Compassionate, loyal, inspiring, selfless. These are only a few of the words that could describe Aya Dayos.

Dayos is currently a junior at Rancho Cucamonga High School. Like many other teenagers her age, a big part of her life is her education. She takes pride in doing well in school, going home to her parents, and flaunting her grades, which she works hard to achieve. She has received high honor roll awards in elementary school and throughout high school for years.

Growing up, Dayos’ biggest role model was her mother. According to Dayos, her mother has taught her important life lessons. These lessons stuck with Dayos as she grew older, shaping her into the kind person she is today.

“My mom, in my eyes, is very strong and dependable,” Dayos said. “She’s always taught me to be kind, and to not only care for others but to care for myself as well.”

Through her many years of being an academic achiever, she has experienced hardships in the form of bad social anxiety. It was hard for her to make friends outside of her close friends; she was afraid to ask questions when she needed help, and she was worried about being her true self around others.

“I wanted to express myself and who I am, but I was too scared to, too scared to be judged,” Dayos said.

To escape her anxiety, she turned to baking and singing as a form of retreat. She discovered her love for baking at a young age, helping her mom bake around the house. Eventually, this would evolve into baking for her family member’s birthdays, which she found delightful. Her favorite thing to bake is cookies.

She picked up singing as a child as something she would do for fun. She would put on performances for her family, as any little kid would. Dayos participated in choir as well during school. The older she got, she says she grew closer to singing.

“I found that it has a deeper meaning than I thought,” Dayos said. “Singing became a stress reliever for me.”

Her favorite songs to sing are ballads with meaningful lyrics that she can relate to. These songs made her feel heard and empowered and helped her enjoy singing even more growing up.

Because of her experiences, Dayos aspires to be a compassionate and understanding individual, as she knows the struggle to be heard. She strives to put smiles on people’s faces, and she is a great listener and knows how to comfort people, friends or strangers, in any situation. She is a helping hand to those around her, willing to assist in any way possible.

“Whenever I spend time with her, I feel like I can be myself,” RCHS junior and friend of Dayos, Kaley Espiridion, said. “I can always rely on her with anything that troubles me.”

According to Dayos’ friends, she is someone who is highly attuned to the emotions of those around her.

“Her outstanding quality is definitely her ability to adapt to the circumstances around her,” RCHS junior and friend of Dayos, Savannah Sutphin, said. “She knows how to cheer somebody up when they are down.”

Upon entering high school in August of 2021, Dayos discovered the K-pop genre on social media. She found a band called Stray Kids, later becoming her favorite group. Two years later, her interest in the genre has grown tremendously, introducing her to other hobbies.

“K-pop is the reason I got into dance,” Dayos said. “I started to learn the dances and it brought me joy, I wanted to continue doing it.”

With her growing love for K-pop, she began learning the choreography of her favorite songs. This led her to discovering the world of dance. Dancing became another interest for her, something she was excited and passionate about. She joined the Dances of the World club at RCHS. The club allowed Dayos to express her love for an often misunderstood genre and meet others with the same passions and interests as her. D.O.W. gave her a supportive space where her dancing style could blossom into something extraordinary.

Aside from the club, Dayos is currently enrolled in Dance II at RCHS and has met many other students who share an enthusiasm for dance. She’s now a part of a community that she enjoys and gives her the support and encouragement necessary for class.

Dayos is a goal-oriented person. One of her goals in life is to be successful and love what she does. Career-wise, she has multiple ideas about what she thinks of doing: being a doctor, nurse, psychologist, dancer, or performer.

Dayos has one more year at RCHS before beginning the next chapter in her life. She plans to work on her confidence and positive mindset. One of her biggest mottos is:

“Always see the good in things,” Dayos said.