Being a college student is often about discovering what you don't want to do just as much as finding your interests. Aiyanna Quinones, sociology graduate, Student Achievement awardee and commencement speaker, considered education and pre-med as majors before finding her love for sociology.

"I had a program at my high school that allowed us to take college classes," said Aiyanna. "I took some for education and realized that it wasn't for me. Then I took one intro to sociology class in my freshman year, because at that point I was undecided. I literally took just the first week of intro classes and I knew it was for me. At ​one ​point I ​was ​doing ​pre-med ​and ​sociology ​at ​the ​same ​time, ​and ​it's ​not ​that ​I ​hated ​medicine, ​but I ​hated ​the ​way ​that ​it ​was ​run."

Despite disliking the combination of pre-med and sociology, trying it out helped Aiyanna find her niche.

"I would love to get into policy work," shared the first-generation graduate. "I geared a lot of my focus towards public health and was originally pre-med, but public administration is a lot more broad. If anything, I can just go into policy work and start ranting full time about the things that I do care about instead of trying to advocate while also working as a doctor."

There's also a personal element to policy work for Aiyanna.

"My main focuses are around race and disability and the intersection of the two," she said. "My dad's side of the family is from a little island called Vieques, which is off the shore of Puerto Rico. It was used as a naval testing site and there was a lot of disease and high rates of cancer found on the island. On top of that, they don't even have a hospital on the island anymore after Hurricane Maria wiped it out, so my grandparents had to move out of their house because of that. It's a two-hour ferry ride and then a two-hour drive to a hospital - not a good situation."

"So, that's kind of where it started for me," Aiyanna continued. "All these people are dying at a disproportionate rate, everyone knows this and there's been so many studies done to prove it, but there is a disconnect between what scientists say and the response in policy. My dream is to supplement that disconnect between policy and research."

To pursue her goals, Aiyanna plans to attend graduate school at UCCS for Public Administration & Sociology, continue building her life here and assisting in her undergraduate extracurriculars like Student Government Association (SGA), Black Student Union (BSU) and the Student Health Advisory Board, though in a less official manner.

"I've been part of Student Government Association and the Student Health Advisory Board for three years each," said Aiyanna. "I've been in Black Student Union for four years, and it is my favorite because the amount of creativity that we have for events. We do movie nights, paint and sips, barbecues, all these sorts of things to bring students together."

"I am not going to be in SGA next year because I feel like there's so many other people that could take that position that have new ideas," she added. "I will always be available to them if they ever need help. My job is be to supportive but in an informal way, so I'm going to leave the role open for other people."

Reducing her time in student groups also allows Aiyanna to potentially give more time to a personal passion of hers.

"I have a little dog name Ebony," said Aiyanna. "She is basically always with me. If I'm not home, I'm probably out somewhere with the dog. We do a lot of stuff together. Hiking, biking, obedience - which I do with other people's dogs, too. I'm working towards doing obedience training with clients more often, but right now it's my part-time side hustle."

Aiyanna was quick to mention that while she may be a recipient of the Student Achievement Award and subsequently a Commencement Speaker, she views it as a collective effort and a nod to those who have supported her through her journey.

"It's a wonderful testament to everything that's ever been given to me and the generosity of everybody in my life," she said. "In my mind, all of us made this happen. It was a group achievement, I just happened to be the conduit and I also know that anybody in my class also could have been up there."