Ashland students and faculty share their secrets to success

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SUCCESS IS:

How do you define success?At Ashland, we believe there are as many definitions of success as there are students. Some define success by their grades, others by the sports or activities in which they participate, while still others feel their greatest accomplishments come from helping others. But however you personally define success, you can rest assured that at Ashland, we'll go out of our way to help you find it.

With our emphasis on the individual student, our low student-to-teacher ratio, our more than 115 clubs and organizations, and our extraordinary faculty and staff, it's our mission to help you stand out, become a leader both now and in the future, and do extraordinary things with your life.

We hope you'll enjoy this publication, which highlights some of the many ways in which Ashland students, alumni and professors are succeeding every day in every way imaginable. Even more, we hope it encour-ages you to come up with your own definition of what it means to succeed.

Here's to you!

Best regards,

Dr. Frederick J. Finks President, Ashland University

98%Ninety-eight percent of our students receive financial aid based on academics, talents and need.

1,400+More than 1,400 students are involved in at least one student organization.

165 students participated in a program through the Global Education Office in 2010-2011.

47,000Chances are, no matter where you turn, you’re bound to cross paths with a member of the AU Alumni Association with more than 47,000 alumni worldwide.

TAKE THE NEXT STEPS:

• Foundedin1878• Mid-sized,four-year,private• Locatedashortdistancefrom

Akron,ClevelandandColumbus• Full-timeundergraduate

enrollment:2,250• Totalenrollment(undergraduate,

graduate,allprograms):6,500• 70+majors• Student-to-Facultyratioof15to1• Mascot:TuffytheEagle• NCAADivisionII,20varsitysports• 135acres• 45buildings

JeffreyWeidenhamer,Ph.DSuccessbreedssuccess.Neverhas thatbeenmoretruethanintheresearchconductedbyJeffreyWeidenhamerandhisstudentsatAshland.

RachelHeckathornMakingadifferenceisabigpartofRachelHeckathorn’slife.Infact,it’soneofthereasonsshelookedatAshlandinthefirstplace.

TonyMadaloneTonyMadalonewasbornanentrepreneur.Asayoungster,hesoldoldstuffonthecorner.

VOLUME 1 I ISSUE 1

1. Schedule a visit: Check out the opportunities at event.ashland.edu

2. Fill out your application: Log on to www.ashland.edu/apply

3. Send transcripts: to Office of Admission | 401 College Ave. | Ashland, OH 44805 4. Take the SAT and/or ACT: Check out the following sites for dates and locations: sat.collegeboard.org/register or www.actstudent.org/regist/centers.html

Questions? Call 800.882.1548 or email enrollme@ashland.edu

Ashland University Fast Facts:

JeffreyWeidenhamer,Ph.D.,Trustees’DistinguishedProfessor,ProfessorofChemistryandChair,

DepartmentofChemistry,Geology&Physics

“SUCCESS IS: seeing my students succeed in what they choose to do when they move on from Ashland.”

In 2007, the Ohio Senator’s office contacted Dr. Weiden-hamer, wondering whether anyone had ever looked at the possible contamination of Halloween toys from lead paint. “Several students and colleagues volunteered to help with the testing,” says Weidenhamer, “and we identified several products with high lead content that were recalled.” Fast forward to 2009, when students in his Quantitative Analysis class analyzed his original lead jewelry for cadmium. “Some of these pieces had cadmium concentrations as high as 90%” says Weidenhamer. It seemed that, barred from using lead in children’s jewelry due to its toxicity, some Chinese manufacturers had been substituting an even more dangerous metal, cadmium, which can cause kidney damage, as well as learning disabilities and loss of IQ in young children who suck, bite or swallow items containing it.

“That fall,” Weidenhamer recalls, “a reporter from the Associated Press contacted me to discuss what we were finding, and the outgrowth of those conversations was that I agreed to share the results of further testing on children’s jewelry items with them.”

By December, Dr. Weidenhamer and three of his students – Janna Pearson, Daphne Guinn, and Jennifer Miller – had purchased a total of 103 jewelry items at retail stores across the country. During the week following exams, the jewelry was screened for the presence of high levels of cadmium using a technique called X-ray fluorescence. A total of 14 items contained more than 10% cadmium.

