Appreciate the community: Ashley Armstrong

By Anna Harman

Ashley Armstrong is a Senior Music Education major at Cedarville University. She’s from Wooster, Ohio, where she lives on her family’s farm with her four younger siblings. Armstrong participated in 4-H, the school marching band, and her church’s youth group. 

“I am so thankful to be raised in a Christian family and to have had the opportunity to accept salvation at a young age. God really is the giver of all good gifts,” Armstrong said. 

One gift Armstrong hopes to share with her students after graduation is her love for music, she hopes to become a band and music teacher at the middle or high school level. Armstrong expects to remain in the Cedarville area for a little while, but she would love to travel overseas to teach and study music while also partnering with a local church plant. 

“Cedarville has done a great job of sharing what teaching opportunities are available overseas, particularly in schools that serve missionary kids,” Armstrong said. “I think it would be such a blessing to share the tools of music with students in Europe or the Far East.”

Armstrong also plans on pursuing her interest in exploring the music of different cultures. She loves that God has allowed humans to create with such diversity, and she finds it intriguing to study distinct sounds and share them with her students.

Armstrong decided on Cedarville because of the history her family has with the university and the potential she saw for a higher education founded in Christ.

Both of her parents are Cedarville alumni, so growing up, she would look forward to homecoming because she loved exploring campus and was excited to see her friends, who were her parents’ classmates’ kids. She grew up very aware of Cedarville and always enjoyed the environment of the campus, even as a kid. 

When Armstrong got to her senior year of high school, she was deciding between a state university closer to Wooster, OH, and Cedarville University. She believed Cedarville had a good music program, got a good scholarship package, and she felt welcomed by the faculty and staff she met. 

“What really won me over was the Christian environment,” Armstrong said. “I remember thinking ‘If God has called me to serve Him for the rest of my life, shouldn’t I go to a college that is going to push me in that direction?’ I have been so blessed to be in such an environment; coming to Cedarville was one of the best decisions I’ve made.”

The community aspect of Cedarville quickly became Armstrong’s favorite part of her college experience. It also grew in Armstrong a love for others that makes her eager to begin her career as an educator. 

 “God created us as humans to desire to live in community and as Christians to desire to live in fellowship with the Body of Christ,” Armstrong said. “I have met so many people who have had such an impact on me. From professors who seek to teach to the best of their ability to the staff that keeps the university running behind the scenes to the friends for life that I’ve made, it is so easy to see the love and joy of Christ that is present in so many lives here.”

Armstrong finishes her story with one piece of advice to other Cedarville Students:

 “Don’t forget that part of college, part of what you’re at Cedarville for, is the community,” Armstrong said. “Yes, you’re here for school, you’re here to learn about your subject matter, and you’re here to learn about God. But don’t forget that for those aspects of life to be the best they can be, you need to have other people around.”

Anna Harman is a senior Christian Education major and also a reporter for Cedars. She appreciates writing, chai lattes, flowers, and going to concerts.

*Photo provided by Armstrong