Molly Lasagna
Ascendium Education Philanthropy
Austin, TX USA
"Stay curious and the answers will come."
Career Roadmap
Molly's work combines: Education, Non-Profit Organizations, and Helping People
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
If you're interested in working in higher education in prison, I'd recommend checking out the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison website. Use the map feature to find programs within your state, which prisons they exist in, and which colleges are the partners. A lot of colleges also have Inside-Out programs where you can take your courses inside prison alongside incarcerated students. There are also undergraduate affinity groups for people who want to volunteer for justice-related work.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
English Literature and Composition
Columbia University
Graduate Degree
Secondary English Education
University of Virginia
Graduate Degree
Urban Education Policy
Brown University
Graduate Degree
Divinity
Vanderbilt University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
I always knew I wanted to become a teacher and work in education.
2.
Watching my students work hard with minimal resources pushed me to study education policy and fight for change beyond the classroom.
3.
I moved to Washington, D.C., determined to fix the education system, but years in policy work left me questioning whether real change was happening.
4.
After surviving a violent assault, I moved to Nashville, Tennessee, searching for healing and a different direction for my life.
5.
While trying to heal, I fell into unhealthy coping mechanisms and ended up spending a weekend in jail for drunk driving—it opened my eyes and completely changed my trajectory.
6.
Determined to help make a difference in the prison system, I became a prison chaplain.
7.
From there, I combined my background in education and prison work experience to make an impact as executive director of an education-in-prison organization.
8.
Today, I support college-in-prison programs across the country so more people can access education, dignity, and new possibilities for their future.
Defining Moments
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I'm the survivor of a violent assault. The experience showed me that the system makes no room to help victims heal. It ultimately was the catalyst for my trajectory into prison work.