Vanderbilt Alum Wins Ainslie Achievement Award

Vanderbilt University Posse alumna Mia Howard is the 2015 winner of Posse’s Ainslie Alumni Achievement Award in recognition of her commitment to providing deserving young people with access to top educational opportunities.

As founder and executive director of Intrepid College Prep Charter School in Nashville, Tennessee, Mia is serving a student population where more than 80 percent live in poverty and the majority will be the first in their families to attend college. 

The school’s mission is to equip all students in grades 5 through 12 with the academic foundation, financial literacy and ethical development necessary to excel in selective colleges, earn professional opportunities and demonstrate positive leadership.

“I have adopted a personal and professional mission to ensure young people graduate from college and exit prepared to not just find opportunities, but to also create those opportunities where needed,” said Mia. “To not just name problems but to solve them. Most important, we teach our students how to solve problems as a team.”

Now going into its third year, Intrepid College Prep educates 285 students in fifth through seventh grades and is among the top 5 percent of public schools in Tennessee.

Mia is a cum laude graduate of Vanderbilt University and University of Pennsylvania Law School, and she holds a certificate in business and public policy from the Wharton School. She was a Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project Fellow, teaching courses on constitutional law and juvenile justice in Philadelphia public high schools. She is vice chair of the board of directors for Street Works, which provides education, prevention and care to those affected by HIV/AIDS in Nashville.