Today, we’re sharing the story of one of Aspen’s Academic Advisors, Negean Mohi, who has used her career and volunteerism to help students and her community. Negean gives her all to motivate, inspire, and heal. Here is Negean’s story.
“I have always known myself to be a writer or an educator, and often an amalgam of both with a hint of humanitarianism. I have spent my entire career as one or the other, with a penchant for being an effective motivator to whomever I meet. As an educator, I have held many titles in various schools over the course of a decade: Creative Writing Director of a summer piano camp for gifted students for 6 years, Academic Director and Tutor for a private tutoring company, Professor of undergraduate literary criticism and composition and rhetoric at colleges and universities, and now Academic Advisor for doctoral students.
I started helping others early in life. I was honored in high school with a plaque for my dedicated service to my community when Hurricane Wilma destroyed my South Florida city. For weeks, I would archive and sort handwritten letters from people who were affected by the storm, helping them contact services at a time when the power grid had failed. During my time teaching at a performing arts school, I networked with local businesses to help fund field days, school dances, and a school-wide open mic night for the students. I knew the work I was doing was meaningful and created change for many young students. I have seen my students go on to be accepted to Ivy League universities, prestigious art schools, and start their own businesses.
I believed I would continue my career in South Florida, but in 2018 a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, just minutes from where I worked and lived. This was the second shooting that affected me as I had just lost members of my community in the Pulse Nightclub shooting two years earlier. After being thrown into a position to console students, coworkers, and my community, I knew I needed a change of atmosphere and made the decision to come to Colorado. Like most Colorado transplants, I have embraced all aspects of mountain life. My dogs, Roadie and Stoney, love to accompany me on hikes across rocky terrains. Roadie is a huge fan of meeting horses and cows along their travels. Stoney, not so much. My little fluffy boys love adventure and being out in the wilderness in their beautiful new home and sunshine state.
While living out west, I met and married my partner, Brittany. Together, we are working on building a non-profit organization that embraces this country’s veterans and assists them with receiving care. No matter what I was working on, my love for music and writing has always been my main passion; I even worked as a journalist covering bands for a time and once got to meet and hug Taylor Swift’s mom. Brittany and I are combining these passions for music and helping veterans, and we are providing music therapy and services to one of our most vulnerable populations and hope to expand to offer more services soon.”
Negean’s passion for helping others carries over into helping Aspen’s doctoral students through their programs.