Birthday – October 13, 1989
Who Is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez?
She is the youngest woman to be elected to Congress at the age of 29. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an American Democrat who made it to the news headlines last 2018 after beating the ten-term Democrat incumbent Joe Crowley.
Five Facts about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
- She is the Founder of the Brook Avenue Press.
- She graduated as a Cum Laude of Boston University Batch 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Relations degree.
- She formerly worked under Senator Ted Kennedy while studying economics and international relations at Boston University.
- She is a Democratic Socialist.
- She used to work on 18-hour shifts as a waitress.
Inspirational Quotes from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
“Change takes courage.”
“Mentors of mine were under big pressure to minimize their femininity to make it. I'm not going to do that. That takes away my power. I'm not going to compromise who I am.”
“The best thing we could do is work as hard as we can for what is right and what is good.”
"There is so much fear and hate. We must negate it with an active, courageous love."
"We open doors so others can walk through them."
"We have to have the courage to say. We can do better.”
"They'll tell you you're too loud, that you need to wait your turn and ask the right people for permission. Do it anyway."
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Biography
Early Life
Alexandria was born on the 13th of October 1989 in New York. Her family was in a poor community. During her early life, Alex believes that they are in a place where their ZIP code determined their destiny.
Thus, her mother and father decided to make a change in their lifestyle by moving their family to Yorktown Heights. It is where her mother carried out house cleaning jobs, whereas her father started his architecture enterprise. They took on these jobs to make a decent living for their children and give them a bright future.
As a child, Alex was recognized as a nerd and bookworm. She was greatly captivated by science, and she also has an outstanding record as a student. Her excellent GPA allowed her to enroll at Boston University and get a major in Biochemistry.
The Death of Her Father – A Total Turnaround
Her father was diagnosed with lung cancer when she was in college. He eventually passed away in 2008, but before he died, he had one request for Alexandria: to make him proud of her.
The death of her father served as a major turning point in numerous ways. She realized that she needed to take a job as a waitress to assist her mother who became the breadwinner of the family.
Changes in College Majors
Her passion for politics was ignited by her father’s death and the underprivileged situation her family was in during those times. Her father not having any health insurance at all was a major blow to the family’s financial status. He didn’t have a will to leave them after his death.
Alexandria decided to quit Biochemistry and changed her major to Economics and International Relations. After all the hard work and sacrifices, she finally graduated as a Cum Laude of her batch in 2011.
The excellence she showed during her political major became her stepping stone to overthrow New York’s representative, Joe Crowley, after several years of being in the position.
During her stay at Boston University, she met Riley Roberts, her long-time boyfriend.
The Road to Being a Democratic Representative
She may have specified quite a lot of times that she never intended in becoming a politician, but she did emerge to be one. She never enjoyed getting involved in politics. Nevertheless, her desire and need to help the people and to fight injustices was what eventually encouraged her to do something.
She became determined to oppose Joe Crowley who did not have any opposition for more than fourteen years. This desire was never easy as Crowley was the heir to Nancy Pelosi who was endorsed by the New York Democrats.
She persistently made thousands of calls to locals to pitch her solutions to issues and even went door to door. Thus, with wit, dedication, and hard work, she managed to win the elections.
Standing Her Ground
Alexandria’s remarkable rise to becoming a Democratic Representative led many people to speculate whether she has interests to run for President of the United States in the future.
She put an end to those rumors by saying that she will never do so. She stated that she wants to be like Bernie Sanders, but never as the President of the United States of America. She keeps on reiterating that she just wants to speak her voice by bringing social injustices and issues to the attention of the Congress.
This moral code that became a signature of Alexandria gained her numerous followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Notable Achievements
- She is selected as the Person of the Year during the 2017 National Hispanic Institute.
- She was awarded the Adelle Foley Award in PEN Oakland last 2019.
