Scoring Top-Shelf Goals: Senior Ashley Hayley Named Rhodes Scholarship Finalist

Senior Ashley Hayley was destined for great things from an early age. Born to the first registered woman hockey player in Newfoundland and Labrador and a previous AAA hockey player (not to mention being the great-granddaughter of the first registered fisherwoman in the province), Ashley had some enormous shoes to fill not only as the eldest child but also as the only girl in her Canadian household. She decided to hang up her ballet shoes and joined a minor hockey league at the age of four, and she hasn’t looked back since.

When the pandemic halted the world, Ashley was forced off the ice and chose to give up her dream of playing college hockey. However, the head coach of the McKendree women’s hockey team, Derek Pallardy, reached out to her the day after she graduated from high school and, instead of attending Dalhousie University, Ashley chose to take a chance on McKendree.

“I am so thankful to have made this leap of faith,” Ashley said.

Defending the Goal and Women’s Health

While Ashley currently plays defense for the McKendree University women’s hockey team, she’s also growing in another passion of hers as a student: biology. Her love of biology began in high school thanks to an outstanding teacher, Dr. Pontieri, whose passion inspired many of her students. Along with being a member of the university’s Honors Program and Phi Eta Sigma honor society, Ashley is now a biology major with a pre-med minor, and she aims to become an embryologist.

“Due to life-long personal health concerns, and supporting family members through medical crises, I always knew that I was destined for the medical field,” Ashley said. “Medical issues faced by women are overlooked and disregarded as most conditions present themselves differently in girls and women. Being an embryologist would allow me to advocate for the health and well-being of women through their pregnancies, and unborn children.”

All Rhodes Lead to a Bright Future

Ashley recently applied for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship in the hopes of studying embryology at the University of Oxford. The scholarship is known for its daunting application process, and only very few students are chosen each year. In order to be considered, Ashley needed to submit a personal statement, a resume, an academic statement of study, a presidential endorsement letter, and six references. The committee held multiple virtual seminars to make the process less intimidating. From the hundreds upon hundreds of students who applied, Ashley wound up being named a finalist in the selection.

"Given the intensity of the application process, completing a Rhodes Scholarship application is an achievement in itself. Making it to the finalist stage is extraordinary!” said Dr. Martha Patterson, professor of English and coordinator of prestigious fellowships and scholarships at McKendree.

The Rhodes Scholarship is considered to be the world’s most distinguished international scholarship. It is a fully-funded, full-time, postgraduate award that allows talented young people the chance to study at the University of Oxford for two or more years. Throughout university history, McKendree has only had two Rhodes Scholars: Newton Ensign in 1905 and Cyrus Stokes Gentry in 1915.

Ashley feels that students shouldn’t be afraid to shoot their shot and apply for the Rhodes Scholarship.

“By no means did I expect to be selected as a finalist for such a prestigious award, but I was so honored to have been given the opportunity to be selected,” she said. “Don’t be intimidated, begin the application early, and give your professors plenty of time to complete their reference letters.”