Friday, June 28, 2013

PHREAdom Leader: Ashley Nash



I am so excited to feature Ashley Nash as a PHREAdom Leader! Today is her 21st birthday! I hope everyone will enjoy this profile just as much as I enjoyed writing it. Happy Birthday Nash! Your birthday wish was accomplished. You are a published author!


Ashley Nash

Last fall, Ashley Nash,left, and Amber shared their video about their personal reflection called “Behind the Smiles, Beyond the Letters” by accident. It wasn’t supposed to go on Facebook or YouTube, but it was the easiest route to share the video for their class assignment. The video told their story about their suicide attempts and how they overcame that time in their lives. The video left the classroom dead silent. Although the classroom was silent, their phones were going crazy with Facebook notifications from friends, families, sorority sisters and classmates who were also watching the video. In a matter of weeks, the video became a hit to their community. To date, the video has more than 3500 views. Who knew words could be so powerful? They received numerous comments from people who told them their video saved their life.
In April 2013, Nash, a full-time honors student at South Carolina State University, has published her first book. Words for Warning is about a spoken word artist who commits suicide and her family tries to pick up the pieces to find the reason it happened. Her family realizes they should’ve been listening to the cries for help through the artist’s words.
Nash was working on this book for a year and a half, but living on a college income delayed the process of becoming published a bit.
It took between two to three months to publish because it cost around $800, she said.
Her birthday wish was to become a published author before she turned 21-years-old. She accomplished it.
“I ate a lot of ramen noodles and missed a lot of parties,” Nash said. “I wouldn’t take it back.”
At the age of 11 and growing up in Spartanburg, S.C., writing became Nash’s way of expressing herself and escaping from the family and self-esteem issues.
“It gave me a chance to be free,” Nash said.

Nash

Nash’s first poem got published as a teenager. Her focus is mainly poetry, but she wrote songs as well. After graduating next spring with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Nash’s goal is to write to pay for everything else she wants to do including creating a neighborhood type environment for people of lower income. However, the likelihood of a second book is contingent of the sales of Words for Warning. She has received some support from her family, friends, but she hasn’t really received much outside support.
She usually has to re-introduce the video and then mention the video in order to get outsiders to actually help support her, Nash said.

Passion for writing and helping others
“My passion for writing and helping others is what kept me alive,” Nash said.
She explained during her suicidal phase, she remembers her parents leaving and she was forced to pretty much take care of their little brother. Her sister was pregnant at 16. Her brother who was three years younger than her had heart problems. Nash had to take on the adult role of making sure they had food on the table, homework was completed, and they went to school. She was barely a teenager herself.
She overcame her childhood through her words, service and dedication. She received a full academic scholarship at South Carolina State University. She was also awarded 2013 Bulldog of the Year, which is an award that goes to one female and one male every year.
When she isn’t working at Ryan’s, in the gym working out, or helping out with her sorority (Sigma Gamma Rho) doing community service, she is writing.

Hope is built and sometimes tested
Nash explained that she’s rediscovering hope and faith.
She said it was tested. She didn’t understand why God would put her through those tough situations.
She has tattoos of hope and faith to help her build it again.

Respect doesn’t always change with time
Nash said she’s experienced a lack of respect from some of her family members, and they would always see her as the chunky little girl with glasses.
Her relationship with her sister is much better, but her relationship with her mother and grandfather hasn’t changed much.

Empowerment happens overtime
“I never really felt empowered until joining different organizations in college,” she said.
Nash’s support was recognized and appreciated on the campus for different activities. If Nash supported the activity, others followed the bandwagon. Nash’s support helped their freshman class president win the election her first year at the university.
“It never really hit me how much of a voice I had,” she said.

