Moving from New Jersey to small town Ohio in 1975 was quite a culture shock for me! I arrived at college, like most others, with dreams, aspirations and opinions. As I stood in my 8th floor Amstutz window, watching my parents drive away, I asked myself, “What have I done?”
As I wondered what was wrong with the rural Ohio dress code compared to my east coast surfer attire–I mean, seriously, who doesn’t own every color of Levi’s corduroy jeans?–I began to immediately develop my exit plan. One semester was a given; I had made this commitment and no one was driving back from NJ to take me home.
That exit plan included submitting applications to other colleges on the east coast for the spring semester. This move was only more motivated by my first writing sample submitted to Dr. Robert Janusko in my Freshman English class–in the ever-memorable blue book. Dr. Janusko preferred the color RED. Red pen that is. Then there was Dr. Beth Richmond, who called me out for reading my first speech in speech communications. No red ink here–but a summons to her office instead, telling me I was a better communicator without reading word for word.
Who were these people?
I figured I could at least audition for choir and be successful. Well, I finally got my big break! I was selected for “College Choir” with Calvin Y. Rogers. Then I made my way into the drama department in the musical world. Unbeknownst to me, Cal Rogers and Murray Hudson began to turn the tide for me. They were the first adults in my life who told me to call them by their first name (respect), to invite me (and the many other students) into their home (relationship), and to encourage me to work hard at something I loved (expectation).
Amazingly, Dr. Janusko suddenly began to color less on my blue book, and Dr. Richmond became one of my greatest advocates, not only in her class, but also with other activities I was involved in. I joined more organizations, attended campus events and became involved in other people’s lives. Although I had received acceptance letters to other colleges on the east coast, when I found my first ride home from the “ride board” for Thanksgiving, I told my parents I had changed my mind. This rural Ohio school was the best thing that had ever happened to me. The next 3.5 years produced many lifelong friends and two very special faculty relationships with Cal Rogers and Murray Hudson, I had opportunities to learn in the classroom, as well as experientially, to perform and travel, all in the name of Ashland College.
It was because of these relationships that I was able to land my first job post graduation (which by the way, my major was business, not the performing arts) and to be able to return to Ashland as an employee, Hall Director of Myers Hall, a few years after graduation. Once again, I was given the opportunity to develop relationships with students and to have the privilege of encouraging them to stay through Thanksgiving in order to decide if Ashland was for them. It almost always “worked”!
As a hall director, I invested in the most important relationship of my life–that of my husband Mark Britton. Mark was the first male to “legally” live in Myers, which was a women’s residence hall at the time! We have the distinction of being the reason for an additional room being added to the Myers Hall Director’s apartment when we welcomed our first son to our family. That little boy had 120 “big sisters” and often we had no idea where he was in the dorm.
In 1986, our little family left the safety of Ashland (which by now had become Ashland University) to venture into the world, but we always had the hope that we would one day return to our “home.” Two decades later, one of our four children asked if she should choose AU as her school. We were honored and thrilled, and we love that we share the bond of alumni with her and her AU story.
That call back home came in January 2018 when my husband began his new job as the Registrar of AU. I was fortunate enough to be able to join the University staff, as well, on the Correctional Education team. Returning to AU and having the opportunity to give back to our “first love” has been a great joy. We look forward to many wonderful years here in Ashland, both as members of the University family and of the community. This University changed the trajectory of my life and I will forever be grateful for its accent on this individual. There is this one thing, though… I just can’t sing the Alma Mater with the new words. I still sing, “Remember old Ashland College, remember when you’re away…”
