Ashley is a rising senior at the University of Michigan studying Public Policy with a concentration in International Development and a minor in Intergroup Relations and Middle Eastern Studies. She was a member of the Advocacy Core for the United Asian American Organizations, and an editor for The Michigan Daily’s Michigan in Color section, which promotes voices of color in the University of Michigan community. She is excited to learn more about the international development sector through her internship with Vital Voices: Global Partnership.
What are you excited to learn about during your internship this summer? 
This summer, I am interning at Vital Voices Global Partnership, an international development organization that focuses on empowering women leaders throughout the world. As the daughter of immigrants, I’ve always been interested in the world outside the US and the relationship between aid and development. Through my studies, I learned about the power dynamics between Western non-profits and the communities they serve. Often Western organizations can consciously or unconsciously wreak havoc in the communities they attempt to serve by simply not having a full understanding of the situation on the ground. After studying these ill-conceived ventures, I became interested in the question of ethical partnerships, and how non-profits can complement home-grown change efforts. Unlike many international development organizations, Vital Voices is not directly involved in programming in other countries, but instead invests in women leaders already making change within their communities. This concept interested me, and this summer I hope to learn more about the international development sphere and how to ethically participate in the work.
Why did you decide to spend your summer with CAPAL? 
As a Chinese-American, I’ve always been painfully aware of the lack of AANHPI representation within public service. I never imagined it as a space where I would find people who look like me or shared my identity. Through joining CAPAL, I knew I’d have an amazing opportunity to network within the AANHPI community in DC and find a community where I felt like I fit. This summer, I hope to meet AANHPI professionals who can speak to their experiences in the public service sector and offer advice and guidance. In addition, I’m excited to meet other AANHPI interns from across the country and learn about their campus communities and what their AANHPI community means to them.
What are the projects that you’re working on this summer and how are they connected to your interests in public service?
For my CAPAL capstone project, my team and I will be working with the 1882 Foundation to create a memorial at Range 99 in the Congressional Cemetery, the traditional burial grounds for the first wave of Chinese immigrants to DC in the early 1900s. While the bodies have since been returned to China, the memorial will serve to commemorate the Chinese-American community and its deep historical roots in this city. To me, public service is providing a voice for communities often unheard, and I’m excited to spend time learning more about my own community’s history and spreading it to others. To many Americans, Chinese-Americans and other AANHPI communities are perpetual foreigners. By being a part of this memorial, I hope to change the narrative of what it means to have a history in this country, and be a part of its future.
What do you do in your free time?
I love watching sports, especially soccer. This summer, I’m super excited for the World Cup and experiencing the festivities in D.C. 
What is the best piece of advice you have received?
Last week, one of the members of the Vital Voices Global Network visited the D.C. office. She told us that it was incredibly important to “shamelessly and boldly write yourself into history” because no one else will.
Meet all of our CAPAL Scholars & Interns here.
Sharon Le is a rising third-year student at the University of Virginia, double majoring in Psychology and Spanish, on the Pre-Law track. Sharon served as the External Vice President for the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA@UVA) the past year, and is also involved in Phi Alpha Delta – the International Pre-Law Fraternity, and the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Team at the University. She was greatly exposed to the Asian Pacific American representation not only through her involvement with the Vietnamese community in Northern Virginia with VSA but also through her background – having grown up in Vietnam and moving to America in high school. Sharon hopes to promote Asian Pacific American leadership with her commitments and to give the community a bigger voice in the country.