Smith Business magazine-summer24-paperturn - Flipbook - Page 12
PROFILES
Photo provided by Ashlynn Battle
LOOKING
FORWARD &
GIVING BACK
10
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SMITH BUSINESS
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summer 2024
As a Maryland Promise Scholar and
recipient of the Capital One Scholarship
for Transfer Students, Ashlynn Battle
’24, MS ’25, is determined to give back
to those who supported her throughout
her college experience.
Battle, who transferred from
Montgomery College to Smith’s
Shady Grove campus in 2022, says the
昀椀nancial assistance she received from
Smith provided her with a stress-free
learning environment, allowing her to
concentrate on catalyzing her academic
success. It also allowed her to use
earnings from her two jobs to help
her family.
“This cohort experience means the
world to me because my parents didn’t
have the opportunity to 昀椀nish college.
I primarily grew up with a single mom,
so paying for college was something we
knew would be dif昀椀cult,” says Battle.
“It gives me an overwhelming sense of
pride thinking about walking across the
commencement stage and holding that
diploma in my hand.”
At Smith, Battle was active as a
member of the American Marketing
Association and served as a voice for her
peers on the Dean’s Student Advisory
Council. In the latter role, she worked
with school administrators to promote
engagement at Shady Grove.
Emboldened by a desire to continue
her studies, Battle enrolled in a Smith
Plus 1 program. She is earning a master’s
degree in marketing analytics and hopes
to enter the health care space or explore
other careers that tap into her expertise
and maximize her potential.
“I’m really excited at the idea of having
what I’d call a ‘big girl job’ and giving
back to my family in ways I wasn’t able
to as a student,” says Battle. “I think
about it all the time, and I can’t wait.”
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