“Daphne and Janna stayed on for a week past finals to assist with testing in the lab under my supervision,” says Weidenhamer. “The students continued further

testing during the spring and worked through the summer. The end result was a paper published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, with all three students recognized as co-authors.” Daphne and Jennifer were selected to present their work at the Council on Undergraduate Research’s “Posters on the Hill” in Washington, D.C. Two months later, both were selected as co-recipients of the prestigious Yeager Award by the Cleveland Chapter of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy and the Analytical Topics Group of the American Chemical Society.

Perhaps the greatest success of the testing is that legislation banning cadmium has since been passed by several U.S. states, and both Canada and the European Union have taken steps to ban cadmium in jewelry. Thanks to their work, Weidenhamer says, “I think a lot of people are more aware of the potential hazards of cadmium. In the absence of federal standards in the U.S., a number of major retailers are now screening their jewelry products for the metal. And that’s a good thing.”

Dr. Weidenhamer credits Ashland with much of the success. “We have faculty that are dedicated to teaching, and to helping students gain the skills and knowledge they need when they leave AU. In the sciences, we have a lot of advanced instrumentation that enables students to have hands-on experience. Our alums tell us that this is one of the highlights of their education, and something that sets them apart from students from other schools. And the opportunity for students to work side by side with faculty on research projects and to present scientific papers and sometimes even co-author peer-reviewed papers in major journals is a major advantage.”

For Weidenhamer, the success is personal as much as professional. “It is rewarding to see that some of the research that we have done here at Ashland has made a definite impact on the safety of children’s products,” he states, “and I take particular satisfaction in knowing that a number of our students have been integrally involved in this research.”

Success breeds success. Never has that been more true than in the research conducted by Jeffrey Weidenhamer and his students at Ashland.

Consider this chain of events. In the years leading up to 2007, Dr. Weidenhamer tested jewelry for lead contamination, work that contributed to numerous recalls of leaded jewelry and to the national re-examination of standards for lead in children’s products, and culminated in the passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.

“Wehavefacultythatarededicatedtoteaching,andtohelpingstudents

gaintheskillsandknowledgetheyneedwhentheyleaveAU.”

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AccountingActuarial ScienceAthletic TrainingBiochemistryBiologyBiotechnologyBusiness AdministrationBusiness ManagementChemistryChild and Family StudiesCommercial ArtComputer Art and

Graphics ProgrammingComputer ScienceCreative WritingCriminal JusticeDieteticsDigital Media JournalismDigital Media ProductionEconomicsEducation: Art Biology Chemistry Early Childhood Earth Science Family and Consumer Sciences:

Vocational Education (4-12) French Integrated Language Arts Integrated Mathematics Integrated Science Integrated Social Studies Intervention Specialist

We offer you a unique educational experience. We combine the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with you throughout your four years and even maintain those relationships after graduation. Ashland University provides unparalleled opportunities for you to learn, to grow and to find your place in the world. When you graduate from Ashland University, you’ll be ready to take on the world. You will have spent four years learning in interactive classroom environments from professors who love to teach and do it very well.

Education Continued: Life Science Middle Grades (4-9) Music Physical SpanishEnglishEntrepreneurship Environmental ScienceExercise ScienceFashion MerchandisingFinanceFine ArtFoods and NutritionForensic ChemistryFrenchGeologyHistoryHospitality ManagementInternational BusinessInternational Political StudiesInformation SystemsMarketingMathematicsMusicNursingPhilosophyPhysicsPolitical SciencePsychologyPublic RelationsReligionSocial WorkSpanish

Sport CommunicationSport ManagementStrategic CommunicationSupply Chain ManagementTheatreToxicology

Pre-Professional Programs*Pre-DentistryPre-LawPre-Medical TechnologyPre-MedicinePre-OptometryPre-PharmacyPre-Physical TherapyPre-SeminaryPre-Veterinary Medicine

*Students in these programs select a major from the listto the left and above.

