a new research grant from the Marsden Fund as the principal investigator, leading to his promotion to Lecturer at the University of Waikato. His new project will investigate winter survival strategies of photosynthetic microorganisms on Erebus.
Stephen and Tamara have also welcomed two more children during their time in New Zealand: Alfred and Rory, born in 2022 and 2025, respectively. In addition to his work at the university, Stephen also serves as an elder at their church, Hukanui Reformed Church (part of the Reformed Churches of New Zealand denomination), since 2023. Stephen enjoys spending his spare time hiking, camping, reading books, and playing the occasional board game.
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