The applicant hopes to gain a clearer understanding of opportunities in the social sector through interacting with other passionate and smart fellows and speakers at the StartingBloc Fellowship. They want to strengthen their belief in themselves as an innovator and agent of change. The Fellowship would provide confidence to take action and push forward towards their goals of making intentional career decisions and participating in development activities that yield results. They expect to leave with a new sense of urgency and inspiration to take action, equipped with new tools.

1. do
Q1. Whatwillyou hope to gain from the StartingBloc Fellowship?
How
the Fellowship help you to achieve your goals?
I’m most excited about the opportunity to surround myself with people that are like-minded
(read: just as passionate as I am) and smarter than me. Whether it be the speakers on the
agenda, or fellow, fellows, I look forward to hearing their stories and connecting to their
past and present.
I currently work for a Public Charter School in Washington DC that operates on a
cyclical framework of understanding, taking action, and believing.* As a StartingBloc
Fellow, I hope to gain:

A clearer understanding of the breadth of opportunities available in the social
sector, and where it is I fit best.

A stronger belief in myself as a connector, innovator and change agent.

The confidence to take action, and push forward toward accomplish my goals.
*Awesome diagram adopted
from the Cesar Chavez PCS
Public Policy Framework.
At this juncture in my career, I have finally begun making intentional decisions, and actively
seeking out and participating in (professional) development activities that yield the greatest
result (StartingBloc :]).
I’ve got a strong feeling that I would walk away from the experience with a newfound sense
of urgency, and finally equipped with the tools and inspiration to take action.
Ashlee Lawson
lawsonas@gmail.com
StartingBloc (LA ‘14)