70+ Majors

Academic & ProfessionalOrganizations17 Academic Honoraries24 Academic Organizations

Activities/ProgrammingCampus Activities Board (CAB)Homecoming CommitteeTech CrewCommunity Care

ApprenticeshipCareer AssistantsOrientation TeamResident AssistantsSCRUBS (College of Nursing)

Fitness/Recreation20 Intramural Sports18 Sport Clubs12 Tournament & Special EventsFitness ClassesPeers Promoting Organized Wellness (PPOW)Sport Clubs Council

At Ashland, we believe that what you learn at college goes way beyond academics; it’s preparation for a life well lived. With more than 115 clubs and organizations to join, and more than 1,400 students involved with them, Ashland makes it easy to make new friends and create the kind of college experience that will stay with you forever. Not only will you have a great time, you’ll discover all sorts of new things about yourself, including skills you may never have known you possessed. Best of all, there really is something here for everyone. Check out the list below to see which of our clubs are just right for you.

Greek Organizations3 Fraternities4 SororitiesInter-fraternity Council (IFC)Panhellenic Council

Performance GroupsBand-Concert & MarchingBrass EnsembleChamber SingersCheerleadersDrop of a Hat PlayersEagle Elite Dance TeamJazz OrchestraPercussion EnsembleString EnsembleUniversity ChoirWomen’s ChorusWoodwind Ensemble

Religious LifeBible Studies/Small GroupsChristian Nurses AssociationFellowship of Christian AthletesInternational Missions TripsNewman Catholic MinistryThe Well

Special Interest Groups2nd Amendment ClubAnime ClubAshland Commuter EaglesBlack Student UnionColleges Against CancerCollege RepublicansInternational ClubMusic Appreciation ClubSt. Jude Up ’til DawnStudents for LibertyStudents for LifeTuffy’s TroopsYoung Democrats

Student GovernmentHouse CouncilJudicial BoardResidential Housing AssociationStudent Senate

Student MediaAccent PRThe Collegian (newspaper)Literature ClubWRDL 88.9 FMTV 2

Clubs, Activities and Organizations

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RachelHeckathorn,2012,SocialWorkMajor,AshlandUniversity

“SUCCESS IS: making a difference in the lives of those around you

on a daily basis.”

After envisioning herself as an overseas missionary anesthesiologist, Rachel realized within her first semester that to do what she really wanted, she’d need to change things a little.

“I realized,” she says, “that the right decision for me was to work in the U.S. where I could do even more good on a very personal, very involved level, even if it meant making less money.”

With that thought in mind, Rachel switched her major to social work and hasn’t looked back. She discovered while taking a course in Juvenile Delinquency that she has a special ability for working with teenagers – work that she truly loves.

As she looks to the future, Rachel has big plans. Upon graduation in 2012, she hopes to receive her master’s degree in macro social work and start her own non-profit agency working with teens in juvenile delinquency programs.

When it comes time to open the doors to her own non-profit, Rachel certainly won’t be lacking in experience. She is a member of the Executive Team for Community Care, an on-campus service program, which she started her freshman year. She is part of the Hunger Team in the annual Crop Walk, a three-mile walk in which students partner with a local church to raise money for non-profit organizations. She participated in The 30-hour Famine, a fast to raise money for the world’s hungry children. She assists customers at the Pump House, a food pantry that distributes the money locally, nationally and worldwide – wherever the need is greatest, every second and fourth week of the month. And somehow, she still finds time to serve breakfast every Saturday morning at the Breakfast Center.

“I’ve always had a desire to help others,” Rachel recalls. “Although, as a child, I wasn’t as active in my community as I am today, I did go to both the Ukraine and Mexico to do mission work with my church. Now, my focus is on helping at a local level, and becoming personally involved with the people I assist.”

With an Ashland education nearly behind her and her eye firmly on the future, Rachel is poised to truly make a difference, doing exactly what she loves.

Rachel liked the fact that Ashland University offers lots of opportunities to get involved. She also loved the safe campus, the fact that it had strong departments in both biology and religion, and the school colors. “When I finally toured Ashland, everything just clicked. By the time the tour was over, I knew it was the school for me.”

Making a difference is a big part of Rachel Heckathorn’s life. In fact, it’s one of the reasons she looked at Ashland in the first place.

“I’vealwayshadadesiretohelpothers…myfocusisonhelpingatalocallevel,andbecomingpersonallyinvolvedwiththepeopleIassist.”

