We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dara Ashley a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Dara, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you share a customer success story with us?

At The Dara Ashley Foundation we have a year long mentorship program where minority college students are paired with mentors based on their career interest, location, passions, and personal interest. When pairing mentors with mentees we like to take our time to ensure the relationship will be productive and meet the students needs.

One of our current mentees made a post on Linkedin which said, “Mentorship is absolutely important. I did not understand the value until I received my mentor. Thank you to The Dara Ashley Foundation for giving me an opportunity to grow through mentorship.”

This statement absolutely touched my heart because it shows how we are achieving our mission which is to create a lasting impact with new opportunities. This young lady is experiencing mentorship for the the first time and it is helping her evolve in unexpected ways.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

For the past decade, Dara Ashley Freemon has held leadership positions throughout her academic and professional career. Leadership was an early passion of Dara’s and manifested into her passions for equal education opportunity, mentorship, and paying it forward. This young Dallas native started The Dara Ashley Foundation to provide mentorship, scholarship, and leadership programs for students who might be in the same place she was not too long ago. Dara started her academic career at Howard University, a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). While attending Howard University, she learned a great deal, and not just in the classroom. Outside of school, the university’s commitment to serving its community was one of her greatest takeaways. She participated in the MET Choice program, a mentorship program in which she guided high school girls that attended an alternative school. This experience had a great impact on Dara as she was exposed to the youth of diverse lifestyles and cultures.

After Dara graduated from Howard University, she continued her education and attained her master’s degree in science from Towson University. Not only did she continue her education, but she also continued to mentor. Towson University started a program where collegiate students could be academic and youth mentors. In particular, every Friday afternoon, she led a 6th-grade science class in the Baltimore City school district. At the beginning of the class, she would introduce them to a fun science experiment. Following the experiment, her goal was to enlighten, educate, and edify young students. Immediately after graduating from Towson University, Dara missed connecting with young minds and influencing the next generation. She created The Dara Ashley Foundation to create a lasting impact with new opportunities.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn the idea of hustle culture. Many young professionals or just business owners can get caught up in the idea that you always have to be working or being productive in an actively working way. What I have had to reteach myself is that relaxation, vacation, or time off is productive. This process allows for your mind to stop racing and allows for your body to rejuvenate. Wen you continue to push yourself past your limit in an unhealthy matter sometimes everything you have worked for can crash because you cannot maintain it.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Be you!

In today’s society there are pressures from all over whether it is friends, family, or social media to do what others are doing. People appreciate you more when you come into a space and be yourself and be yourself consistently. Additionally, being honest has helped me build a reputation in this market. When business is being conducted I have seen individuals change what they are looking for or change their needs to better acquaint themselves with others. Be honest about what your are looking for in a business partnership or relationship. Your time is valuable just as much as the other person’s time so respect that by being honest.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.thedaraashleyfoundation.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daraashleyfoundation/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/thedarashleyfoundation/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dara-ashley-foundation/mycompany