Around halfway through the first meeting of this year’s Sports and Culture Commentary course, Professor William Rhoden used his omnipotent power to delegate some of his authority to two students. With around two hours’ worth of extremely basic knowledge on his new cohort, Rhoden elected Alex Decosta and me as the class’s co-mayors.
While the jury is still out on what the latter may bring to the table, after an hour-plus-long sit-down with my co-mayor, I can say that Rhoden’s wisdom shone through as Ms. Alex Decosta is the perfect candidate to lead this course in the right direction.
Decosta grew up an army brat, traveling the world with her family as her father was stationed at different bases. Like many others who grew up in her same situation, it’s hard to find social stability when your foundation is not set in stone. Instead of becoming a recluse, young Decosta became resilient in her efforts for inclusion, not just for herself, but for others around her.
“I feel like I know what it’s like to be on the outskirts of a brand new place,” Decosta said. “It’s not always the best feeling, so I feel like in my day-to-day life I always try to make sure that everyone is included.” Decosta looks out for her people, as any good elected official should.
In 2011, Decosta’s father was stationed in Germany, which coincided with the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Her father scored some last-minute tickets, and on the way into the stadium, they were stopped by an American reporter who asked them to be in the back of a live shot.
This small moment sparked a lifelong passion for sports journalism, which coincidentally landed Decosta back in the closest place she called home.
While the army brat didn’t have a true home base due to growing up everywhere, she had familial ties back to Arizona. Her maternal grandparents lived here, her mother went to NAU, and her father went to ASU.
Decosta followed her father’s footsteps and spent her undergraduate years as a Sun Devil. Building on the memory of that faithful encounter with the American reporter in 2011, as well as other experiences like presenting current events assignments in front of her fourth-grade class, Decosta joined Cronkite News, where she wrote, shot video, did stand-ups, and anchored.
A true jack of all trades, Decosta is now earning her master’s. That childlike wonder and excitement is now backed up with four-plus years of real experience.
“Every time I leave Cronkite, and I’ve always felt this way since getting into the school, I feel so f***ing motivated,” Decosta said.
Motivated. Principaled. Experienced. Decosta is all of these things and more. As explained earlier, she isn’t just worried about her success, and she is already looking in the future for ways to help up-and-comers.
“It really hit me so hard,” Decosta said. “Just realizing the feeling of like damn, I really want to inspire young journalists, the way that I’m getting inspired.” What more could we want from our elected governor than these kinds of sentiments?
But just because she is idealistic and welcoming doesn’t mean she’s a pushover. In the vein of our guest speaker, Mike Preston, Decosta is more than open to being confrontational when she needs to be.
“I don’t shy away from it,” Decosta said. “I feel like growing up with three brothers helps me become more confrontational. Like always stealing my damn food out of the fridge, and stuff like that, yeah.”
It’s not only sibling rivalries, but also speaking up for people and speaking against people who are in the wrong. Decosta is confident in her voice. And that confidence is exactly what our class needs when we need someone to stand up for our hard-hitting issues like lateness policies and class break lengths.
