Ashley Millhouse: Finding Her Calling in Life

For most people, the idea of living and working overseas only comes up occasionally during daydreaming bouts or watching the Travel Channel.

That’s about as far as it ever goes. Concerns about money, family and work tend to keep most people otherwise occupied or grounded. 

For 22-year-old Ashley Millhouse, however, teaching abroad has become her passion. She’s already taken four trips overseas - three to Africa and one to Vietnam.

As a recent recipient of a Fulbright grant, she’s leaving for Africa again in January for a nine-month teaching stint this time.

Born and raised in Moorpark, Millhouse attended Pinecrest School and then La Reina High School, both local schools.

This spring she earned her B.A. in history at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She believes her long-term plans will include a career in nonprofit management or teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) overseas.

How did Millhouse become so involved in traveling and teaching overseas? She points to the time she spent at La Reina.

“It was at La Reina where I learned about serving others and engaging yourself within the global community,” she said.

Betsy Potts, one of her La Reina instructors, described how the school may have shaped Millhouse's thinking.

“I really believe that for Ashley, coming to La Reina was a transformational experience,” said Potts.

“She lived its mission and philosophy, part of which emphasizes promoting justice locally and globally. The Sisters of Notre Dame, which sponsors La Reina, opened a girl’s school in Uganda a number of years ago. Learning about that school and its needs first piqued Ashley's interest in Africa,” said Potts.

Millhouse's first trip to Africa was during her time at Wake Forest.

“During my sophomore year, there was a service trip to teach in South Africa,” she explained. “I had always been interested in the African continent, so that was the perfect avenue for me to test out my potential as a teacher and to explore this continent."

Millhouse was paired up with PeaceWorks, an organization which hosts college students on international service trips.

She traveled to the Bongimfundo Primary School in the Kwa-Zulu Natal province in South Africa for two and a half weeks and taught sports and English. The trip inspired her to return to Africa.

“I think with each trip I took to South Africa, I felt more and more at home,” said Millhouse.

“I think so many people focus on the negative of the African continent: health, security, economics. But they really don’t look at the beauty and happiness of its people and how much we can truly learn from them. Every trip I felt that I learned more from the people than I had taught them,” she said.

The Fulbright program is a U.S. government-sponsored international educational exchange program, designed to increase mutual understanding between the people here and people from other countries.

Fulbright applications are directly handled by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

In January of each year, the bureau picks their top candidates, usually 150 percent more than the grant allows. Then they send out the selected applications to a host country’s embassy.

Ultimately it’s the foreign embassy that picks the grant recipient. Once the final choice is made, the student will go abroad to the host country and either teach or do research.

“I think they’re hoping for students who are really interested in learning about the country and who want to share their American perspective and ideas,” said Millhouse, explaining some of the criteria.

“They’re looking for students who come in with the goal to improve that country’s education system,” she said, noting that she applied at the beginning of her senior year at Wake Forest.

For her father, city councilman Keith Millhouse, waiting for the final announcement was a time of anxiety. “I was so excited for her and very proud,” he said.

"The grant is so competitive, with only four people from the entire United States being awarded a scholarship. I was on pins and needles as we waited to hear," said the proud father.

Having a daughter living abroad fills the councilman with a mixture of trepidation and pride.

“As a father, you are always concerned having a daughter so far away in a foreign land, but I support her dreams,” he said.

Millhouse is currently waiting to find out where exactly in Africa she will end up. She knows that at least part of her time will be spent teaching ESL in either a community high school or with first-year university students.

She leaves in January and will return the following October.

Potts believes that for Millhouse, this type of program is a perfect fit.

“Service comes naturally to her,” she said. “Here at La Reina, she mentored the younger students on the track team and became a role model for them.

Potts added, "When she had an opportunity to go to Africa, what she learned became real and life-altering. She also discovered that she has a natural gift for teaching.”

As for Millhouse, teaching in Africa could be her calling in life. 

She said, “Ultimately I feel that my purpose in life is to travel to other countries, then come back to America and serve as an ambassador for those countries.”