Pima’s Student Commencement Speaker Believes in Paying It Forward

By Dina Doolen, Marketing, Communications and Strategic Outreach

After graduating high school in 2009, Alexandra Marie Belford didn’t believe college was for her.

“I had listened to all the negative voices in the past, saying, ‘College, isn’t for you. You don’t have the skills. You’re never going to do well,’ ” she says.

Then, in her 30s, she stopped listening to those voices and went to college.

Now 35, she is Pima’s student speaker at this year’s Commencement ceremony on May 21. She is graduating with High Honors, with an Associate of Art, Liberal Arts degree and Arizona General Education Curriculum-Arts certification.

She was born in Akron, Ohio, to mixed race parents, then, at 5 months old, adopted in Las Vegas. She has lived in Tucson since she was 3.

School had special challenges for her because she has a learning disability. She also has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.

In 2023, she enrolled at Pima and had met with Pima Access and Disability Resources staff to get accommodations for her classes. She also qualified for dedicated tutors through the federal TRiO Scholars.

“The ADR department really came through, really helped me out,” she says.

While studying at Pima, she was a Direct Care Worker for United Cerebral Palsy of Southern Arizona. She also volunteered and worked on projects related to fair housing and essential services, as well as ensuring compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Ultimately, she wants to be an international human rights lawyer, along the way starting a law firm. This fall, she will attend University of Connecticut as a Human Rights major. Once she gets her Bachelor of Arts degree, she’ll pursue a law degree, ideally at Yale University.

“I feel like Pima gave me the confidence that I had but it was hidden inside me,” she says. “I feel like they brought it out and they made me stronger and gave me resilience and grit.”

She believes she was made to lead, defend and protect.

“I’m a firm believer in paying it forward and not forgetting where you came from and all that helped you,” she says. “I believe in leaving a place better than you found it.”