Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Miller.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Ashley. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
So, my story has a lot of little pieces–I’ll do my best to piece it all together. I started my college journey at Dallas Baptist University in 2014 as a psychology major. During September of my freshman year, I started volunteering with a ministry called North Texas Capernaum. Capernaum is a sub-ministry under an organization called Young Life. Young Life Capernaum serves teens and young adults with disabilities. As soon as I started serving Capernaum, I fell in love. I fell in love with the special needs community–our friends with special needs, their parents, and the other people who loved on them. It felt so natural. Little did I know that I would be called to serve students with special needs for my career.
Fast forward to the summer between my sophomore and junior year–I felt this tugging in my heart. God was asking me to turn my side-passion into my career choice. I felt called to become a special education teacher. So, after the fall semester of my junior year (2016), I changed my major to education. I started an accelerated degree program that would allow me to get my master’s degree in special education, as well as a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 5 years. After taking a few initial classes, I knew that this is what I was called to do in life.
In 2017, I had the opportunity to be hired on staff for Fairpark Capernaum, their special needs ministry serving South Dallas/Fairpark and Pleasant Grove. It was an amazing experience! Sadly, I had to go off staff in June of this year (2019) to start student teaching. Meanwhile, I have continued to volunteer for North Texas Capernaum since 2014. This September was my 5-year anniversary. I’ve loved getting to grow alongside my friends with disabilities.
I have been student teaching in Southeast Dallas since August and was recently hired to start in January of 2020 as the teacher for a special education unit at an elementary school in Oak Cliff. I will also be graduating in December with my bachelor’s and master’s degree. It’s been a wild journey of discovering unknown passions and realizing my calling, but I’m so grateful to God for the amazing opportunities that He has already provided. I’m so excited to continue serving and loving on students with special needs in Dallas!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. Along the way, I’ve experienced several setbacks, family problems (we all have them), roadblocks, and personal health issues. I struggle with clinical depression and anxiety. Last fall (2018), I had a really severe depressive episode, as well as new health problems, and had to deal with a really tough breakup with someone who was once my friend. All of that may sound silly, but piled on, it was a tough go of things for a while. Literally, the only things that helped me through all of that was my relationship with God and some really great people in my little world.
My advice to those starting their journey would be a few things. The first thing is if you haven’t already started the journey of self-healing and addressing your childhood wounds, do it! We may not realize it, but our childhood wounds really affect how we handle things in the future. Things like counseling, self-help, and developing your faith (however that looks) are so helpful! The next thing would be to learn how to say no and set up healthy boundaries. I learned this the hard way, but remember: no is a complete sentence! For your own mental and emotional well-being, set up healthy boundaries with the people in your life. The last thing is: Believe in yourself! Women constantly downgrade themselves and downplay their accomplishments. If you are doing something, no matter how small it may feel, be proud of yourself! You have been given amazing gifts, whether you realize it or not. Discover what your giftings are and own them.
Please tell us about North Texas Capernaum.
Like I said before, I am a special education teacher, as well as a volunteer for a special needs ministry. For additional income while student teaching, I have started editing as well (hit me up to book my editing services)! I’m particularly passionate about serving students in South Dallas and Oak Cliff, as well as social/racial justice work.
I love volunteering for North Texas Capernaum because of how much joy it brings me and so many others. Capernaum is an amazing non-profit organization. It has touched the lives of so many students with disabilities, no matter what their faith is. Oftentimes, churches aren’t properly equipped to serve people with special needs. Capernaum’s goal is to provide students with opportunities outside of school to develop friendships, grow in their faith, and meet new people. Our friends will age-out around age 24, but then, we try to connect them with local churches or even opportunities to come back to volunteer as an alum! You can find more information on their website or their Instagram (@northtexascapernaum).
Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
Thankfully, there are a lot of females in the education field. However, I definitely think there are barriers to female leadership in general, especially in the church. I think the biggest barrier is that people often don’t trust our experiences and even our expertise. Organizations, churches, and people in general often look to men to confirm what well-educated and knowledgeable women are already saying. It’s as if people don’t trust something unless it comes from a man. I think as more women enter into leadership roles, people will see how capable we are–even though we shouldn’t have to prove our worth, to begin with.
Pricing:
- Proofreading: $1.50 per page
- Proofreading + grammar/spelling edits: $2.00 per page
- Content editing + suggestions: $3.00 per page
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ashleynmiller5/
- Email: ashleynmiller5@gmail.com
- Instagram: @ashleynmiller
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ashleynmiller95
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/ashleynmiller5
- Other: https://northtexascapernaum.younglife.org/Pages/default.aspx
Image Credit:
Bobby King
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