Beverly Ann Leali (maiden name Edwards) was born in Alexandria, Louisiana and grew up in Dallas, Texas. She began attending the University of Denver (DU) in 1957 and graduated with a degree in medical technology in 1962. She was active in student groups, and was a member of Alpha Sigma Chi and Alpha Delta Theta. She lived in Aspen Hall for the majority of her time at DU. In her oral history, Ms. Leali discusses her childhood in Dallas Texas, which she calls "very happy." She details her experiences as a student at a racially segregated high school in Dallas, where she says that her counselors and teachers "over-prepared her" for attending predominantly white institutions by teaching her to be "the best." She describes how, when her parents drove her from Dallas to Denver, they slept in the car because they could not afford to stay in the University of Denver hotel, and they did not know the town well enough to find a hotel that would accept African-Americans. When asked why she chose medical technology as a major, she said that she had initially wanted to be a pediatrician, but since she also wanted to get married and have a family, she felt that this career path would be too demanding. In addition, she recalled meeting an African-American woman at her high school's career day who was a medical technician and thinking that this seemed like a career path that she would enjoy. After graduating from the University of Denver in 1962, she went on to work for several medical organizations, including Rose Medical Center in Denver, Colorado, where she worked until she retired after 36 years of service.