Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is arguably one of the most famous up-and-coming
politicians out there.
But before she landed on Capitol Hill, she was living a pretty normal life.
Here's how this Bronx native went from science geek, to AOC, and why she's not stopping now.
29-year-old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doesn't just represent New York City in Congress.
"The president is from Queens, and with all due respect half of my district is from Queens,
I don't think he knows how to deal with a girl from the Bronx."
It turns out AOC's a native of the Bronx, with deep roots in the community.
She told Vogue,
"My aunt and my uncle were just talking last Christmas about how they literally heard Malcolm
X evangelizing on street corners.
That is the institutional memory of my family and multigenerational New York families."
The New York City that AOC's family first experienced was much different than it is
today.
"The America we grew up in is, like, nothing like the America our parents or our grandparents
grew up in."
As the city has changed, it's become less and less affordable.
AOC said,
"My family is three generations deep in the Bronx.
And my own mother can't afford to live in the same city, in the same state as me anymore,
because it's gotten too expensive."
It was during some especially challenging times that AOC's parents' story began in the
Bronx.
Alexandria told Vogue,
"I was born to a dad who was born in the South Bronx while the Bronx was burning, while landlords
were committing arson to their own buildings.
He grew up as a kid with five people in a one-bedroom apartment, and my mom was born
in poverty in Puerto Rico."
But after meeting in Puerto Rico, AOC's mom and dad were able to make a living in the
Bronx.
She said,
"They met [in Puerto Rico], they got married, came back, and had me.
And as 20-somethings they were able to take out a small loan and get an apartment in the
Bronx, and have me."
"I'm a Latina, I'm a Boricua, I am a descendent of Taino Indians, I am a descendent of African
slaves, I am proud to be an American."
Thanks to their continued hard work, and their smart money moves, they were able to then
buy a house in nearby Yorktown Heights shortly after AOC turned 5 years old, according to
The New York Times.
"When I was a kid, about half of New York City highschoolers would never graduate."
One of the main reasons AOC's family moved to Westchester County was to find better schooling.
"My mom wanted to make sure that I had a solid chance and a solid education."
But it didn't take long for AOC to learn a valuable lesson about life.
She told 60 Minutes,
"And just growing up that way and with my cousins, who were all my age too, feeling
like we all had kind of different opportunities, depending on where we were physically located."
That's because her cousins remained in the Bronx, while she was out in the 'burbs.
But things were good for AOC in Yorktown.
Her mother Blanca, told the Daily Mail, quote, "We had a great life there."
They had a yard and a shed that AOC converted into a clubhouse for herself and her friends.
Then in high school, she dove into reading history and biography books.
All in all, a pretty idyllic childhood.
Long before AOC had any political aspirations, she was quite the serious science student.
In 2007, when she was in high school, she won second place in the International Science
and Engineering Fair, with a study on the anti-aging effect of antioxidants in roundworms.
As her high school science teacher Michael Bluegrass remembers, AOC was extremely competent
and beyond professional while presenting her project.
He told the New York Times,
"One of the administrators wasn't there at the beginning and came in after she started,
and he said to the superintendent, 'What company is she from?'
She presented herself, verbally, visually, everything, as if she was a 30-year-old professional
presenter businesswoman even though she was 17 years old."
After finishing high school, AOC headed off to college, becoming the first in her family
to do so, according to one of her tweets in 2018.
She told 60 Minutes,
"We were really working on the classic American dream."
Of course, Ocasio-Cortez had to take out student loans to finance her education, in addition
to receiving scholarships and grants.
But she was able to manage it, and enrolled at Boston University.
According to the BU website, she majored in international relations and economics, after
switching from a biochemistry major, according to The New Yorker, and interned in the late
Senator Ted Kennedy's office, specifically in the immigration department.
AOC graduated from BU in 2011, with honors.
Despite the fact that AOC found success in her college endeavors, she was dealt a devastating
blow when her father passed away of cancer in 2008.
"My father knew my soul better than anyone on this planet."
She shared with the New Yorker,
"I channeled [my pain] into my studies.
That's how I dealt with it.
I was home for a week and went right back to school."
"Losing him in a time when you're just figuring out the world, was really hard."
She turned her work ethic up to 11 and her GPA quote, "skyrocketed," after the last words
her father ever spoke to her…
"And he said, 'Hey, like, make me proud.'"
In the fallout of her father's death, the family was thrust into dire financial straits.
AOC told The Intercept,
"My father pretty much died with nothing.
He left us almost nothing except we had a house and small things here and there."
Due to the circumstances at home and amidst the 2008 recession, AOC moved back home to
work as a waitress and bartender to keep their family home out of foreclosure.
"Trying to make a $300 student loan bill here, and a foreclosure installment here, you're
just doing your best to survive."
Although AOC worked on the Bernie Sanders campaign in 2016, she didn't have any real
political ambitions of her own.
But all of that changed when she witnessed one of the most controversial events of 2016
and '17.
"Just here to protect the water."
