Key Takeaways:
- In this story, Alexis Barbella shares how she overcame addiction and unhealthy relationships, rebuilt her life, and eventually found her way to her husband, their child, and the University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC).
- Alexis returned to higher education 17 years after graduating from high school and first earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from UAGC.
- She is currently pursuing a master's degree in organizational management with aspirations of becoming a leader and mentor.
- Alexis credits education with helping her build confidence and create a new direction for her life.
- Today, she applies what she learned through her psychology degree in her work as a UAGC admission specialist.
- Alexis sees her role as an opportunity to support prospective students who may be uncertain about their ability to pursue a degree.
- While navigating her husband's multiple sclerosis diagnosis and becoming the sole provider for her family, Alexis continued pursuing her education and career goals.
- Her story illustrates how education can be part of a larger journey of personal growth, career development, and helping others move forward.
UAGC Student Alexis Barbella Goes From Starting Life Over to Helping Others Take Control of Theirs
On June 22, 2026, Alexis Barbella and her then-partner walked into their local New Jersey courthouse and turned more than 10 years of dating into their first year of marriage. Earlier that year, Alexis crossed the stage at the University of Arizona Global Campus (UAGC) Spring Commencement ceremony, earning her bachelor's degree in psychology.
Now, she is pursuing a master's degree in organizational management while raising her nine-year-old daughter and working as an admission specialist at UAGC.
There was a time when Alexis couldn't have imagined this life.
Before she could build it, she had to learn how to leave behind the people, places, and patterns that were keeping her from becoming the person she wanted to be.
Today, she sees what came before differently.
“My past might have shaped me, but it does not define me,” she notes. “What defines me is how I chose to grow from it and use it to help others.
“I’m loving this chapter of my life. Every day, I’m so grateful for each part of it, even the parts that aren’t so great.”
Learning to Choose Herself
Alexis grew up in Ohio and spent her young adulthood navigating addiction, unhealthy relationships, and uncertainty about what she wanted from life.
After graduating from high school, she considered pursuing higher education, but her relationship at the time offered little support for that dream. Instead, alcohol and drug use forced her to drop out of her bachelor's degree program.
“I tried to get myself back together and go to school, but I was just floating around," Alexis says. "One minute I wanted this, and the next minute I wanted that. I didn't really know what I wanted or even who I was.”
Eventually, Alexis realized that changing her circumstances would require more than simply wanting something different. She needed distance.
“When you’re recovering in life, whether it’s from a substance or from a person, you have to be willing to completely change everything," she shares. "For me, I changed my location, who I spent time with, and even my phone number. I had to create a completely different life.”
Alexis left Ohio for Florida and entered rehab. There, in 2015, she met the man who would eventually become her husband. Their relationship gave her a new understanding of what love could look like.
“Love is about being a team,” Alexis suggests. “Real love doesn’t require me to abandon myself.”
In August 2026, Alexis will celebrate eight years of sobriety. The family eventually moved to New Jersey, where her husband is from. Their daughter was just a year old at the time.
“Life got better here,” Alexis says. “My life got better. Our life got better.”
When the Ground Shifts Again
and Alexis after their daughter's dance class.
The stability Alexis had worked so hard to build didn't mean uncertainty disappeared.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, her husband temporarily lost his vision. He was later diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
The man who had supported Alexis through her recovery, education, and motherhood now needed support himself. Alexis once again found herself stepping into the role of sole provider.
But this time, she wasn't the same woman who had once struggled to find her footing.
She had a tangible dream for degrees. A career. A family. A support system. And a clearer understanding of who she was.
So, when another unexpected change came, Alexis did what she had learned to do throughout her life: She adapted.
“I’m not the same person I was back then," Alexis insists. "I love my family, and I am always going to fight for them. The best way to do that, in that moment, was to position myself for success to learn how to be a better leader.”
But rebuilding her life wasn't about just leaving her past behind. Alexis wanted to understand it, and with that, find a way to use what she had learned to help other people.
That realization would eventually lead her back to school.
