Commencement Feature: Learning about humanity, and herself | Seiva Cunningham

Seiva Cunningham

When Seiva transferred to UCCS from CSU Pueblo towards the end of the pandemic, she was undecided on major, unsure of her place at the university, and “just hoping it would work out.” 

When she graduates this week, she will have a strong community of peers, faculty and staff standing behind her, a renewed sense of self, and a well-laid plan for her future (and, importantly, the understanding that the plan may change, and that’s okay).  

“I didn’t feel like I was being pushed or challenged in Pueblo,” she explained. “So I took a risk and applied at UCCS. The university was able to just kind of manifest in a way for me that was really doable at the time, and still is.”  

She started at UCCS in the spring of 2021 and thought about doing art history, but took a general education class on cultural anthropology and thought it was cool. 

“And then I just kind of fell in love with it, the program, the department,” she explained. “It felt very natural, and I never looked back.” 

Despite not knowing a lot about anthropology at the time, it immediately clicked for her.  

“I knew it was the study of humans, but I fell in love with the study itself, the social science, the practice, being able to work with and study people,” she explained. “It was so overarching and it touched so many other things that I felt like so many doors were opened for me. There were so many opportunities, and I was able to get in touch with parts of myself that were really important to me.”  

When she took a biological anthropology course, she realized how much she enjoyed learning about medicine and the history of medicine.  

“Studying the really early nature of medicine, of humanity, how we grew and evolved, it’s a cool excuse for me to say that I’m into science without having to do the hard sciences,” she laughed. “So I love biological anthropology, and that made me realize where I wanted to go with my career.”  

Through an internship, Seiva also had the opportunity to work on the Timmerhaus project, getting to represent the entire department as a liaison. The Timmerhaus project allowed students to curate information from others in their major program about how the research, creative works, and community-based outreach in the program impact spaces and experiences in our city and local landscape. 

“I got to meet all of the faculty and staff and see what kind of projects they were doing outside of the university,” she said. “I also got to meet with alumni, and some of those alumni are my friends and mentors now, and I’ve had so many doors open for me outside of the department and the university because of that research project, so I’m incredibly grateful for that.”  

“Seiva is an incredible student who has developed her passions for thinking about the intersections of race, health and social class in anthropology,” said George Bayuga, Assistant Professor of Anthropology. “She’s an amazing example of a Colorado Springs student who is drawing on her roots to make a truly global impact.”

Seiva plans on earning a master’s degree in African-American studies, specifically looking at the history of medicine.  

“The five or ten-year plan is to study the history of race-based medicine and how they affect BIPOC populations in this country today, with the hope of changing some of that narrative and being able to support people of color in the medical field in ways we haven’t really looked at before,” she explained. 

“I’m excited to start my master’s program,” she said. “I feel like I’ve been able to network myself and now there’s a lot of possibility. The people I want to work with have worked with the people who taught me. And that makes me feel really confident, especially in terms of the workforce.” 

“That’s one thing UCCS has definitely taught me, that you can learn to network and put yourself out there in a lot of different ways, and that has made me feel much more prepared,” she continued. 

Seiva has been able to work with departments across campus, including a job with the College of Education, even though anthropology is in the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences.  

“I’ve really enjoyed working with different people, different departments, different colleges, and kind of seeing their experiences, it’s been really fun for me,” she said. “I’ve found that, even though I didn’t necessarily have the time to do the clubs and organizations on campus, being able to work on campus has been really fun. Being able to create relationships with faculty and staff that I don’t think I would have been able to create just being in their classroom, that’s been fun too.”  

“Seiva’s journey at UCCS is a testament to her remarkable dedication and impact,” said Sarah Long, Assistant Dean for the College of Education & Director of Student Affairs. “From her first semester in Spring 2021 as a transfer student, she showed exceptional leadership qualities and provided unwavering support to her peers. In her role as the Social Media Manager for the College of Education, she organized impactful initiatives around diversity, equity and inclusion, which fostered deep community engagement while advocating for positive change. I am honored to have had the privilege of teaching her first course and being her supervisor at the end of her UCCS academic journey, a true bookend experience. Seiva is a true leader of today and a beacon of hope for the future.”

Despite the strong connections and relationships she has now, finding a community on campus wasn’t always easy for Seiva.  

“It was hard at the beginning to assimilate into campus culture, coming from online during COVID and then coming back into an environment where I was on campus every day,” she said. “It was a little bit anxiety-inducing, trying to get back into the classroom. It was hard to find my place here at first.”  

It was the anthropology department that helped Seiva start to feel like she had a home at UCCS. 

“Having such a small department was a blessing.” she said. “The whole department is in one hall, and it was really nice, because our professors were so committed and they were always there, without hesitation, and brought me in so well. And having the small class sizes, the small group that we had, meant I had the same students in almost every class. So it was all of that that helped me realize my position here and my worth.” 

Anthropology has consistently helped Seiva learn more about herself. 

“It sounds super cliche, but we do anthropology for class, and then it’s like psychology for us, where we’re assessing ourselves,” she laughed. “You get an idea of who you are, what you like to do, how you want to function in society.” 

Studying anthropology has also helped Seiva through difficult times and a personal loss.   

“I’m not a person who naturally knows how to process things like that, but it just so happened I was working on a final project called ‘The Anthropology of You,’ where you take something you’ve learned and assign it to yourself and talk about it, and my final was about how studying grief has helped me process my grief, and that has helped me tremendously – being able to think outside of myself, and outside of my situation, to help me understand that situation,” she said. 

“For sure, anthropology has helped me understand not just people, but life events, like weddings and funerals, why we celebrate and why they’re important. I’ve learned how to assess myself and my understanding of the world, but also how to assess other people and their understanding of the world as well,” she continued.   

Her advice to other students is, as they journey through college and learn about themselves, to try and learn about their professors as well.  

“Learn about their history, learn how they got to UCCS, that has been super valuable for me,” she said. “Sometimes it’s really nice to talk to someone who is at what you perceive to be your end goal: they’ve graduated, they have their doctorate – and to see how their life has weaved and turned and gone up and down, it’s comforting and it’s a good reminder that you can make a plan, but anything can change, and sometimes it’s really good.” 

“Like for me, going to UCCS wasn’t in my plan, and I came into the college in a not very good place, just hoping it would work out, and it worked out in incredible ways,” she concluded.  

“Don’t be afraid to lean on the faculty and staff and ask them questions and ask about their experience, and what it’s like to move forward in life after college. Everybody is quick to support you – there’s always somebody that will help you out.”