Profile: Ashley Anderson

By Gabriela Vasquez

Ashley Anderson may be one of the more subdued and shyer voices in her classes at the University of Houston, but the inspiration and experience behind her work as a student are louder than her modest demeanor. Anderson is proof that it is never too late to finish what you started, and with a naturally driven attitude, she can look at her past for success, and at her future for motivation.

Anderson is one of the older students in most of her classes, as she is on the verge of earning her bachelor’s degree in journalism and minor in psychology, which she almost completed in 2011 before a temporary break from her studies.

“Life kind of got crazy,” Anderson said when describing her hiatus from college, as she found herself taking a medical leave and helping her family for several years.

Before her leave, Anderson’s academic career steadily excelled. When she first transferred from Texas Southern University to the University of Houston, she landed an internship with the Houston Chronicle, received scholarships from a local Black-owned newspaper, met celebrities and politicians through her work, and was a journalist and copy editor for the Daily Cougar on UH’s campus.

“I did so much and I'm just trying to find a way to start over again,” Anderson said when reflecting on her ambitious first few years of college.

Since 2011, society has endured many changes. In the last three years alone, the world has faced the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic, journalism has been plagued by the severe polarity of modern politics, and social media sites like TikTok have surged in popularity. Saying things have changed since the time Anderson paused her academic career, especially in a degree that revolves around the current climate of the media, would be an understatement. “It's just a different landscape and part of me feels like it's for a younger crowd,” said Anderson. These changes did not deter her from going back to school, however, as she knew in her heart that, in Anderson’s own words, “It was just time.”

“Everything has changed so much. I don't like social media. I don't like the broadcast[ing] aspect [of journalism]. I really wish I could just write,” she admits.

Though Anderson’s life both inside and outside her home has changed drastically since 2011, one thing remains constant: her family’s influence.

Beyond being pressured by her aunt to transfer to UH before her passing, it is clear that Anderson is completing her degree for not only herself but for her community as well.

A proud aunt to her nieces, who began high school and college earlier this year, Anderson finds herself being an example for her nieces to follow. “Since she looked up to me and I spent so much time with her… I have to go back to college

Photo Credit: Xavier Burrell for The New York Times

because I feel like she'll be proud of me, and… it'll be something for her to think about in the future,” Anderson said when speaking about her younger niece.

Anderson has a unique way of simultaneously providing and receiving guidance from those younger than her. Aside from her nieces, Anderson gathers much of her motivation from the passing of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American woman whose life was unfairly and tragically taken away from her after a racist attack from a Kentucky police officer in 2020. “She was so impressive to be so young, and to have a career, and to do so much at such a young age,” Anderson said behind teary eyes.

Having surpassed Breonna Taylor’s age before her passing allowed Anderson to introspect. “What am I doing?” she asked herself.

In an Ashley Anderson manner, she answered her own question. “I decided I'm going back to school not just for me, but for people who can’t fulfill their purpose in life because their life ended too early.”