Pass the Mic with Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins

Meet Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins, host of the Oprah Winfrey Network podcast, Trials to Triumphs, where she aims to provide an unscripted, intimate look at the challenges and triumphs people face in everyday life. Ashley is best known for her role on Netflix’s Dear White People and has been featured in films and web series. Much like the characters she’s played, Ashley brings her passion to everything she does and advocates for empowerment, self-discovery, and hard work.  

Ashley was a part of our creator-focused season of the Pass the Mic podcast. Sophie Anderson, Sales Marketing, Podcasts, sat down with Ashley to chat through her process as a storyteller, hear the evolution of her purpose, and get the inside scoop on her journey as a creator. Check out some of our favorite highlights from the conversation.  

Just keep going.

Highlight: “The advice that I would give to women looking for a career in media is, know that it is an uphill journey. Call it a journey, not a battle… It's an uphill journey, and if you think about when you go uphill, sometimes you get really tired, and you need to take a break. Other times when you're going up this hill, you have a burst of energy, and you can go a mile straight super duper fast. Other times, you feel like you're going to pass out. All of these things are happening on your way to the top. And all you have to do is just keep going.” - Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins

Embrace the journey.

Highlight: “I want people to know that success is attainable, but not without the trials... I want people to embrace their journey. Even the hard moments, the hard seasons, because the truth is, they’re unavoidable. But if you have the right mindset and disposition and posture toward the successes that you want, then you know that there's a triumph on the other side of it.” - Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins

Find your purpose.

Highlight: “It's only as I've gotten older that I realize that it's not just that I'm a performer, but that a large part of my purpose, the nucleus of my purpose, is to inspire. And I realize that I can do that in a lot of different ways… And, I think another pillar of my purpose, too, is representation. For so long, even I couldn’t find myself in a lot of the spaces that I'm now in… I was looking for a mirror, and all of the things that I create or that I like to participate in are things not only that I'm genuinely drawn to, but also where I find that there is a void and I want to fill in the space.” - Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins

Create space for others.

Highlight: “I think that it's really important and special, especially for women in the space, because we're not often given the chance to have that much space to just be, and to find it, and to be messy, or to be polished, or to have it all figured out, or to not have it all figured out. I think society oftentimes requires us to have it all together. And the type of space that I'm creating on my podcast, and I'm witnessing on a lot of other podcasts, is that it's a space where women are allowed to truly be themselves. - Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins

Stay open to what life has to offer.

Highlight: “Something I wish I knew when I was younger would be, I didn't have to have it all figured out. I've always prided myself on being someone who had a plan… And I thought that that was always going to be the thing that gave me a leg up, that I always knew where I was headed. But what I wish I knew when I was younger is that it's cool to think you know where you're headed or what you want to do, and that can be a part of your drive, but it's important to be open to all the other things that life has in store for you.” - Ashley Blaine Featherson-Jenkins

Ready for more content from Ashley? Listen to her full episode now (and check out seasons one through four while you're there.) When you’re ready for more inspiration from powerful women, check out our Pass the Mic page.