Who's Who From SU
Leslie Charlton, Class of 2000
A seemingly small part of Leslie Charlton's Southwestern experience may have influenced her life more than she could envision. During her time at Southwestern, she began volunteering her first year at the Georgetown Animal Shelter.
Charlton says, "I remember the first dog that I walked got loose from his leash, and I spent an hour chasing him by the river. I laughed the whole time because he was having so much fun." However, Charlton didn't see herself working in the non-profit world and instead wanted to work her way up the corporate ladder to become a senior level executive with a large, publicly-held financial corporation following graduation.
She began working her way towards that goal as a business development coordinator for Marsh & McClellan's region. However, another seemingly insignificant moment would change her life and take her back to the values she learned while at Southwestern. Charlton was scheduled to attend a meeting in New York City on the 90th floor of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. Significant budget cuts caused her not to attend the meeting. "The reality that life can be taken at any moment steered me towards a different career path. I had to re-evaluate my life and ask myself what my initial goals were while in college. I learned to trust myself a little more each day and ultimately, I was able to step out of my fearful thought process that a career might not correlate with my passions. I learned that I needed to take part in creating my path instead of settling for the jobs that were handed to me. Becoming comfortable with uncertainty was key," comments Charlton. "I found myself drifting away from the idea of a corporate office and slowly worked towards the private sector and ultimately, ended up in the non-profit sector."
Charlton's ultimate goal is to open a non-profit animal rescue agency in Austin. She feels that it is extremely important to know the inner-workings of a non-profit, from being a volunteer to a development manager. Charlton states, "Working for a non-profit is challenging in that you are faced with the injustices that occur in our society everyday, from racial disparities and cultural intolerance to child abuse and animal cruelty; however, it is rewarding in that everyone has the ability to make a difference."
After a move to Arizona, Charlton began volunteering for a dog rescue agency. One of the puppies that the agency helped rescue had an owner who beat and kicked him daily. "He tied him up outside of his apartment door, and the neighbors started to kick him as well. I received an e-mail from my organization and the subject line read 'Kicked puppy needs home.' We received e-mails like that daily, but this one tugged at my heart," comments Charlton. "One of our volunteers witnessed the abuse and paid the man $20 to take the puppy home. I fostered him for one weekend and fell in love. I never imagined that a dog could change my life in so many wonderful ways. He has reinforced my initial desire to open a non-profit rescue agency, and he is still with me one year later."
Eventually moving back to the Austin area, Charlton's most recent position was with a non-profit agency that treated lower-income individuals for chemical dependency. "At that point, I realized that not only did I want to be involved, but as a member of society, I should be involved," states Charlton. "Working for non-profits has been extremely important in that it has taught me cultural sensitivity."
Charlton enjoys spending time her spare time with her animals and taking her dog on long walks by the creek. "We started a dog agility class this week, and it is a blast for the dogs and the owners. I look forward to hopefully adopting more animals when I have a larger home."
—Amanda Lott '07
