© 2024 WRVO Public Media
NPR News for Central New York
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Faces of NPR HBCU Edition: Taylor Ash

Faces of NPR: HBCU Edition
Sommer Hill
Faces of NPR: HBCU Edition

Faces Of NPR showcases the people behind NPR--from the voices you hear every day on the radio to the ones who work outside of the recording studio. You'll find out about what they do and what they're inspired by on the daily. This month is special – we are featuring HBCU alum at NPR for Black History Month. Next we have Taylor Ash,

The Basics:

Name: Taylor Ash

Title: Recruitment & Employee Branding Coordinator

HBCU: North Carolina Central University

Instagram Handle: @Tayluhhrae

Where you're from: Rockingham, NC

How did going to an HBCU prepare you for the real world and prepare you for NPR?

I came from a really, really small town in North Carolina – and it was predominantly white. My freshman year of undergrad was the first time I was really exposed to a large community Black people. They were educated, talented, and high-achieving. My alma mater's focus is community service and involvement. So it was really nice to see people, my people, genuinely interested in giving back to our community and being involved in a lot of community grassroots efforts. I would say that kind of molded me, and it's a huge part of who I am today. My HBCU, North Carolina Central University, for sure put me on the path of seeing my self worth outside of predominantly white spaces. I had a lot of Black professors that pushed me to achieve and poured a lot into me. Really just knowing that you're capable of achieving more, and when you achieve more – reach back and uplift others to make sure the cycle continues.

Specifically, how do you find that you're able to practice that community service within your role?

I work on the talent acquisition team, so I have exposure to any open roles or the needs that different hiring managers have. I'm always trying to tap into my HBCU network, talking to my friends that are interested in journalism. I'm always just trying to plug them in to be able to be in a position to give back as well, or just share any of my internal insight of what the org has going on, or to find a fit for other people inside of NPR.

So did you plan to end up at NPR? Did it just happen?

A little bit of both. Before NPR, I was in a position where I was looking for something new, but I wanted to stay within the media/broadcasting industry. And being a fan of NPR's content, obviously I was super interested in pursuing my role when I saw it was open. But I feel like when I got here, my path completely changed. I'm a pandemic/remote hire, which is a really interesting dynamic to work through. When you first get a new job, it's easy to develop so many plans and ideas. You envision yourself in a role, and you think about all the ways you can bring your vibes and skills to the team. But then obviously with the pandemic and everything that's happened, I feel like things just kind of fell into place in a different way.

In what ways do you think NPR has helped you grow and develop, or in what ways have you seen your growth through NPR?

Yeah, overall my professional skills have definitely developed. I'm really just more comfortable in my professional bag in general. I'm more confident in communicating my ideas and approaches, and offering up my insights. I would say that I've gotten more comfortable with thinking expansively, because there's space here for that. NPR wants you to be innovative, there's a space here to come with new and fresh ideas. So, I've tapped into that.

Taylor Ash
/ NPR
/
NPR
Taylor Ash

Do you think as a Black woman you have a place here at NPR, like there's room for you?

There's a space here, if you seek it. I would say I've found that space through mentorship and networking. I have found that space by reaching out to people who look like me and experience some of the same barriers and challenges as me. I've even found that space with allies that aren't POC. My previous mentor was a white woman, and she was really amazing. I always got a genuine vibe that she understood what real allyship looks like, not only as a woman of color, but a Black woman – and that's rare. And, you know, we had some really serious and honest conversations about my career trajectory, and professional development that have contributed to where I am today. I definitely feel like she was a safe space. But that's still a footprint that I'm carving out, trying to find my space here.

You spoke about mentorship, can you tell me the impact that mentorship has had on your professional experience?

Mentorship is definitely my trump card. If I ever decide to explore outside of this organization, whatever my next journey is, I'll always know that mentorship was the takeaway from NPR. My previous mentor, Allie Prescott, poured a lot into me and helped me with my graduate school application. We worked super hard on my application, like day in and day out for like two months. Having her give me that guidance on how to navigate everything was such a heavy lift. And now, I'm in the middle of trying to make a career transition and just trying to figure out what that'll look like for me. Having Anaïs Laurent as my mentor now has been really nice. Being able to have conversations with someone that's so warm and insightful has helped me a lot. Mentorship is for sure my trump card here.

