FAIRMONT– Celia Simpson is the newest Fairmont-based fellow for Lead for Minnesota. She will be hosted by Project 1590. In her year-long role, which starts Aug. 8, Simpson will encourage community development by working with local organizations and pioneering new endeavors.

After graduating from Fairmont High School in 2018, Simpson went off to Seattle University where she majored in criminal justice, specializing in forensic science. She also got a minor in Arabic, biology and chemistry.

“I was doing the pre-med track. I was going to become a medical examiner, so the minors in biology and chemistry came from that. Arabic was just a side thing. I went to Morocco with it before the whole world shut down,” Simpson said with a laugh.

She recently graduated in June of this year. As for the shift in what she studied to what she’s about to embark on, Simpson said she had interned at a medical examiner’s office in Seattle starting in early 2020 through the time that she graduated.

“I did autopsies, a lot of testing for drugs. During the internship I decided I wasn’t as passionate about it. Covid was happening and I missed home. I missed my family and my community. Seeing people dying alone, I realized I didn’t want that for my life,” Simpson said.

She began looking online for jobs in Minnesota and found the page for Lead for Minnesota.

“Alex’s (Young-Williams) name came up, and I saw the Sentinel article about him and I thought, ‘this is happening in my hometown.’ It was a fellowship working in my own community and I felt the divine forces coming together,” Simpson said.

She reached out to Young-Williams and spoke to him about his experience before she applied last fall. She had an interview with both Lead for Minnesota and with Young-Williams and Steve Hawkins with Project 1590 earlier this year.

“Project 1590 had a wonderful experience working with Lead for Minnesota and the number of projects Alex Young-Williams worked on and completed while he was here was phenomenal. Having the opportunity to host another fellow was exciting to us to continue to improve the quality of life in the community. The bonus is Celia is from here and already knows people so that will enhance her progress even more,” Hawkins said.

Simpson said what most drew her to the position was the opportunity to make change in her hometown and give back to the community that supported her growing up. She said previously, she wasn’t sure what kind of job she could have in Fairmont and assumed she’d have to live in a bigger city to find work.

“It’s a really open-ended position. I can do what I want and learn what I want to do,” Simpson said.

Before she begins, Simpson will undergo a week-long training in Washington D.C. with fellows from other states.

While Young-William’s was a Hometown fellowship, Simpson’s is an American Connection Corp. She said the focus on that is on digital equity.

“My training is going to be focused on broadband, digital literacy, getting technology and devices to people,” Simpson said.

With that in mind, she want to work with the Martin County Library system, Community Education and Recreation and Martin County KnowHow.

“I want to specifically look at the goals of the older population. With Martin County KnowHow I also want to work on some STEM education for girls because I did robotics and I never built the robot,” Simpson said.

She said the Housing Rehabilitation Authority (HRA) had recently reached out to Young-Williams, who got her in touch with them to see what she can help with when she assumes her role.

Simpson will be doing a listening tour during her first month where she’ll ask members of the community what they think she should focus on. She plans to focus on students and the Latinx community.