I went to a huge high school in eastern Pennsylvania, graduating with around 800 students. As a result, I longed for a more intimate collegiate experience at a small school where I could get to know my peers and teachers well and get involved. I also wanted to find a school where I would be pushed out of my comfort zone. In an effort to stay close to my older sister while she was at school in Pittsburg, my parents took me on college visits around western PA. During one of these trips, we also dipped into Ohio. I knew as soon as I toured campus that Ashland felt like home. Everyone was incredibly friendly and welcoming, and it felt like a safe, fun place for me to grow and learn. In my four years at Ashland, I was presented with—and took advantage of—so many opportunities that led to personal, professional, social, physical, economic and mental growth (just to name a few). Although my parents and hometown were seven hours east, I always felt like Ashland was my second home—my home-away-from-home—a place that welcomed me in a way that I didn’t even know I needed.
