Every year, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation selects undergraduate students across the U.S. who show commitment to leadership and public service. Ashley Lawson, a fourth-year studying mathematics and mathematics education, was one of 59 students selected to receive the Truman Scholarship for 2018, and is the 10th student from NC State to receive this scholarship. In addition to the scholarship, she is also the founder and director of an organization known as Meet My Future.

Technician spoke with Lawson to talk about her acceptance of the scholarship, as well as her organization.

What inspired you to choose to study mathematics and mathematics education?

I originally came to State to major in mechanical engineering, because you really sort of get pushed into engineering if you‘re good at math and science by teachers, and I had always wanted to be a teacher, so I was pushed into engineering. I liked it, but it didn’t quite fit, and then talking with the director of my scholarship program, she had asked me, because I was complaining about all the issues from my old hometown, such as suicide, rape, drug abuse and the lack of access to opportunity in my hometown. She asked if I had ever thought about going back and helping, and initially I said no but it sort of stayed with me. I went home to help a student apply for a scholarship, and that was kind of when I realized that I needed to be in a different field, and I had always loved math, so math education and mathematics were kind of where I found my place.

Where is your hometown?

Prestonville, North Carolina. It’s an unincorporated town in Stokes County, North Carolina.

Could you tell me more about the organization you created, Meet My Future?

[Meet My Future] is a grassroots community organization dedicated to improving career development, educational attainment, and opportunity for rural youth and communities. We go into schools and bring professionals in from the community, we’ll Skype people in, and we can do outside of the community as well, just to let kids see what is out there, and to see somebody with a similar identity to them being successful. The sole purpose of bringing in the professionals is to help kids build a vision for themselves in that career.

What was the application process for the Truman Scholarship like? 

The application process is honestly phenomenal. They really ask you to talk about your service, your leadership, and the things that matter most to you, the reason you do your work. It’s a really great way to tell your story, to figure out how to clearly communicate what it is that you care about, and how the work that you’ve done explains what you care about.

What were your thoughts when you found out that you had been chosen to receive the Truman Scholarship?

I was really grateful. I really had not thought that I was somebody who would be chosen to receive the Truman Scholarship, and when they told me I was honestly so grateful for the people who helped me throughout the process, and that there were also the people who had believed in me along the way. I was exceptionally grateful and really excited.

Going forward into your senior year and beyond, what are your plans?

So I’ll be graduating in December. I will full-time student teach in the fall in a high school math classroom, which I’m beyond excited about. Afterwards, I’ve been really lucky to be a part of the first cohort of The Innovation Project teaching scholarship, and it’s designed to bring in juniors to apply and find a rural community or semi-rural community in North Carolina to teach, and we bring in STEM teachers to rural and semi-rural communities in North Carolina. I have been placed in Lenoir County Public Schools, which I’m thrilled about, and I’ll start working there in January.

Do you have any advice for anyone applying for the Truman Scholarship for this upcoming year?

Be yourself, and get really comfortable and vulnerable with your story. I learned a lot about how to communicate and to explain how my work had led me to my passion, and how my work demonstrated my passion. All of the parts of my application really told a full story, though sometimes it’s not cohesive and that’s fine, but get really comfortable with that and be okay with being vulnerable and sharing some things that hurt in the application and interview. 

Details about the Harry S Truman Scholarship can be found at go.ncsu.edu/Truman, and more information concerning scholarships that are available to NC State students can be found at go.ncsu.edu/FAO.