My parents are immigrants from the Caribbean, and they both grew up with very little money and with little means to better themselves. My mother grew up on the farmland of Antigua (an island in the Lesser Antilles set along the English harbor). Similarly, my father often spoke to me about how he shared a bed with four of his cousins and that he lacked money for shoes while he lived on the island of St. Kitts & Nevis. However, it was my father’s educational pursuits that allowed him to come to the United States to complete his bachelor’s degree, go on to obtain his master’s degree, and lay a solid foundation for his family. My grandmother made a promise to him that she would work as hard as she needed to so that he could graduate with both his master’s and his bachelor’s degree debt free – an incredible feat for a woman with almost no formal education. But she made it work. She valued education and the future that it could bring my father so much that she worked 12 hour shifts 6 days a week for years, cleaning houses so that my father could focus on his studies.
It is the determination of both my father and of my grandmother that is the root of why I believe that every person – regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic background – has the right to an affordable and equitable higher education experience. Today, I am a Ph.D. student at Washington State University studying American Studies and Culture. I truly believe that having the option to go to college or trade school can be life changing, and that individuals who want to be educated should not have to go into massive amounts of debt to receive their degrees.
While working on my master’s degree four years ago, I met my future non-profit co-founder at my institution, and we began talking about the sacrifices that we knew we'd need to make in order to eventually pay off the student loan debt that we had accumulated. Three months into the COVID-19 pandemic which shut down the world, we hatched the idea for our non-profit organization, The Prosp(a)rity Project. Our organization is dedicated to leveling the socioeconomic playing field for populations most susceptible to and impacted by predatory lending and student loan debt. We are guided by a vision of furthering our presence as a nonprofit dedicated specifically to nurturing, uplifting, and advancing members of this demographic and positioning them to pay it forward to their communities. That is why our main program – The 35*2 Free Initiative – tackles two of the most prominent detriments to financial freedom: the student loan debt crisis and a lack of access to financial education.
Our program provides retroactive scholarships of $10,000 to qualified college-educated women combined with a year-long program of financial literacy education and career coaching to help them move measurably toward financial freedom. With women holding 66% of the student loan debt in the United States, we recognize that women are at an increased risk for being burdened down by predatory lending (Education Data Initiative). Aside from our main program, we also host an annual conference – The 35*2 Free Conference – where we have different speakers and workshops that cater to women and their quest for financial literacy. So far, we have educated more than 150 young women around the country through workshops and training so that they can be empowered to improve their lives and the lives of future generations.
My vision is that any student – regardless of gender, race, or socioeconomic status – who wishes to attend college and pursue their educational ambitions, will have the resources and support to thrive in their academic environment. And I firmly believe that we can get there, as long as we work together to improve these institutions from the ground up. That is why my CSI revolves around both my non-profit organization and my personal commitment to equitable higher education opportunities. I am so proud to be a part of the Miss America Opportunity, who is already championing scholarship disbursals to young women in order to make their educational dreams come true!
Ashley Wells
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