Ambition to grow and not worry about mismatch socks
Nash wants to be able to give people an opportunity to get out of their situation. She plans to do it with the neighborhood which will include homes, daycare centers, jobs and schools.
Sometimes it’s hard to break free of situations, she said.
She recalls her former manager at her first job telling her the job becomes people. She didn’t see herself working at her job for the rest of her life. She wanted a career.
“I see how people forget about a career,” she said. However, she knew if she wanted to be more she had to grow as person.
“There’s no growth in comfort, and there’s no comfort in growth,” she quoted from her trainer and good friend.
Another one of her mantra’s is “Never worry about mismatch socks.” She got it from her best friend.
The idea is no one knows you are wearing mismatch socks or any other issue unless you tell them, she said.
Some issues just aren’t major to share, she said.
“It keeps me going,” Nash said.

If you are interested in purchasing Words for Warning by Nash, please visit Barnes & Nobles, Amazon, and Ebookstore by Sony. You can follow Nash on Twitter and Instagram at sincerely_nash or find her on Facebook as Ashley Nash.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

PHREAdom Leaders: Shantelle Igiozee

Greetings all!

This week’s PHREAdom Leader profile is focused on Shantelle Igiozee, a May 2013 college graduate of Winthrop University. I chose Igiozee because of her experience during college as a McNair Scholar and role as a reservist in the Army National Guard. I hope you all enjoy!

While many recent college graduates are probably thinking about their next move, Igiozee,23, already knew her next step immediately after she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science – graduate school. She wants to work as a physical therapist.

Originally from Columbia, S.C., she will begin graduate school at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences where she will be obtaining a doctoral degree in physical therapy.

“This university has great facilities, wonderful faculty and is an accelerated program,” Igiozee said. “I will be able to receive my doctorate degree in about two and a half years, which is comparable to the average three or three and a half year physical therapy programs.”

Although physical therapy wasn’t her first career choice, she knew she wanted to do something that related to her love for science.

“Entering college, I wanted to study pharmacy, which derived from my love for science. I was not truly passionate about the field,” she said. “When I discovered the field of physical therapy, I quickly fell in love and this field became my new direction.”

She believes in the power of exercise and educates her peers and family about it.

“I am firm believer of exercise as a prescription over medication depending on the situation. I educate my peers and family on the medicinal effects of exercise, which has no side effects like medication,” she said.

Education is Key

The importance of education is a strong belief of her parents. Igiozee’s family serves a great support system in her life.

Igiozee served as a McNair Scholar where she conducted summer research, travel to research conferences, presented at conferences, and many more activities.

“This program prepared me for doctoral studies through involvement in research and other scholarly activities,” she said. “I conducted two years of summer research which provided me with skills including data management, statistical analysis, formulating a manuscript, oral presentation, and designing methodology that will be used in my professional career.”

Igiozee’s research as a McNair Scholar focused on food desserts and the effect of food retailer placement in disadvantage communities. She has traveled to SEACSM and SAEOPP McNair Conferences in Atlanta, G.A., Jacksonville, Fla. And Greenville, S.C. to present her research and allow her to network with people across different disciplines. She was able to learn different methods of how she could use her expertise in assisting people through rehabilitation.

Therefore, her future research will focus on the rehabilitation of soldiers and children due to her experience as a reservist.

PHREA to Igiozee

Individuals have their own perceptions and ideas of PHREA. He or she may look at passion, hope, respect, empowerment, and ambition differently depending on where they are in life. For Igiozee, those words overall share a common goal to keep pushing, don’t give up, and stay learning.

Passion – Motivating yourself to achieve highest dream and not stopping until you achieve it because are doing it because you love it.

Hope- Never allowing anyone or anything to deviate you from your dreams because you have confidence in yourself.

Respect- Always having respect for yourself by setting high standards and never allowing anyone to lower them. In addition, one must be respectful to your peers and elders because maturity comes in time, not when you hit a certain age.

Empowerment- Taking your knowledge and experiences to educate and mentor the youth of today. Individual journeys should be shared because it could help others going through a similar situation. Life is stressful enough sometimes. Therefore, being an asset in someone’s life could help them progress or even save a life.

Ambition- Having the determination to become successful without letting any obstacles obstruct your vision.

Thank you Shantelle for joining the PHREAdom Leaders train and allowing me to share a little bit about you! Good luck in graduate school!

<3 Starkey