We are thrilled to introduce you to our newest team member, Ashby McCoy. She is working with us through a year-long, master’s-level internship at Tulane University.
Q: Can you start off by telling us a little bit about yourself?
A: I am originally from a small Western Massachusetts town. I let my love for adventure and working with youth take me around the world. Since graduating from the College of Charleston in South Carolina where I studied Art’s Management and Environmental Sustainability, I have worked as an outdoor educator and instructor in Alaska, Montana, and New Hampshire. Looking to deepen my experience and skills in social-emotional learning and experiential education, I moved to Maine to work at a Leadership School, and then to Jackson, WY to pursue place-based education at Teton Science Schools. Finding a passion for youth development, I joined the Peace Corps and served in Morocco as a Youth Development Specialist teaching English and life skills to Moroccan youth. As Covid cut my service short, upon returning to the States I worked as a Program Coordinator for the Boys and Girls Club in Missoula, MT. I am currently pursuing a Masters of Social Work at Tulane University and just moved to Bellingham after spending the winter in Teton Valley, ID. I am excited to explore my new community and join the Futures Northwest team!
Q: What is one piece of advice you wish you could have given your college self in hindsight?
A: I would tell myself to not take my surrounding community for granted. I have always had “the grass is greener mentality”, always looking to the next thing. Coming from a rural, progressive area of Massachusetts, I never felt I “fit in” to the southern city of Charleston, South Carolina. My first year I wanted to transfer, and then found my people in crew. My senior year, my best and happiest year in college, I was planning and looking forward to my adventures post-graduation. Looking back on my time in college, I wish I enjoyed the place I was living and the people in it. College can be a self-involved time, looking ahead to your future and career, but it can also be a time of self-growth and finding your passions. I wish in college I had taken more opportunities and risks, and was more involved. I wish I had relished in the opportunity of education and community, the opportunity to explore who I was and the world around me.
Q: What would your friends and family say is your biggest strength?
A: I think what my family and friends would say is my biggest strength is my ability to connect with other people, to find commonalities and joy. They would say the lens I look at the world through and the way I seek adventure makes me unique, and the reason they love me. When in doubt, laughter is the answer.
Q: What are you most looking forward to at FuturesNW?
A: I am most looking forward to being a part of a community, and to having a voice in it. The opportunity to be involved and to be an active participant in a community is a privilege. Having just moved to the Bellingham area, I am excited to have FuturesNW as a connection to the community and to being a part of it!