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TonyMadalone,BachelorScienceBusinessAdministration,2007,MBAFinance,2009,AshlandUniversity

“SUCCESS IS: doing what you love and making a difference.”

It wasn’t long before he had started a business in his dorm room in Clayton Hall. At Nine Fourteen Clayton – the company named for his dorm address – he sold vintage T-shirts that he and his girlfriend snatched up at thrift stores while driving around the country on school breaks.

While running his college business as a sideline, Tony was planning on a career on Wall Street. But a trip to New York made him realize it wasn’t the right move for him. “I just couldn’t do it,” he says. “My heart wasn’t in it. I didn’t even distribute a resume.” Instead, he turned to the two things he was passionate about: T-shirts and Cleveland. “I just wanted to do what I liked,” he says, “and I know Cleveland better than anyone. “

With his new goal in focus, Tony opened Fresh Brewed Tees in Lakewood, Ohio, in November 2009. Today as founder, president and CEO, he’s making his mark, creating some of the coolest T-shirts Cleveland has ever seen. “We have to be current and in the now to be successful because there’s a new T-shirt company started every day,” he says. “We found our niche; we’re all about relevant ideas, high-quality designs, and organic and recycled materials – every shirt is made from organic cotton and recycled polyester.”

Tony comes up with most of Fresh Brewed Tees’ slogans, and nearly all of them are Cleveland related. One of his first shirts featured the line “Pay Cribbs” in protest of the Cleveland Browns’ refusal to renegotiate Joshua Cribbs’ contract at the ’09 season end. As soon as the shirt came out, it quickly found its way to both Twitter and an ESPN interview. Not only was it great publicity for the company, it also proved what Tony knew instinctively – that social media was key to his success. In fact, Fresh Brewed Tees does all of its advertising via Facebook and Twitter, and also uses the sites to stay in close touch with fans.

“Whenever we have an idea for a new shirt, we ask our Facebook fans whether or not we should print it,” says Tony.

All Fresh Brewed Tees’ shirts are sold on the website, freshbrewedtees.com, and nearly 80% of them are sports related, including the famous

“Quitness” shirt printed as a riff on Lebron James’ Nike Witness campaign when the Cavs player announced he’d be taking his talents elsewhere.

With a strong belief that giving back and making a difference is one of the most important parts of his job, Tony makes sure $1 from every Fresh Brewed Tees’ sale goes to Cleveland’s City Mission, which provides people in need with the assistance to get back on their feet and sustain themselves. Tony muses, “I believe that I have a purpose on earth that goes deeper than material things. There are so many people in need.”

In another effort to give back, Tony was inspired by Nick Gilbert – the 14-year-old son of Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert – who suffers from neurofibromatosis. During an interview with ESPN during the NBA draft lottery, Nick was asked why anyone would want to come to Cleveland. Nick’s response of “What’s not to like?” quickly made it on to a Fresh Brewed Tees shirt. Today $5 from the sale of every TEAM NICK

Tee goes to the Children’s Tumor Foundation.For Tony, the definition of success is the ability to make a difference. “When my business succeeds,” he says, “ it allows me to help lots of people make a living. And it enables me to help people who have hit upon hard times.” It also allows him to make the state of Ohio a better place. When he’s not running his company, he’s using his business smarts in his role as Co-Director at Ohio Homecoming – a group of young professionals committed to changing the face of Ohio.

When asked what words of wisdom he has for other would-be entrepreneurs, his advice is short and sweet. “Pay attention. Stay focused. Stay in touch. And even if you’re not an entrepreneur, have a goal.”

Later, in his hometown of Lorain, Ohio, he caddied for 12 years and started his own landscaping business. “I’ve just always figured out a way to make money,” he says with a smile. By the time Tony got to Ashland University, he already had years of work experience behind him, and a burning desire to do more.

Tony Madalone was born an entrepreneur. As a youngster, he sold old stuff on the corner.

“IbelievethatIhaveapurposeonearththatgoesdeeperthanmaterialthings.Therearesomanypeopleinneed.”

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401 College AvenueAshland, Ohio 44805

www.ashland.edu

Register at event.ashland.edu

SUCCESS

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