Making it Mean More

This article was originally published in the Mount Mercy Times on Oct. 11 by Rob Brown, staff writer.

Some of you may know her as Ash Cash, others may know her by just Ashley Sally.

Sally is a basketball player who got her nickname, Ash Cash, from her ability to shoot 3 pointers. Ash is short for Ashley and Cash is the trendy name used when someone can throw down on the court.

Sally is a senior transfer student from Allen Community College in Iola, Kan. Moving from Milwaukee, a large city of over a half a million people, to the small city of Iola, Kansas, an approximate population of 5,000 people, took a toll on Sally.

"As an African American woman, I represented the 10 percent of Iola’s minority population, this made for a hard time adjusting to the new environment," said Sally.

She grew up in the inner city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with her mother and father, as well as two siblings. Sally is the middle child of the three.

“Whenever I tell people I’m from Wisconsin, they always think Wisconsin is just farming, it’s really not like that. I grew up in a large city,” said Sally.

Milwaukee is known for one of the highest incarceration rates in the nation for African males by the age of 33.

“Where I’m from, a lot of different types of people I grew up with, didn’t really get the chance or opportunity to be successful because of their environment and what that holds for them. I’m breaking many statistics being here and I’m proud of it.”

"I’m breaking many statistics being here and I’m proud of it.”

She is currently attending MMU as an English major and is the small forward on the women’s basketball team. A small forward is known for being typically smaller than a power forward, but is often more agile and a better shot.

When she finishes her undergraduate degree in English this May, Sally wants to attend grad school, but is unsure what she wants to pursue.

“I was so involved with basketball my entire life that I never stopped to realize you have to pick something else other than basketball,” said Sally.

Sally is also the president of the Black Student Union, also known as BSU club. She became president of the club because she felt she had a calling to lead the organization, for it represents her as a minority. The club is involved in events around campus and makes up one of the most minority-ran clubs on campus.

Sally works three jobs, two of which are on campus. She works as an RA and a desk clerk in Lundy Fitness, and she also works at Target. Her hobbies include watching Netflix and working out when she has free time.

“I’ve seen every good show on Netflix and I’d bet anyone money on that,” said Sally.