Photo courtesy of: Alexandria FreibergerPAWS student Ashlee Blankenship

Writer Robert Frost once said, “I am not a teacher. I am an awakener.” That adage sums up the hopes of Ashlee Blankenship, a freshman at Ohio University Southern, who wants “to inspire students in my own classroom one day.” 

While attending Ironton St. Joseph High School, Blankenship had difficulty with mathematics. She received personalized instruction from her teachers and overcame her math struggles, which showed her more than Calculus and Algebra. “(It) helped me realize I wanted to become a teacher,” Blankenship said. “All of the teachers were really helpful. Ruthie Hopkins inspired me and helped me understand that I could do it.”

Now, Blankenship is majoring in Middle Childhood Education with a focus on Mathematics and Science. She is one of the first participants in a program called PAWS, or Pursuing Achievement with Southern. Her participation in PAWS opened the door to a Freshman Excellence Scholarship, which provided Blankenship with a full ride for eight semesters. As the first person in her family to attend college, the scholarship “is a huge relief off my (parents’) shoulders,” Blankenship said.

PAWS is more than just scholarship to Blankenship. It provides a ready-made community of students who are achievers, hard-workers and who are determined to make it to graduation. Blankenship said PAWS students provide moral support to one another and encourage each other through tough times. She said Madison Evans, a nursing major and fellow PAWS student from Wheelersburg, text and talk all the time.

“We can see the strengths in each other when classes get tough and tell each other ‘you can do it,” she said.

Support from faculty and staff is another reason Blankenship enjoys studying at the Southern Campus. She is working to get more involved in creating campus activities with recruiter/ advisor Oreatha Murray. Blankenship credits Mathematics and Astronomy lecturer Dr. Walt Mayo and the late Dr. Charles Jarrett, professor of Sociology, with making learning at Southern interesting and fun. “Ashlee is in my Astronomy class this semester and, as always, she is a great student,” Mayo said. “I know she will be a fantastic teacher.”

Being part of Ohio University Southern is a good fit with Blankenship’s lifestyle. She said she enjoys spending time with her parents and sister, Emily, a student and athlete at St. Joe. “I like hanging out with her and going to all her games- soccer, basketball and softball,” Blankenship said. “Plus, living local, I can still be part of (Emily’s) other activities like freshman homecoming and other events.” 

Blankenship works part-time at Ironton’s Unger Shoe’s and said her managers help her schedule work hours around her class demands. “They’re very understanding when it comes to my course load,” she said.
Already, Blankenship is putting her math skills to use and has volunteered as a math tutor at St. Joe for three years. “I really love helping kids,” she said. The children she tutors are also her teachers, Blankenship said. “(They) teach me how to take my time to figure out how to reach kids who’re having a hard time (in math,) to talk everything out until it makes sense,” she said. “The kids have shown me how to personalize it and how to motivate them and push them to do the work.”

Looking ahead to her future employment as a middle grades teacher, Blankenship said all she “wants is to have an impact on students. It is my hope, my wish and my dream. I just want to keep it going and inspire children as (my teachers) motivated me.”