A Biography

The following biography is from a site that I made for my Web Design class....if you'd like to visit the rest of the site, follow this link http://www.goshen.edu/~ashleynj/ashleynichole/photography.html

I think it is fair to say that I haven’t had the most interesting life and if you feel like my pictures would be more entertaining than a long story about yours truly, you can look at those only. It’s up to you. ☺

But I will start from the beginning. I was born at 7:15 in the morning on November 13, 1987 in Lafayette, Indiana. It was Friday the 13th to be exact and probably explains some of my weird tendencies today. But I grew up like any other kid, playing in the sandbox with a puppy that I was terrified of, running from the camera until I was like six because I was terrified of it also, and dancing the night away in my room by myself to New Kids on the Block.

Then I turned eight, and the opportunity to dive into sports was at my fingertips, literally. I started the swim team and the volleyball team at that time and my life changed forever, literally. From then on I was a three sport athlete for ten years; swimming, volleyball, and track. Swimming became my strong suit, winning the High School Sectional title four years in a row, swimming at the State meet was a usual occasion, and I received Swimmer of the Year my senior year. Volleyball turned out positively as well, making the Varsity Squad as a sophomore middle hitter and received the most kills on the team each year. And then my senior year I received the highest honor of “Female Athlete of the Year” in three counties.

On top of all these sports I was highly involved in Sunshine Society, Athenian Corps, National Honor Society, Spanish Club, FCA, Choir, PRIDE Youth Programs, four musical productions, and one play. I was a busy bee you could say and I wouldn’t have changed any of it for the world. I learned so much about hard work and dedication in High School and that I can only make it through with God’s strength. High School was an experience of a lifetime and I don’t really want to go back. ☺

Then came the decision of where to get a college degree and I was very unsure until I came across Goshen College.

I developed a deep interest in the volleyball program and found myself signing a little piece of paper. I signed to play volleyball at Goshen College and was about to embark on a whole new adventure. My next step was finding a major.

So I did what any other undecided college student would do, I flipped through the course catalog and picked one from the list. I came across the Physical Education Department and found an interest in the tumbling and dancing classes. It was like a dream major, full of every kind of class I could have ever imagined. The classes were like every practice I had ever experienced in the last ten years. So I got on board in the Physical Education department that very next year and started slamming volleyballs down on a whole new kind of court. A year and a half passed, and I started teaching in the P.E. classroom. After the screaming children and broken teeth, I realized that P.E. wasn’t the place for me.

Then came the scariest decision of my college career, where to go next. I looked through the catalog one more time and thought back to High School, what I enjoyed, and what I wanted to learn. I came across the Communications Department and found a match. I didn’t exactly know which part of the Communications department and I still don’t know, but I am having the time of my life learning about an area that I truly enjoy. I’ve been involved with the local radio station, 91.1 The Globe, and I took my first Photo Communication class this semester of my junior year.

I’ve always enjoyed taking pictures, lots of pictures of my friends, family, and anything that moves. Granted, I was using a crappy point-and-shoot camera that barely works. And then as I sat in on the first day of Photo Communication class, it dawned on me, I loved photography more than just for fun. I want to know and learn everything about it, and I am excited to see where this passion takes me. For now, I am going to keep doing what I’m doing, love learning about this field, and see where it takes me. I’ve got all the time in the world and I can’t wait to experience it.