AOC told The Cut,
"The tipping point was when I was at Standing Rock in 2016, and I saw how all of the people
there, particularly the Native people and the Lakota Sioux, were putting their whole
lives and everything that they had on the line for the protection of their community.
I saw how a corporation had literally militarized itself against the American people, and I
just felt like we were at a point where we couldn't afford to ignore politics anymore."
It just so happened that right at that time, an opportunity came knocking for AOC.
She said,
"It was the day that I got off camp that a national organization, Brand New Congress,
called me and asked if I'd be willing to run."
Of course, she said yes.
"I'm running because everyday Americans deserve to be represented by everyday Americans."
AOC rolled into 2017, full steam ahead.
While still working at a restaurant, she kicked off her primary campaign against congressman
Joe Crowley, according to Business Insider.
"If I was like a normal, rational person, I would have dropped out of this race a long
time ago."
But that didn't stop the congressional candidate from also serving as the Educational Director
for the 2017 Northeast Collegiate World Series for the National Hispanic Institute, or NHI.
In her role, she worked with 150 high school students, who she said reminded her of exactly
why she's running for office.
"It's incredibly centering, and they are why I'm doing this."
Her work as an educator, as well as her political ambition and leadership skills were what earned
her the honor of being named the 2017 NHI Person of the Year by President Ernesto Nieto,
who said in a statement,
"Alex symbolizes the new emerging Latina, bold and courageous, well-educated and forward
thinking, contemporary with her ideas and views, and unafraid of challenges."
"He's gonna tell me that I'm small, that I'm little, that I'm young, that I'm inexperienced."
In what has been called one of the most shocking political upsets of 2018, AOC won her primary
election against ten-term incumbent congressman Joe Crowley in New York's 14th district.
This was in spite of the fact that Crowley outspent her ten to one, and was the fourth-highest
ranking democrat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
"We need to have the courage to stand up for working people and stand up against corporate
interests."
AOC ran a homegrown campaign, and didn't take a single dime of lobbyist money, according
to her Instagram, where she thanked her supporters, writing,
"All I can say is thank you.
Thank you to everyone who believes in this movement," she wrote in the caption.
"Thank you for understanding what positive change asks of us: that we MAKE it happen,
not WAIT to happen."
On November 6, 2018, AOC made history when she defeated Republican Anthony Pappas to
become the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
"Our deepest challenges are not left and right, they are not red and blue, they are top and
bottom, they are right and wrong."
She took to Instagram the next day to thank her many supporters, writing,
"Thank you to the people of the Bronx and Queens for choosing to make history and sending
me to Congress.
[Thanks] to every organizer, supporter, and small-dollar donor who made this happen."
"We have made history tonight."
AOC was in the company of three other women of color who were on their way to the House
for the first time; Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar, and Rashida Tlaib.
The four have since become known as a formidable squad, according to The Washington Post, as
they share similar political ideas.
AOC even posted an image of the four women, of course captioning it "squad."
AOC is best known for her progressive policies.
She's in favor of the Green New Deal, the abolition of ICE, free healthcare for every
American, and free college for students.
This platform has drawn the ire of her political opponents, some of whom have called her radical.
But that label doesn't bother AOC one bit.
She told 60 Minutes,
"Well, I think that it only has ever been radicals that have changed this country.
Abraham Lincoln made the radical decision to sign the Emancipation Proclamation."
She added,
"Franklin Delano Roosevelt made the radical decision to embark on establishing programs
like Social Security."
When she was asked if she considers herself a radical, she answered,
"Yeah.
You know, if that's what radical means, call me a radical."
Although AOC is now a household name, her longtime partner, Riley Roberts, has managed
to largely stay under the radar, even as AOC has skyrocketed into the public eye.
The social media consultant hasn't grabbed too many headlines, although he has stood
solidly by AOC's side, all the way.
AOC's mother, Blanca, has nothing but good things to say about her daughter's beau.
She told the Daily Mail,
"I love him.
He is the most loving, supporting person I've seen.
He helped her tremendously during the election."
She added that, at the time, AOC and Roberts had been together four years, when they rekindled
the romance after a previous attempt in college.
But of course, mama Blanca has some hopes for the couple.
She added,
"I know they love children, and they do very well with children from the family.
So, I hope they get married soon.
Although they haven't told me anything about their plans."
AOC's Green New Deal seeks to reduce carbon emissions, make buildings more energy efficient,
reform current labor practices, and build smart power grids, as well as a host of other
reforms that she believes will create a better future.
And while some have called this proposal impossible, AOC believes it's absolutely essential in
order to ensure the health of humanity and the planet.
She told NPR in 2019,
"Even the solutions that we have considered big and bold are nowhere near the scale of
the actual problem that climate change presents."
While the bill was blocked by the Senate in March 2019, per The Hill, AOC believes it
has already made a difference.
She said,
"It could be part of a larger solution, but no one has actually scoped out what that larger
solution would entail.
And so that's really what we're trying to accomplish."
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