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Class of 2011
College of Arts and Science
Hometown: Birmingham, AL
Throughout high school, Ashley dedicated much of her time to mentoring and tutoring elementary school children in low-income areas of Trenton, NJ. She met with them weekly and served as their counselor at The Lawrenceville School Camp during the summer. During her senior year, Ashley contributed significantly to the relief efforts of the Save Darfur organization by elevating awareness and raising money for Doctors Without Borders. For her spring break, Ashley participated in a service-oriented trip to Ethiopia organized by her high school called, “Putting a Face on Poverty.” Rapt by both the vibrant culture and extreme destitution, she decided to take a gap year after graduation.
Ashley returned to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where she volunteered in a Mother Teresa Orphanage for children with HIV/AIDS and disabilities. She then ventured north to Mekelle, Ethiopia, a city suffering from an HIV/AIDS outbreak. There she volunteered full-time in a youth center with 800 children as an English teacher, HIV/AIDS educator, and sports program coordinator. Then she journeyed to Northern Uganda to learn more about the war and mentor orphaned children. Ashley had the pleasure of living with and tutoring sixteen orphaned girls who showed her the blessings and struggles of life in war-torn Lira.
During her freshman year at Vanderbilt, Ashley became a devoted volunteer at The Campus for Human Development, a homeless outreach and advocacy center in downtown Nashville. In the spring, Ashley filmed a documentary about the Campus’ post-treatment program called Odyssey. She then screened it at Vanderbilt with the purpose of educating students and the Nashville community about the issue of homelessness. Ashley also applied and was accepted for Vanderbilt’s ASB program, where she lived in a homeless shelter on Skid Row in Los Angeles, CA – an intense week of cultural immersion and service.
Ashley plans to use art and film to bring awareness to social injustices and to give a voice to those who cannot be heard. |
