Ashley Copenhaver '16 finds research “exhilarating.” Ashley, a neuroscience doctoral candidate at UMBC, has been studying how we learn and form new memories related to rewarding experiences. She has been fascinated by the brain and how it works since she was in the third grade. During her undergraduate studies, Ashley met with neuroscientists, neurologists, mathematicians, and computational scientists about working with the brain, and she realized that a career in research was perfect for her, as it also incorporates her love of math. She performed biomathematical research at UMBC and gained programming experience at Google, further cementing her desire to do research full-time.
For the past four years, as she has been working on her Ph.D., Ashley has studied topics that only a tiny subset of people in the world work on. She discovered completely new ways in which the brain works.“Sometimes I have to pinch myself to believe that I’m really doing my dream job every day! The journey has been extremely challenging, with a lot of ups and downs, but as I prepare to defend in just over a month I am feeling so grateful that I’ve had this opportunity to grow as a scientist.”
Once she finishes her PhD, Ashley will work full-time as an AI researcher at Netrias, a company where computational methods help make life sciences breakthroughs. Eventually, she hopes to lead a group of passionate scientists and mathematicians to work together to understand how the brain works. “There’s a real disconnect between scientists and mathematicians, and I believe that bridging the gap between the two disciplines is the key to accelerating our understanding of how the brain works.”
Ashley believes Maryvale played a pivotal role in preparing her for college and beyond. She reflected saying, “I was a super shy kid growing up and it wasn’t until I started at Maryvale that I really started cracking out of my shell. I think it was the endlessly supportive community that made me feel comfortable enough to start raising my hand in class and contributing to discussions.” Grateful to the Maryvale teachers who cared so much about their students, Ashley continued, “I felt so supported. I finally learned that it was okay to make mistakes (and that making mistakes was one of the best ways to grow). I had so many amazing teachers who went above and beyond to not only teach me subject material, but also to teach me about life. And I can also say that without my math teacher, Ms. Sprinkle, I’m not sure that I would have pursued mathematics in college.”
Maryvale also laid the foundation for Ashley’s leadership skills, one of which being problem-solving. “Getting a Ph.D. is essentially dedicating several years of your life to becoming an amazing problem-solver. Not only are you using your creativity to answer fundamental questions in science, you’re also constantly troubleshooting experimental techniques, fixing broken equipment, figuring out where to order supplies from, and so much more. I was extremely fortunate to have taken physics at Maryvale, where we built our own walking robots and where I was able to grow a lot of problem-solving skills (thanks Mrs. Berkstresser!). I continued growing these skills during undergraduate internships and research opportunities, which really helped me jump right into graduate school.”
While Ashley was at Maryvale, she participated in student council and was the theater's light and sound booth manager, which shaped her communication and decision-making skills. “Having these experiences at Maryvale made me feel comfortable and encouraged me to get involved in my residential community during my undergraduate studies, where I served as the Director of Events and eventually the President of the Resident Student Association. That experience, along with several opportunities to serve as a teaching assistant in mathematics, chemistry, and biology, really helped grow my leadership skills so that I could be successful in graduate school,” she shared.
Ashley’s advice to current students at Maryvale is simple: keep learning, keep growing, and keep dreaming. Use your time at Maryvale to start developing your leadership skills and breaking out of your comfort zone. But also, start building your support system now. School is hard. Life is hard. But right now, you are surrounded by a community of teachers and peers that want to see you succeed. Take advantage of that. Learn, grow, and dream with them. That way, they can be there for you during the major struggles and challenges that come your way so that you can emerge on the other side as an even stronger person and leader.
