If there’s one thing Ashley Howse has never shied away from, it’s hard work.

“My first few years as a student were challenging. I was working 60 or more hours a week in addition to taking five courses, it was far from easy,” says Ashley.

When she received the Poole Family Scholarship during her third year, she finally had the opportunity to be the student she wanted to be – focused on her studies and research.

“I had time to meet with my professors outside of classroom hours, attend conferences and maintain my GPA,” says Ashley. “It allowed me to actually study. Before the scholarship I had to absorb all of the information during class. I spent all of my time outside of class working at my part-time jobs. It’s difficult to convey the level of stress I was experiencing.”

“The scholarship truly improved my quality of life. It gave me the opportunity to go home to Bishop’s Falls, NL, and see my family, which I hadn’t been able to do in three years.”

While Ashley faced many struggles, she says the opportunities she had at Dal were far more than what she ever expected to gain as an undergraduate student.

“During my second year, I asked Dr. Olave Krigolson if I could volunteer in his Neuroeconomics lab. Eventually that turned into a job – I never thought I would be managing a research lab as an undergrad,” says Ashley. “My lab experience definitely triggered my pursuit of graduate work. Dal has provided me with a lot of great opportunities that I’m not sure I could have found elsewhere.”

This May, Ashley graduated with an honours degree in psychology. She is continuing to the University of Victoria to work alongside Dr. Krigolson, where she will be investigating sleep deprivation in a sample of medical students in regards to decision making and error monitoring in the human brain.

“I’ll never be able to put into words what this scholarship has meant for me. It gave me the motivation to keep going – I’m not sure I would be where I am today without it. I can’t say thank you enough.”