Altagracia Moquette is a 2013alumna in Criminology and Sociology from IUP. Since transferring from Michigan State University, Alta earned a place on the Dean's List in Fall 2011 and Spring 2012, and was accepted into the IUP Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program during her senior year of studies. Her research project can be described as an exploratory study that centers on Hispanic and/or Latino college students and their college academic performance rates. Upon graduation, Alta will be working for the Department of Human Services in Pittsburgh to gain additional experience before pursuing graduate studies in Sociology. Ultimately, she aims to become a professor and conduct research on educational attainment and retention of minority students as she strives to make a difference in poverty stricken and high violence environments by increasing educational attainment and retention.