By: Leo Boshardy
College of DuPage’s 5 Under 5 celebration recognized five graduates who have made meaningful contributions to their communities, professions or fields of study within five years of graduation.
Hosted by COD’s Alumni Engagement office, the event honored Isabel Giraldo, Aya Jabi, Tiffany Payne, Keith Perna and Qasim Sikander.
Isabel Giraldo (Plainfield) — Giraldo works as a safety investigator for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. In this role, she investigates motor carriers for compliance with federal regulations to reduce crashes and fatalities involving commercial trucks and buses.
Aya Jabi (Willowbrook) — A graduate student and research assistant at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Jabi conducts research on structured lipids and food polymers using rheological, thermal, and microscopic techniques. She also develops protocols to explore structure-function relationships in food systems.
Tiffany Payne (Carol Stream) — Payne, a human resources generalist at Superior Air-Ground Ambulance Services, oversees the onboarding process for the five states covered by Superior and assists the legal team with employee relations and compliance.
Keith Perna (Chicago) — Perna is a Certified Recovery Support Specialist with the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), helping people struggling with mental health improve their livelihoods through advocacy, support and education. He also leads recovery groups that provide mentorship and support to individuals overcoming substance use challenges.
Qasim Sikander (Urbana) — Sikander is a student, peer educator and research assistant at Carle Illinois College of Medicine at UIUC and has helped manage the student-run clinic, Avicenna, which provides health care to uninsured members of the community.
Pictured above, from left: Isabel Giraldo, Qasim Sikander, Keith Perna, Tiffany Payne and Aya Jabi (Press Photography Network/Special to College of DuPage)