Finding Her Way Back to School
Seventeen years after graduating from high school, Alexis enrolled at UAGC.
She initially pursued early childhood education, believing that working in education might be the right path for her. But as she moved through the program, something continued to tug at her.
She wanted to help people. It was a feeling she couldn’t ignore.
“If there’s something you want to do, you have to follow that path and follow your heart," Alexis says. "You don’t want to get to a point in life where you’re left with all these ‘what-ifs.’ I realized something was still missing. I had wanted to help people my whole life, especially since getting clean, and I couldn’t just settle for something different because it was hard.”
She changed her course of study and pursued psychology with a plan to serve at-risk youth. In doing so, Alexis began to see her experiences through a different lens. Her past didn't disappear. But education gave her a new way to understand it.
“I went from being 18, in active addiction and bad relationships and in and out of school, to fast-forwarding to 2026 — being a student, an alumna and the sole provider for my family,” Alexis shares. “I couldn't have chosen a better place than UAGC to do that.”
For Alexis, earning her bachelor's degree was proof that the version of herself who once struggled to imagine a different future could become the person who built one.
“There are so many people who feel like, ‘I just don't know if I can do it," Alexis says. "I know that feeling because I thought I couldn't do it either. But if I can do it, anyone can.”
Turning Experience Into Purpose
Alexis had considered continuing work as a counselor. After all, she had just received a promotion after earning her bachelor's degree. Instead, she made another career pivot and became an admission specialist at UAGC.
On the surface, the change might look like a departure from psychology. To Alexis, it isn't.
“I could have stayed working as a counselor, and maybe I would have had easier days,” she says. “But as an admission specialist, I still think of myself as a counselor in many ways.”
Every day, Alexis talks with people who are considering an education and trying to determine what comes next. Her job is to listen. To ask questions.
“My job is about getting to know people and figuring out how I can help them follow their path and reach their goals. I get to help people go after what they really want.”
Her psychology education has become part of how she approaches those conversations.
Empathy. Active listening. Understanding behavior. Creating a supportive, nonjudgmental environment.
Those aren't just concepts she learned in a classroom. They're skills she uses every day. And during some conversations, she recognizes herself in the people on the other end of the phone.
“I get to talk to people who are at the point where I once was,” Alexis says. “They’re thinking, ‘I just need to start over. I just need to get this degree.’ And I understand that, because getting my degree helped me turn my life around.”
Building What Comes Next
Learning how to take better care of herself has been monumental in Alexis’ journey. The spaces she makes for growth and improvement give her the energy to navigate whatever comes next. Mental health has become an intentional part of her daily life.
Even though she works remotely, she gets ready for the day each morning. She makes time for skincare. On weekends, the family tries to spend time together outdoors when her husband's health allows. She also meets regularly with a therapist.
“They might sound like little things, but they matter to me,” Alexis says. “You have to take care of your mental health at all times. For me, getting up, getting ready, and taking care of myself helps me start the day with the right mindset.”
Those routines represent something larger than self-care. They are part of a life Alexis has intentionally built. And she isn't finished.
While her bachelor's degree gave her a foundation in psychology, Alexis is now pursuing a master's degree in organizational management with a larger goal in mind: leadership.
“Helping others right now is such a great feeling, especially helping people get enrolled in school,” she says. “But eventually, I want that to become part of a bigger picture.”
That bigger picture includes leading a team, mentoring others, and helping people grow. It's a fitting next chapter for someone whose own life has been shaped by people, choices and the courage to change direction.
Alexis spent years learning how to rebuild her own life. Now, she is using her education, her experience, and her voice to help other people build theirs.
“When people read my story, I want them to see that life will always throw unexpected challenges your way. I learned that even in uncertainty, I could keep moving forward.”
Ready to take the next step in your education? Explore our program offerings and connect with an admission specialist to find the program that’s right for you.
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The Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at the University of Arizona Global Campus is not designed to meet the state educational requirements for a specific professional license or certification in any state. Students seeking licensure or certification in a particular profession shall carefully research the requirements prior to enrollment and regularly review the requirements as they are subject to change. Requirements vary by state.
