I don’t recall ever wanting to attend any college or university other than Ashland. Both of my parents graduated from Ashland and I knew many of the faculty and staff through their affiliations. Every visit made to the campus and my eventual freshman arrival felt like a visit to home and family. Academically, I had to search for something challenging and found my niche in political science (especially after my sophomore year), my joy in religious studies and my passion in piano performance. Hours from home, friends became family. Those four years at Ashland will always be remembered for maturing academically and spiritually, but mostly emotionally. I reestablished the most important connection of all, which was to my mother, through the stories and shared expressions of their own recollections of her. The holes in my story about her were filled in, which allowed me to become a better student, leader, friend, and, eventually, boyfriend (even though she had to ask me out first). Ashland’s “Accent on the Individual” helped me develop into a complete person, which surprised me upon graduating since I thought I was only going for an academic education. Asked a few years later whether I would choose Ashland again, I initially responded that I would probably not (mostly for more academic rigor), but later realized that education is more than books. In fact, Ashland addressed everything I needed as a young man. I will be forever grateful.
