Xochitl Quiñones is a writer, rhetorician, actress, and community activist originally from Little Village in Chicago, Illinois, before moving to the Chicagoland suburbs in 2018. She currently attends the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a scholar of the 15th cohort of First Wave, where she studies Communication Arts: Communication Science and Rhetoric Studies (B.A), in addition to a certificate in Digital Studies. In First Wave, Xochitl has performed spoken-word poetry in the 2023 Line Breaks Hip Hop Theater Festival, as well as the 2022 and 2023 Passing the Mic Festivals. Outside of First Wave, Xochitl is also a Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program Scholar where her research is centered around political rhetoric and its development according to the 2024 presidential election. Xochitl has used her background in political organizing to also continue organizing her community back home and on campus, working to change the hate & bias form at UW, as well as holding former high school administrators accountable for their role in sexual misconduct against staff and students. Xochitl is currently working on a multi-generational, multi-medium piece titled Yegua; Yegua platforms the overlooked experiences of first-generation Latine college students, highlighting the role of storytelling in establishing, healing, and preserving relationships and dynamics within the Latine (specifically the Mexican) community. Xochitl aspires to continue writing and acting/performing throughout her time at UW, with plans to pursue her PhD in Political & Cultural Rhetoric/Communications immediately after undergrad.