It's a Small World After All............More from JacksGap
I woke up to a beautiful morning and a message on Facebook saying, "My name is Ashley Washburn and I have spent the last week with the JacksGap team in Tanzania. I noticed we share a few friends, Lisa Loeb and Joan Edwards. I know them from Kingswood Oxford where I am a member of the Board of Trustees. I was just hoping you could give me some insight to what I may expect when JacksGap releases the Following Hearts segment on my story. I don't know exactly when it will be released but I hope to be a little prepared. We had such a fun week with them with the exception that I don't like being photographed." Then I responded with, "I'd love to chat with you about my experience and I'd love to hear yours! Give me a call when you get back state side! I'd love to connect with a K-O person. Class of '03!!!!!" Then Ashley got to the heart of the importance of our meeting, "How funny is that, that 2 out of 4 following heart documentaries are KO."
How interconnected are we when a film crew from London chooses to do short documentaries on women who use Skype... and half of the women they choose are part of the same small Kingswood Oxford Community, a community that prides themselves on their alumni making a difference and being leaders in the global community!? Kingswood Oxford is well known for it's shining academics in Advanced Placement testing scores ranking top in the state. It honestly blew my mind! I could not tell you how lucky or how proud I feel to have been apart of such an exceptional community in West Hartford, Connecticut.To learn and play in such a bucolic setting then leave to know that some day the K-O spirit of heart was always with me. Following me around and shaping my every decision in New York, that then shaped other people's decisions from London, brought people together from far and wide in Toronto, then only to go off again and to search for a discover that SAME spirit across the world in Tanzania, only then to reach out and return to it's home in West Hartford Connecticut.
What beauty we must possess that our beacon shines so brightly that all roads are illuminated by "Following Heart." I am forever grateful to my parents for their support and their guidance in choosing Kingswood- Oxford for my educational foundation.. I think it was worth it! I am so excited to make this world that much smaller, one person at a time! I know that our conversation will inspire me to expand my reach and help those in poverty to make a difference in the world.
Needless to say I am super excited to meet Ashley, give her some pointers about what I wish I would have had in place knowing what I do now! Stay in touch for pictures on Instagram and FB mid June!
Follow her on Instagram, Facebook, and don't forget to donate or even volunteer at her schools in Africa to help support her glorious cause of education at www.asantesanaforeducation.com
Yours Truly,
Danielle