Can you tell me the best piece of advice you've received, if you can remember?

The best piece of advice that I received, I would say two things. The first is to not shrink myself to be more digestible for those that don't look like me. That's a space in itself to navigate as a Black woman, because you can easily be deemed the "angry Black woman." You don't want to seem aggressive for setting boundaries, or you don't want to seem overzealous for having innovative ideas. So that's definitely been a great piece of advice that I try to apply in life. And then the second piece of advice was to always keep separation between your professional life and your personal life. Don't let the two merge, always make time for yourself. That definitely is a mental health pro-tip.

Taylor Ash
/ NPR
/
NPR
Taylor Ash

What do you wish someone told you while you were at your HBCU? What do you wish someone told you about the real world, about the corporate world, etc.?

I feel like people told me but maybe it took me entering into the real world post-grad for it to penetrate. And that's that anything you want to achieve is possible. There is a negative stigma or connotation that unfortunately exists about Historically Black Colleges and Universities. They're always being compared to PWIs or other major institutions, and the validity and quality of your education is in question. There are narratives that exist, that HBCUs are subpar or you have to work harder to achieve success. And that's simply not true. I have a lot of friends that went to HBCUs that are doing really amazing things, racked up so many accolades and have seen success in their lives. My mom went to an HBCU and she's always been in a great position professionally.

And I felt like when I graduated, some of those opinions may have penetrated and I entered into the workforce with imposter syndrome. You know, nothing is easy, there are no handouts in life – especially for Black people. But your degree is valid and your education is just as good. And if anything, I feel like you have an advantage because the experience that you receive at an HBCU is like no other. It's hard to explain it to people. If you get it, you get it, but if you don't, you don't. So I would say I wish I knew that my education was good enough. You're not set back going to a HBCU.

What helps you get through your day to day NPR? What has been something that you use as motivation and to encourage you?

I don't know if this is fortunately or unfortunately, but I aim to be extremely optimistic. I try to find the silver lining in everything, so I'll say fortunately. Because I know there is always a silver lining there. My experience has been an uphill battle, and my guiding light and the thing that keeps me motivated is just knowing that if you stop where you are, there's no progression in that. There is no point in stopping halfway over the mountain or stopping in the middle of a battle, especially when you have everything it takes to make it through inside of you. Knowing and understanding that moments are temporary guides me. I may experience lows, but I also experience highs. Life is really all about ebbs and flows, mountains and valleys. So yeah, I would say my guiding light is knowing that I have what it takes inside of me. I possess the tools to get to the other side of the mountain. And when I get there, it'll all be worth it – I'll experience the magnitude of my work to its full extent once I get to the other side.

What advice do you have for the students that will read this?

Internships, internships, internships, internships! Get exposure as quickly as you can, and network! If you're an HBCU student, there's so much power in tapping into the HBCU network. I've never come across a HBCU alum that's not more than willing to help me out or put me on, regardless of what school they went to. So I would say network, tap into that network. And I would also say, really rep HBCUs, like enter into the field and do what you can and put on for HBCU grads. Know that there's a community of people that are awesome, like really high power individuals, in executive positions and in senior leadership. There's a whole legacy of people that are doing groundbreaking things, and really repping for the set. So just continue to carry the torch. Enter into the field and hit the ground rolling. Pay it forward.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Taylor Ash
/ NPR
/
NPR
Taylor Ash

Sommer Hill (she/her) is a social media associate for NPR Extra. She started with NPR in May 2021. Her primary responsibilities include managing the social media accounts for NPR Extra as well as creating blog posts for NPR.org. In her time at NPR, Hill has worked on many projects including the Tiny Desk Contest, the How I Built This Summit, creating a resource page for Juneteenth material, participating in the 'What Juneteenth Means To Me' video and contributing to WOC/POC meetings.