Before becoming a Samford Bulldog, Lai'ana graduated from Indian Springs, a private boarding and day school in our own sweet home Alabama. While there, she served as the Vice President of Indian Springs' Chamber and Treble Choirs, President and Founder of Indigenous Peoples Club, tutor for the writing center, TA for multiple English classes, and journalist for the school newspaper. She is also an AP Scholar with Distinction, a published poet and short-story writer, and a performed playwright. While attending Samford, Lai'ana plans to study English and Secondary Education to pursue her twin passions of telling stories and teaching others. She aspires to become a high school English teacher who has lots of tales to spin about her work as an author, director, and illustrator.