Ashley Legg
Ashley at the office
A few months ago, Ashley Legg sent Bootstraps an email expressing interest in giving back to the community that helped her. It’s always nice to hear from past recipients, get updates on their journeys, and celebrate their successes, but it is absolutely heartwarming when our recipients want to give back to the community. Ashley graduated from Conifer High School in 2012. At the time, she wanted to study neuroscience because of a high school psychology class she had taken, but just before starting her junior year in college, she attended a career fair and changed her major to History.
Ashley received the Pam Murray Memorial Scholarship in 2012 and started her postsecondary education journey at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She spent two years in Boulder and then transferred to the University of Colorado, Denver. The transition from attending a small high school to a large university was a little difficult, and that ultimately played a part in her decision to transfer schools. The campus and the classes at CU Denver were smaller, and Ashely felt like CU Denver made it more about the students.
While in high school, Ashley was a member of the French Club and the STAND organization. STAND is an anti-genocide movement led by students. Ashley started a chapter of STAND while in college, served as the chapter’s president for two years, and was heavily involved in the national organization’s leadership.
While in college studying history, Ashley had an internship with the History Colorado Museum, and her love for museums was born. In 2018, the National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio opened, and Ashley joined the start-up team. Ashley appreciates the freedom she and her colleagues had in trying new things with a brand-new museum. For example, Ashley started the Pets and Vets program because pets help the emotional well-being of people. Now in its third year, the program connects vets to resources and animals and allows vets to explore their options through demonstrations and educational engagement.
Ashley received the Pam Murray Memorial Scholarship in 2012 and started her postsecondary education journey at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She spent two years in Boulder and then transferred to the University of Colorado, Denver. The transition from attending a small high school to a large university was a little difficult, and that ultimately played a part in her decision to transfer schools. The campus and the classes at CU Denver were smaller, and Ashely felt like CU Denver made it more about the students.
While in high school, Ashley was a member of the French Club and the STAND organization. STAND is an anti-genocide movement led by students. Ashley started a chapter of STAND while in college, served as the chapter’s president for two years, and was heavily involved in the national organization’s leadership.
While in college studying history, Ashley had an internship with the History Colorado Museum, and her love for museums was born. In 2018, the National Veterans Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio opened, and Ashley joined the start-up team. Ashley appreciates the freedom she and her colleagues had in trying new things with a brand-new museum. For example, Ashley started the Pets and Vets program because pets help the emotional well-being of people. Now in its third year, the program connects vets to resources and animals and allows vets to explore their options through demonstrations and educational engagement.
Ashley and Miah
Ashley’s current title is Manager of Guest Experience, and it is her ideal job. She believes it is important to educate people, and she loves the environment of the museum. Ashley manages all aspects of the “front of the house” including opening and closing the museum, managing a staff of seven people, managing approximately 50 volunteers, implementing program initiatives, and overseeing the accreditation of the museum’s programs.
In her spare time, Ashely is still a French enthusiast, loves to travel (she recently returned from a trip to Italy), and she enjoys going to concerts. She and her roommate, Larisa (also a 2012 Conifer High School grad), share a tiny apartment dweller named Miah (pictured). Miah belongs to Larisa, but, according to a joking Ashley, Miah has chosen Ashley as her human.
Ashley remembers that her Bootstraps scholarship helped her with tuition expenses, and she later received interest-free loans that helped her complete school. She feels that Bootstraps advocated for her and alleviated the burden of worry for how she was going to pay for school. Ashley believes that Bootstraps is a fantastic organization - so much so that she created a scholarship for the Bootstraps class of 2023. Appropriately so, the name of the scholarship Ashley funds is the “Pay It Forward Scholarship.”
In her spare time, Ashely is still a French enthusiast, loves to travel (she recently returned from a trip to Italy), and she enjoys going to concerts. She and her roommate, Larisa (also a 2012 Conifer High School grad), share a tiny apartment dweller named Miah (pictured). Miah belongs to Larisa, but, according to a joking Ashley, Miah has chosen Ashley as her human.
Ashley remembers that her Bootstraps scholarship helped her with tuition expenses, and she later received interest-free loans that helped her complete school. She feels that Bootstraps advocated for her and alleviated the burden of worry for how she was going to pay for school. Ashley believes that Bootstraps is a fantastic organization - so much so that she created a scholarship for the Bootstraps class of 2023. Appropriately so, the name of the scholarship Ashley funds is the “Pay It Forward Scholarship.”
