Alexis Broke Through Barriers to Achieve Her Dreams

“I wasn’t always deaf,” Alexis says. “I became deaf due to a high fever and chickenpox when I was one or two years old. There were many obstacles and challenges I faced growing up because communicating with hearing people isn’t easy.”

Alexis has always been determined not to let the challenges she faced keep her from accomplishing whatever she put her mind to. She’s determined to prove that deaf people are capable of doing anything, just like everyone else.

She has completed not just one but two high school diplomas, one from a school for the deaf and another from a hearing school in New Jersey. 

“Hearing people seem to think deaf people can’t do anything that they can do like drive, work, or even earn a college degree,” Alexis says.

In 2016, Alexis graduated with her bachelor’s degree from University of Valley Forge in Phoenixville, Pa. She had to take out extensive student loans to pay for her undergraduate education.

Today, she’s divorced and a single mother of a teenage daughter.

“I’m proud to say my daughter is CODA (Child of a Deaf Adult),” Alexis said. “I raise my daughter the same way other people raise their children. I taught her ASL (American Sign Language) so we can communicate. My biggest obstacle as a mother is most people think I can’t take care of my child because I can’t hear. Since I don’t rely on my ears to hear, I rely on my eyes to see and hear.”

As a single mother, it’s been difficult for Alexis to pursue a graduate degree because of financial constraints, but University of the People has given her the opportunity to advance her education by earning an MBA.

UoPeople is the first non-profit, tuition-free, American, accredited, online university. The university is dedicated to opening access to high education globally by helping people overcome financial, geographic, political, and personal constraints. 

“Studying at UoPeople has its advantages for students who are deaf like me,” Alexis said. “Access to communication is easy because of email, which is deaf-friendly. Also, we can work at our own pace and everything is online and accessible.”

When asked about her favorite course at UoPeople, Alexis said it was hard for her to pick one because she learns so much from all her MBA program courses.

“If I had to choose, I would say Leading in Today’s Dynamic Context (LTDC), Strategic Decision Making and Management (SDMM), and Managing in the Global Economy (GE),” Alexis said. “Those courses help me to understand and know how to make the right decision. They help me know how to work with or adapt not only in the United States but all over the world.”

The international community is also one of the things Alexis enjoys the most about UoPeople. She said she enjoys meeting and learning from wonderful, interesting, and diverse people from all over the world.

“Also, it is important to me to have support and help. The students here support and help each other. I consider some of them family,” Alexis said. “Another thing I love about this school is the diversity of instructors from different top schools, such as Harvard Business School Online and NYU.”

Along with enjoying the diverse students and instructors at UoPeople, Alexis stressed the importance of joining the student groups available on WhatsApp because it’s where students can ask each other for help and support each other.

“It’s important to keep in communication with your instructors and ask for help if you need it,” Alexis said. “I would also advise any UoPeople student to not give up once you get started. I learned the word ‘gambarimasu’ from one of my friends here. It’s a Japanese word meaning, ‘I will do my best.’ You have to work hard and do your best to reach the finish line.”

When she graduates with her MBA from UoPeople, Alexis plans to get a position at a top company and aspires to become a CEO or start her own small business that she can grow internationally.

Most of all, Alexis wants to inspire her daughter and other deaf people that they can achieve their goals in their own and different ways.

“I want to show deaf people that they can do it because I made it,” Alexis said. “I broke through all the obstacles and overcame the challenges that I faced every day. I also want hearing people to see what deaf people can accomplish once they work hard to pursue it.”