Student Spotlight - Ashley Forst

This bent piece of card stock with a fancy font is proof to me that if you can dream it, you can do it. I beat the odds and have become a first generation college student, and already have one degree down (with distinction none the less!)! Although my college journey has been long and non-traditional, I’m almost done and this piece of paper was *just* the push I needed to keep going.

- @ashleynikkolkeforst on Instagram, after receiving her Associate of Arts and Sciences from Everett Community College in December 2020

Tell me a little about yourself and your educational journey.

Growing up, my mother and I moved around a lot. I think I went to seven elementary schools alone, two middle schools, and technically two high schools. Because I did not have a single continuous educational experience, there was kind of a “dent” in my education. I moved three times in the fourth grade, and to this day at 22, I still struggle with my multiplication table (but, I’m an adult and get to cheat by using a calculator haha). I was experiencing severe trauma and mental illness in high school, making it difficult to complete. My junior year I transferred from Bainbridge High School to Eagle Harbor High School, which was part of the Commodore
Options School. There, my teachers worked with me to just get me to graduate. After graduating in June 2016, I moved to Everett to attend EvCC (and was even the first student to live in Mountain View Hall, room 303!).

Attending the University of Washington had been a dream of mine my entire life, but there were times people actually laughed in my face when I told them that dream. In spring 2018, I prepared to graduate from EvCC and applied to Seattle Pacific University and University of Washington – Seattle. I was accepted to SPU first
and then accepted to UW that June. However, I was about to take on a really heavy class load once at UW so I decided to take summer quarter off to give myself a break (before that, I had not taken a summer off from school since sophomore year of high school). I was only a few credits away from finishing my AA at EvCC that
summer. I did not actually finish the requirements needed for my AA until I needed to satisfy my language requirement at UW. Because I had taken the first two sequences of my language through Everett, UW granted me special permission to finish taking the sequence through Everett and still receive credit for it. When in
contact with my advisor at EvCC, she looked at my UW transcript and found that I had satisfied my requirements for my AA during my first year at UW.

What did you study at EvCC and what degree did you earn?

I studied psychology so I could be on the right track for the psychology major at UW (but I am now trying to major in Communication with a minor in Anthropology). I earned my Associates in Arts & Sciences.

Why did you choose EvCC?

I chose EvCC for a multitude of reasons. The environment and campus itself was beautiful and I always enjoyed walking through it, no matter the season. EvCC also offers students a number of ways to get involved with campus life, connect with other students, and prepare for their journey beyond EvCC. Faculty are
constantly involved in student’s lives and all they want is to see students succeed. However, the biggest reason I chose EvCC was for the dorms. I am a homeless student and the search for colleges was difficult because I had to choose places that had dorms. Mountain View is an extraordinary place for students to live. I
actually worked at the front desk my last quarter there and it was a very rewarding job. I made so many friends with other students living in the dorm because of the constant events and activities that are being held. I am normally kind of introverted and shy, making it difficult to go out of my way to meet new people, but the staff
and housing director made it so easy to come out of my shell and connect with others.

Who helped you succeed at EvCC? What did that person do to help you?

So many people helped me succeed at EvCC, from professors, to advising faculty, and even the student leadership office.

The person I would say that helped me the most during my time there was Lea Wasson, the Mountain View Hall housing director at the time. She let me move into the dorms earlier than other students because of my housing situation, helped me come out of my shell at events, and would be there for me when I just needed someone to talk to. She was actually the first person to find out I had been accepted to UW because I was working at the front desk when I found out. She cried (happy tears) with me and hugged me. Lea always made sure I knew I was supported by her, the staff at Mountain View Hall, and the rest of the faculty at EvCC.

What advice do you have for new EvCC students?

Take every opportunity that is handed to you. Most students try to “get in and get out” of their classes because it’s “just community college.” I began to thrive at EvCC when I began to put myself out there. I joined the photography club and eventually became the president of it – something I can put on my resume. I became a
staff member at Mountain View Hall. I went to different events. Your time at Everett is limited, so enjoy it. Do not be hard on yourself because your journey may not look like your peers. What matters is you’re here, you’re doing it, and you are working to achieve your dreams. It’s okay if you don’t know what you want to do during or
after your time at EvCC. Attending EvCC is such a great, fun, easy way to “experiment” with your education without reaping major consequences of doing so.

However, if UW is possibly in your future, begin working towards that goal now and meeting with advisors at UW. I would say part of my journey to UW was greatly impacted by the advisors I was in constant contact with so I could ensure I was doing everything I could to be accepted.

What do you plan to do next?

I plan to apply to the Communication major for the fourth time (it is no joke that UW and their majors are competitive) this winter. Should I be accepted, then I will major in Communication with a minor in Anthropology. I hope to graduate in Autumn 2021, but Winter 2021 is also a possibility. I hope to do social media marketing for an organization that works with minority women and raising awareness for feminism and the issues within it that we as women must work together to change. Another possibility is running my own social media strategy consulting company, but that is very far down the line.

Describe the best experience you had at EvCC?

Wow, there were so many that it is difficult to choose from. My best experience, in all honesty, was probably the day I moved out of Mountain View and moved to my dorm in Seattle to begin my journey at UW. Not because I was excited to be done with EvCC, but because all of the hard work I had put in the past two years had paid off and was finally becoming reality. That day, I remembered the day I moved in, all the memories I had in that dorm and around campus, and how all of it was worth it to reach my greatest dream of attending UW.

Anything else you want to add?

It’s okay if your path looks different; it’s okay if your path is long, has breaks, takes big turns, etc. You want a change, and you’re going for that change. I am a homeless first-generation college student that barely graduated high school and has three mental illnesses. The odds were stacked against me way before EvCC
was even a thought, but because of the support of the community here, I was able to beat those odds. I wanted to quit many times, but what is important I didn’t. It’s okay to want to quit, but don’t! It will be worth your while if you keep going!

To keep up with my post EvCC adventures and to see if I got accepted to my major, follow me on Instagram! @ashleynikkoleforst. My DMs are always open to EvCC students.

Update August 2021: Ashley graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor's degree in communication and a minor in anthropology.