Student focus: Virginia Commonwealth University

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VCU Student Ashley Elliott prepares for an upcoming test during the Spring 2008 semester. As final exams approached, she expected to spend a significant time studying. (Photo by Justin Davis)

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By Justin Davis
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Published: October 10, 2008

On a warm sunny afternoon, many students socialize outside on Virginia Commonwealth University’s Monroe Park campus. Some play guitar, others kick a ball. Ashley Elliot enjoys the warmth with a psychology book in her lap.

Elliott remembers her first year at VCU very well and why the work ethic of some of her peers was “not up to par.”

“As I started to meet and learn more about the people around me, they had the unfortunate idea that the only years that mattered were the last two,” said Elliott, who majors in psychology with a minor in Spanish. “Much of my peers’ first years of college involved them realizing that they had the wrong idea about school and flunking out.”

But Elliott managed to withstand the temptations of her first college year and finished her first two semesters with a 4.0 GPA, something she has been able to repeat ever since.

“My family kept me focused,” she said “Though I wasn’t the first person in my family to go to college, I knew I had to be the first one to finish.”

She moved from Washington, D.C. to Richmond to attend VCU. It was destiny, she said.

“VCU picked me. They offered me a psychology program that was full of accolades and prestigious professors that could assist me later on in life,” said Elliott, who hopes to graduate in May 2009 and move on to graduate school for a doctorate degree in psychology.

Her dedication to her work hasn’t gone unnoticed. Her support does not only come from her friends, but her professors as well.

Victor Peña, an adjunct professor for Spanish, said that Ashley’s ability to be empathetic is her most important quality.

“She is able to see other points of view, and can recognize sorrow and pain,” Peña said. “Ashley’s ability to be courteous and respectful to her peers and myself separates her from the normal student.”

Elliott grew up as the oldest of three children, being primarily raised by her mother. But if she had to choose someone at VCU, her inspiration came from a residential assistant.

Elliott said that an RA she met during her freshman year displayed the characteristics of hard work for her.

“I witnessed my RA change her major in the middle of her college career, having to take a whole new set of classes and still survive,” Elliott said with amazement.

“She broke any misconception I had about how hard I had it, because she had to do double the work that I am required to do,” Elliott added.

Though she had found a motivation, the demands from her peers threatened to bring her morale down.

Elliott said that the biggest pressures came from her friends to party and drink, instead of being responsible.

“It was never a question whether they wanted me to do it, sometimes they would demand it,” Elliott said.

Her friend Isaac Holloway, a political science major at VCU, also witnessed these pressures.

“I’ve seen her struggle with the pressures from her peers, and honestly it is a tough situation to deal with,” Holloway said. “The types of peer pressure that happen with men are doubled for females.”

Holloway said that most female freshmen are pressured about everything from their looks to their sexual activity. But Elliott remained steadfast and resisted the pressures.

“Time management is a must,” she said. “Once you get here and want to get involved, you have to manage the time given to you better.”