“I have no other view than to promote the public good, and am unambitious of honors not founded in the approbation of my country.” – George Washington
This ideal shared by the first President of the United States is at the heart of the Mount Vernon Leadership Fellows – a five-and-a-half-week program for juniors that focuses on academic and leadership development.
Ashley Burns, a biology major at Missouri Southern, is one of 16 college students from around the country selected to participate this year. Two-hundred applications were received and 35 students were interviewed before the final selections were made.
“I visited Mount Vernon (George Washington’s estate) a few years ago with my family,” said Burns. “I found out about the Leadership Fellows program on Instagram and knew I had to apply.”
Participants stayed for a week in quarters at Mount Vernon and are now staying in Alexandria, Va., just a short distance away from the nation’s capital. So far, the students have visited the White House and Supreme Court, and visited with figures such as Curt Viebranz, president and CEO of George Washington’s Mount Vernon, and Lieutenant General Vincent R. Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.
They are also attending regular leadership development sessions as well as working on individual capstone projects.
“We’re going through a leadership curriculum that develops our individual leadership skills through learning about the life of George Washington,” Burns said. ““We’re learning about his leadership traits and what made him unique,” she said. “He was humble and surrounded himself with people of higher education. We’re also learning a lot about the presidential precedents that he set. In class, we do activities that hone in on our own skills and strengths.
“The other component is that each of us has brought a different idea or project to develop and bring back to our own communities. I brought the idea to find ways to further engage youth and diversity into the National Parks Service.”
The passion the Granby resident brings to the parks service is one that she has had since becoming a volunteer at the George Washington Carver National Monument at the age of 9. In 2014, she received the Hartzog Outstanding Individual Youth Volunteer award, which was presented by the national director of the parks service in Washington, D.C.
Today, she is employed as a park guide and youth ambassador at the Carver monument near Diamond. At Southern, she serves as a Lion Ambassador and is a member of the Honors Program.
“We’re very proud of Ashley and all that she has accomplished,” said Dr. Brad Hodson, Missouri Southern’s executive vice president. “Her acceptance into the prestigious Mount Vernon Leadership Fellows program speaks to her character, her desire to make a difference in her community and her commitment to public service.”
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