How Identity Has Influenced a Senior Manager of Academics at TNTP's Career
Ashley's first-generation college graduate status significantly shaped their career path, driving a focus on maximizing available resources; "I had an eye towards how to pay off those loans," leading them to strategically leverage loan forgiveness programs and employer benefits throughout their career, including Teach for America and Denver Public Schools, ultimately enabling graduate school without incurring further debt. This experience fostered a keen awareness of available support systems and benefits, making Ashley adept at navigating workplace resources and assisting colleagues in doing the same.
Overcoming Challenges, Financial Literacy, Benefits and Compensation, Career Planning, Resourcefulness
Advizer Information
Name
Job Title
Company
Undergrad
Grad Programs
Majors
Industries
Job Functions
Traits
Ashley D. Essary
Senior Manager of Academics
TNTP
Texas Christian University (2010)
University of Colorado at Denver, MA in Curriculum & Instruction: Pedagogy for Urban Leadership, concentration in English Language Acquisition
Fine Arts, Music
Education
Strategic Management and Executive
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Took Out Loans, LGBTQ, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Ashley's journey as a first-generation college graduate highlights the importance of financial planning and resourcefulness in navigating a career. She strategically utilized loan forgiveness programs (like Teach for America) and employer benefits to pay off student loans and fund graduate school.
2. Ashley's experience showcases the value of seeking out and leveraging employer support systems. Her proactive approach to understanding and utilizing benefits demonstrates how to maximize career opportunities and financial well-being.
3. Ashley's success in navigating her career path, despite the financial challenges of being a first-generation college graduate, serves as an inspiration and provides a practical example of how to overcome obstacles and achieve career goals. Her story emphasizes the importance of resourcefulness, financial literacy, and proactive engagement with employers to advance one's career.
Transcript
As a first-generation college graduate, how has that impacted the way you navigate your career?
Being the first in my family to graduate from college was a really big deal, and I'm very proud of that. It did leave me with a lot of loans, and I'm not sure if that's necessarily the case for all first-generation college graduates.
I certainly had scholarships that were really useful. However, I also chose to attend a private university, which was quite expensive. This impacted my career because I had an eye towards how to pay off those loans.
Programs like Teach for America offered some loan forgiveness money, which was hugely important. It also delayed the pain of the loans for the two years I was in the program, which was very valuable.
Then, I ended up working for Denver Public Schools. They had a lot of different support systems that I could take advantage of. Knowing this gave me a lens to ask, wherever I worked, "What can you offer me to help with these loans?" and then I took advantage of that.
Because of what Denver Public Schools offered, I was able to both pay off my loans and support my going to grad school. I was able to go to grad school with no loans at all, paying out of pocket. This wasn't because I had a lot of money, as I was a first-year teacher, but because I knew how to access different resources.
I think I've paid attention to that everywhere I've worked: "What is the support you can provide me?" This has made me a bit more crafty and more eager to look at the details of places and figure out what I can get that will be supportive in different ways.
My current organization just today was talking about benefits that some people didn't know about. I know all our benefits and exactly what you can do. I was helping other people navigate that, so I think this perspective has been valuable in all my jobs.