Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashley Cureton.
Hi Ashley, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Growing up in an small town, I felt comfortable but was curious about what else was out “there”. I had goals and dreams of doing something meaningful with my life. My passion for programming, counseling, and community engagement began at the young age of 13. At this age is when I received the opportunity to create a youth advisory board where we worked with our city council and community to bring safe, fun, affordable events, and opportunities to our community. From there I continued moving forward with working in our community, and finding jobs to help save up for whatever was next after high school. I knew I wanted to make an impact and be helpful to others, so becoming a Doctor seemed appropriate. I left for college in 2010, and began my journey as a first generation 4 year college student.
I was accepted to NC State University as a Biology major, and quickly changed my major to Social Work. I was not the best at math and did not “connect” well with Chemistry 101. The redirection was a great for me because I was able to to use natural strengths, stress less, and get more sleep at night. I made the most of my time by working hard in school, maintaining a job, and adopting mentors in the Social Work Department; all from diverse backgrounds. This was my introduction to all the things that I could be. I graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work in 2014 and continued onward to get a Master in Social Work in 2015.
I never planned to become an entrepreneur. At my core, I wanted to advance the corporate ladder at a hospital, or work for Veteran Affairs. Whatever I did, I knew I wanted to help a marginalized population thrive. I began my career working for community-based mental health agencies, and nonprofits focused on providing support to lower-income and marginalized populations. My first years in the Social Work field included working with: survivors of human trafficking; survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault; individuals living with HIV/AIDS; individuals struggling with abusing substances; and helping at-risk youth and their families stay together through intensive family counseling.
In these settings, I further developed a passion for program development and group work. I took my passion for it, and experience with program evaluation and development and secured my dream job. After a while, I decided I needed a change. My push for change was becoming a Mother. With the help of God and everyone he placed in my life, and increase in time at home during the pandemic, I took a chance on myself, used my skills and launched GIIRL on Go, co-founded a 501c3 non-profit servicing marginalized communities and launched 3C Wellness. I am a value centered person and take that approach to my goals. I value(d) helping the next person and pursuing a life centered around purpose, peace, and financial freedom. With that, I made sure my thoughts and actions aligned with that. I believe that played a big role in helping me get to where I am today. In addition, the support of my husband, working unconventional hours, training, consulting, adopting mentors along my journey, helped me get to where I am today.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The arrival to where I am currently in my career was not anticipated or easy. Some struggles I encountered included: understanding the nuances of business management and formation; navigating the urge to constantly adapt and innovated; setting boundaries for myself; balancing family and work; remaining vision driven even when things are not feeling good; being distant from the guarantee of financial security; and building confidence in my abilities as an independent therapist, business owner, and leader of a group practice, Add on a worldwide pandemic beginning three months after I opened my first office location while being a new mother introduced a different set of new challenges. What helped me through the struggles was the collaboration of having coaches (business coaches, my family/friends), consultants (people who were my mentors or supervisors) and of course mental health counseling. They did not all occur at the same time, but all three served a purpose and helped me overcome my own struggles. I thank them for that.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about 3C Wellness: Counseling, Coaching, and Consulting to a Better You!?
At 3C Wellness, our purpose is to eliminate the stigma around mental and emotional wellness and help you be a better you for you through creating a centralized entity offering diverse holistic wellness supports and access to growth spaces. We aim to increase access to mental and emotional wellness services worldwide through creativity, compassion, and collaboration and help you grow wherever you are planted.
In order to explore ways to achieve goals, counseling can help one identify barriers; coaching/mentoring can help you overcome the barrier to reach your full potential; and consulting can help one gain access to mentor networks, get critical advice, and receive a non-time limited form of support. This is why we offer counseling, coaching and consulting support through partnership and collaboration at 3C.
What makes 3C Wellness unique is our creative mission driven approach to increasing accessibility to unique self-development services and collaborative environment for professionals to help each other, help you.
We are committed to partnering with diverse competent Counselors, Life Coaches, and Consultants to increase access to creative and holistic ways for you to choose how you address your own healing and growth.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I enjoy the food, the energy, and the opportunities meet other like-minded business owners and families. What I like least about the city is definitely the traffic.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.3cwell.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/3cwellness
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/2242497039349840/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/3cwellnesspllc/
- Other: instagram.com/giirlongo
Image Credits
@Melindaharkleyphotography
