Graduate student hopes to bring ABA services to rural areas lacking coverage

Aiyana Jollie-Trottier grew up witnessing firsthand the gaps in health care availability for rural areas, and she plans to do something about that.

After earning a bachelor's in psychology, the St. Cloud State University graduate student took some time off to figure out her next steps. She started researching applied behavior analysis therapy, and it struck a chord with her. Jollie-Trottier has family members on the autism spectrum, and grew up watching them struggle with the lack of support services in their area.

"I'm from rural North Dakota, so we didn't have any type of ABA therapy, anything like that. That was my first time learning what it was," she said. "I really enjoyed it, and I thought it was a service that we need in rural areas."

Her research led Jollie-Trottier to SCSU due to its program's reputation. She enrolled in fall 2025 and is pursuing her master's in applied behavior analysis.

"All the professors are really awesome and they really make time for us, and check in with us to make sure we're doing well," she said. "The culture they've created is really just awesome and really welcoming. That's made it a much easier transition, especially when you have people who are very supportive."

Jollie-Trottier worked in the Linda ’74 and Richard Offerdahl Autism Discovery Center during her first semester on campus.

"That was a fantastic experience, too, getting lots of hands-on training. I think you don't usually find that at big clinics," she said. "It gave me a lot of new insight into what I was doing before I started school and was working as a registered behavior technician. A lot of things kind of started clicking, like, 'Oh, that's why we do that.'"

An enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, Jollie-Trottier was also pleased to connect with SCSU's American Indian Center. She started as a graduate assistant with the Center in January 2026.

"I think the Center creates a really great environment for community and for learning. Being able to contribute to that in whatever way I can and learning from it because I, myself, am still a student — it's a wonderful learning opportunity," she said. "I grew up on Turtle Mountain Reservation, so it's been nice having a space like this: kind of like a little piece of home away from home."

Following graduation, Jollie-Trottier plans to gain experience in her field before bringing that knowledge and skillset back to her hometown.

"I want to get a few years of working experience in general, because autism can be such a diverse population within itself. Eventually I do want to move back to my rural town and start giving services there," she said. "Providing a service that is not currently available — I don't know if you've ever watched 'Robots,' but he says, 'See a need, fill a need.' There's a gap in access to resources and services, and I want to fill it in at least a little bit."