Ashley Andreas, a 33-year-old Hartford Selectboard member and housing advocate, says that her path to a degree was anything but linear. In fact, it looked a lot more like one of Vermont’s dirt roads: full of steep climbs, unexpected turns, and a destination that maybe looks a little different than what’s on the map. Ashley grew up in Pennsylvania and spent her teenage years at the Milton Hershey School, a residential high school for children without privilege. She notes that it was a blessing for her to be able to attend, especially as Milton Hershey’s commitment to students extends to college too. Ashley received an $80,000 scholarship from Milton Hershey to help with her higher education costs. The school provided Ashley with stability, but when she transitioned out of its warmth and familiarity to a large university after graduation, she found the new environment overwhelming. “I come from a family with a history of substance abuse and was not set up mentally or emotionally to navigate the social scene of a large university,” she reflects. Distance has given her a mature outlook on her experience. “I felt both isolated and different from my peers who came from strong nuclear families. I sank into myself and felt lost.” After three semesters, Ashley’s grades were too low to continue and she left school. She moved to Florida, then eventually followed a relationship to Vermont’s Upper Valley in 2012. She was working at a local pizza shop in Hartford when she became pregnant. “That was the catalyst,” she says. “I grew up in poverty, and I knew I didn’t want to be poor for the rest of my life. I knew I didn’t want that for my kid. I also knew I was smart, but I just needed to find my passion.” Ashley turned over a new leaf, left the romantic relationship that had become unhealthy, and charted a new path forward for herself and her daughter.  Community College of Vermont was the turning point In 2014, with her newborn daughter alongside, Ashley enrolled at the Community College of Vermont (CCV). The flexibility of a local learning center in the Upper Valley enabled her to take a full course load while caring for her daughter. It was tough, but Ashley worked her way through it. As she began researching how to apply to and pay for college she connected with VSAC counselor Merrilyn Tatarczuch-Koff, who now directs VSAC’s Education Opportunity Center (EOC). VSAC’s EOC helps adult students access career and education opportunities.  Merrilyn became an essential partner for Ashley, who relied on her help to navigate the financial aid process. Together, they worked to secure grants and scholarships for her tuition. Ashley was able to bring her GPA up, restoring her Milton Hershey scholarship eligibility that had been jeopardized by her previous academic struggles. And, in 2016, she proudly stood at commencement as the student speaker and recipient of the Leadership Scholarship award, her two-year-old daughter Daliah by her side.  “If I’d had the kind of support and counseling I got from Merrilyn the first time I went to college, I would have had a different experience,” she reflects. With distance and time, she realizes a traditional, large university experience wasn’t what worked for her. Now, she reflects that, “the environment every time I met with VSAC was what I needed to find my path.” Finding a mission in the trades Ashley’s academic aspirations didn’t stop with her business degree. Concluding she wasn’t a good fit for corporate environments, she returned to CCV for a second associate degree in environmental science. During that pursuit, she completed an internship at Vermod, a builder of high-efficiency, zero-energy modular homes, which turned into an eight-year career.  Ashley started her Vermod career as a home ownership advisor, helping modest-income Vermonters navigate USDA loans and state grants. As she moved into project management and quality control roles, she became more and more interested in the technical side of construction. In 2021, Ashley reconnected with the VSAC EOC program and met Stacey King, the new EOC counselor in the Upper Valley. Stacey encouraged Ashley to consider enrolling in CCV’s Assessment of Prior Learning (APL), and Ashley ended up utilizing CCV’s APL program to translate her years of professional experience into a whopping 42 college credits. This boost enabled her to bridge the gap toward a bachelor’s degree in construction management at Vermont State University (VTSU).  When she experienced a layoff in 2023, Ashley didn’t lose momentum. Instead, she once again connected with the VSAC EOC program. Ashley reviewed her options with Stacey and decided to step away from the bachelor’s program and pivot to workforce education, completing the Vermont Works for Women “Trailblazers” course and a heat pump installation program. This practical training led to roles as a project manager and estimator, eventually culminating in her current position as Executive Director for the Upper Valley Habitat for Humanity.  A new definition of success Today, Ashley balances her professional role with her service on the Hartford Selectboard and a busy family life with her husband, Corey, and their two daughters. Daliah is now 12 and Corey and Ashley have a child, Sienna, who is 5. Ashley describes her educational journey as a bit of a smorgasbord. The unique path she took, and diverse experiences she’s had, have fundamentally changed how she views education and how she talks about it with her children. “For my kids, it’s very normalized that education can look like a lot of different things,” she says. “What is most important is that you’re learning more about something you’re interested in.” As Ashley reflects on her journey, she credits the guidance she received from both of her VSAC EOC counselors. Merrilyn and Stacey helped her find a path that was once invisible to her and provided support for her to identify Workforce 3.0 funding, the Vermont Grant, and other opportunities. With their help, Ashley pursued multiple opportunities and certifications that boosted her employability and career, all while accumulating less than $5,000 in student debt. “Understanding that these programs and scholarships existed is something I would have never known on my own,” she says. “In high school, I had this idea that if I didn’t go to a four-year school, I wasn’t going to be successful. Now I know success is about finding work that has meaning. To me, that means work that is good for the environment, good for people, and good for the local economy.” The Vermont Student Assistance Corp. was created by the Vermont Legislature in 1965 as a public nonprofit agency. We advocate for Vermont students and their families to ensure that they have the tools they need to achieve their education and training goals. We create opportunities for all Vermont students, but particularly for those—of any age—who believe that the doors to education are closed to them. Growing families save for education with VT529, Vermont’s official 529 savings program. To help Vermonters plan and pay for college or job training, our counselors work with students in nearly every Vermont middle school and high school, and are also available to work with adults. Our grant, scholarship, and workforce development programs create opportunity, help students re-skill or learn new skills, and grow the economy. VSAC’s loan, loan refinance, and loan forgiveness programs provide competitive education financing to students and families. Find us at www.vsac.org or visit Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Read the story on VTDigger here: Ashley Andreas uncovered a passion for environmental building practices–and lifelong learning. ...read more read less