ayana-grayHometown: Atlanta, Georgia

(High School: Little Rock, Arkansas)

Year in school:  Graduating Senior – May 2015

Major/Minor/Concentration: Political Science and African and African-American Studies

Significant Involvement in 2013-14 (clubs, sports, etc.): 

  • I am the current president of the Kappa Iota Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
  •  I have now interned with the Arkansas Alumni Association for two years in the Outreach and Engagement Division
  • I have acted as an ambassador for the Multicultural Center as prospective students have visited the University.

Favorite class and why?: My favorite class of my undergraduate tenure was without question an honors colloquium I took in the Fall of 2013 called Political Violence taught by Dr. Jeff Ryan. The class was intimate, 10 students total in a small conference room and though discussion topics were at times extremely difficult, I was forced to think more critically than I ever been before or since. I would add that most of the classes in the Political Science department are exceptional.

Most memorable moment: At a school as large as the U of A, and among the plethora of activities I’ve been involved with, it’s really difficult to think of only one memorable moment of my undergraduate years; there are so many smaller ones. However, I would say that finishing what’s by far been my hardest semester (Spring 2014) after taking 19 hours, with a 3.6 GPA was hugely gratifying and memorable as I submitted my last exam.

Noteworthy honors/achievements:

  • In the Summer of 2013,  I became a member of the Fulbright Honors program and began taking honors courses in Fall 2013
  • Fall 2013: Invited to Pi Sigma Alpha – The National Political Science Honors Association
  • Spring 2014: Selected as the Highlighted Student of the African and African-American Studies Department
  • Spring 2014: Selected as Greek Woman of the Year by the Kappa Kappa Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.