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Ashland University graduate named to Crain's Cleveland Business 40 Under 40 list
Even though Kory Clark only saw playing time in eight games for the Ashland University football team for various reasons, including a knee injury, longtime Assistant Coach Tim Rose said he appreciated the speedy wide receiver/defensive back’s positive attitude and saw his potential beyond AU. “He had a great spirit and was upbeat,” Rose said. “You felt the future was going to be bright for him, which it has been as this award shows.” Crain’s Cleveland…
Ashland University graduate promoted to assistant chief for Norwalk Police Department
While Michael Biller came to Ashland University to play sports, he left with a strong desire for a law enforcement career. “One of the main reasons why I chose AU was because of the football and baseball programs,” said Biller, a 2008 Ashland grad. “I only played football for one year and baseball for three years. I decided to concentrate on my academics and my career in law enforcement during my senior year.” That decision has paid off for Biller, a…
Master's degrees and more - Ashland University a big part of the Nickoli/Miller family
When it was announced in April that Ashland University had been recognized as a 2023-24 Best Graduate School for education by U.S. News & World Report, AJ Nickoli didn’t waste any time commenting about it on social media. “Whole Nickoli family went to grad school here,” the AU assistant football coach wrote on the university’s Twitter post about the recognition. “This is LEGIT!!” “My mom, dad, grandpa and uncle all got their master’s at AU,” Nickoli…
Moon and Bassitt earn trips to Outdoor Worlds in Hungary
Katie Moon is used to winning championships, and another one came to fruition on Sunday (July 9) night in Eugene, Oregon. Moon, the former Ashland University track and field NCAA Division II All-American who is the top-rated outdoor women's pole vaulter in the world, won the 2023 USATF Outdoor Championships title in the event on Sunday night with a new season-best and world-leading showing of 4.90 meters/16-feet-0¾. This comes after Moon won the women's…
AU student getting jump on her career in sports broadcasting with Cleveland camera crews
Ashland University student Olivia Pliske shouldn’t be on track to graduate early. She started college during the COVID pandemic, changed her major three times and sometimes skipped classes to go to Cavs and Guardians games. Taking College Credit Plus courses in high school helped Pliske overcome switching majors and the COVID pandemic so she can graduate this December in 3 ½ years and really start focusing on her career. “Being part of the COVID…
AU grad Mackenzie Pflum working her way to sideline reporter goal with sports radio job
Recent Ashland University graduate Mackenzie Pflum has wanted to be a sideline reporter since she was 12 years old. At that age, she had attended a Cleveland Guardians (Indians back then) baseball game with her family and, due to a long rain delay, they were able to make their way down to the front row by the time the game resumed because so many fans had left. “There ended up being a walk-off home run in the 12th inning and I saw that player talking to…
Ashland University grad student/employee Cass Ponzi competing in Miss USA program
Picture the movie “Miss Congeniality,” specifically the scenes of Sandra Bullock’s character, tomboy FBI agent Gracie Hart, learning things she never dreamed of doing - dressing, walking and talking like a pageant contestant. Before she goes undercover as “Miss New Jersey” after a terrorist threatens to bomb the fictional Miss United States event, Hart struggles mightily in her preparation with a pageant coach. Ashland University student/employee Cass Ponzi…
Advanced degrees from AU help Steve Paramore become Ashland City Schools' superintendent
Among the hundreds of graduate-level education students he taught during his nearly 15 years with Ashland University, Robert Thiede said Steve Paramore was one who stood out. “You knew he was going to do well as an educational leader,” said Thiede, who retired in 2021. Paramore, who earned two master’s degrees from AU in curriculum and instruction (2009) and educational administration (2014), officially became the superintendent of Ashland City Schools on…
Ashland University STUNT team making a name for itself on way to national tournament
Ashland University’s STUNT team will be making its first national tournament appearance April 27-29 at the University of Texas at Dallas beginning against … what’s that? You don’t know what STUNT is? Don’t worry you’re not alone. “It’s still so new that a lot of people have no clue what it is,” said Denise Farnsworth, AU’s STUNT head coach since the university started it during the 2019-20 academic year. “It’s so easy to understand once you see it in person…
Four AU baseball players earn 4.0 GPAs, team boasts 3.44 GPA
In his 36 years of coaching college baseball, John Schaly has never had a team grade point average as high as the 3.44 his Ashland University squad earned in the fall semester. “It was by far my best semester ever. Honestly, it’s not even close,” said Schaly, who is in his 26th year as AU’s head baseball coach after coaching the previous six years at St. Leo University in Florida and his first four seasons at Berry College in Georgia. Not only did 42 of the…
