When 2010 animal sciences graduate La-Donia Alford-Jefferies earned her professor’s cowl at graduation May 8, she became the first Ph.D. graduate in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences’ agricultural and extension education concentration. But she has a long Aggie legacy.

“I feel so honored in representing A&T and representing this department,” said Alford-Jefferies. “I was 18 years old when I first interviewed to enroll, and now, I’m able to continue this Aggie legacy of doing things that are challenging and engaging. You never think that you’re going to be the first of anything, and this opportunity has allowed me to do that.”

Alford-Jefferies' career choice is a timely one for the agriculture industry and the culture in general, said Chastity English, Ph.D., professor and coordinator for the agricultural education program.

“African-American women remain significantly underrepresented among Ph.D. holders in the agricultural sciences, particularly within Agricultural and Extension Education,” said English. “La-Donia’s achievement represents both a personal milestone and a meaningful contribution to a more inclusive professoriate.”

In another way, however, she is continuing a legacy of familial support and love for the university. Alford-Jefferies is a second-generation Aggie. Her parents, College of Business and Economics professor Sylvia Bembry, Ph.D., and 1986 alum Eli Alford Jr., made sure that she was always a part of North Carolina A&T.

“I attended my first homecoming when I was three years old,” said Alford-Jefferies. “I was in a parade with the Child Development Lab. I felt the community and the people come together, and I wanted my children to feel that before they ever set foot on campus.”

La-Donia Alford-Jefferies

Tapping into her Aggie roots, Alford-Jefferies also wrote a children’s book, Homecoming, in 2018; the 20-page picture book, developed while she was pregnant with her first child, is a “love-letter to N.C. A&T’s GHOE (Greatest Homecoming on Earth)” and to HBCU culture at large.

During her undergraduate years, Alford-Jefferies was active in N.C. A&T’s chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and was named Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Miss 1908. In the years since graduation, Alford-Jefferies has been active in both educational and civil work: a field organizer for Greensboro’s voting precincts, teaching opportunities in Guilford County Schools, chief of staff for the National Organization for Women and director of finance and operations for the Community Justice and Action’s Fund in Washington, D.C.

“It has just been very important to me that people feel as though they have a voice, that they are seen and heard, and I’ve always been a huge advocate for Black farmers,” said Alford-Jefferies, whose mother and grandparents have farmland in Georgia. “That’s another driver of why I chose agriculture: I wanted to ensure that people in agriculture, especially young women, were able to see someone that looks like themselves in the industry.”

English, who was Alford-Jefferies' advisor through the program, said that she has “set a standard of excellence” that shapes how she evaluates future doctoral candidates.

“What distinguishes La-Donia most is her growth into the full embodiment of what a Ph.D. should represent: a scholar-practitioner who not only excels in research, but translates that work into meaningful, community-centered impact,” said English. “As I often say, ‘La-Donia does not just complete the work, she elevates it, ensuring it matters beyond the academics.’ ”