Alaya Walton

Alaya Walton is a junior transfer student from Columbia State Community College, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude with her Associate of Arts degree in Mass Communication, serving as the Commencement Speaker. She is currently pursuing her B.A. in Sociology at the School of General Studies. Before attending GS, Alaya led a life as an actress for Lifetime Movie Network and BET, as well as a self-published author under the pen name, Ally Lee. She briefly attended Arizona State University online to study Software Engineering, but ultimately took three gap years to focus on her career in film. During her time at Arizona State University online, she was the Founding Director of Diversity & Inclusion for the Online Student Advocacy Group. After a three-year gap from higher education, she returned to school at community college for an affordable education. She previously served as the Chapter President for her school’s Phi Theta Kappa Chapter at Columbia State. She also served on the Executive Board as the Interim Secretary/Treasurer for the 2024-2025 school year, and as a House of Representative for the 2025-2026 school year. She graduated as an All-USA Academic Team Scholar, Coca-Cola New Century Transfer Pathway Scholar, and an Oberndorf Scholar. 

As she returns to school to pursue her Bachelor’s at GS, Alaya hopes to incorporate her media and writing experience into pursuing a career in multimedia & investigative journalism. She is passionate about uplifting marginalized communities and voices through empathetic and ethical reporting. As she steps into her role as a Communications Coordinator for the 2026-2027 school year, she aims to further this mission by helping to amplify those small voices on the Columbia campus. Her main effort includes incorporating the average GS student voice on weekly communications, as well as helping to diversify the voices shared at Columbia.