Mentor. Pageant queen. Aspiring Entrepreneur. Ashley Boalch, rising senior at USG, holds not one of these impressive titles, but all three. A native Washingtonian and Communication student at the University of Maryland, College Park at USG, Ashley was crowned Miss District of Columbia in July. This summer, she has represented USG in the most colorful way – helping Montgomery County teens reach their artistic and business potential as part of the local nonprofit, Arts on the Block.
The Work of Art
 Miss DC and student at USG, Ashley Boalch, with ARTpreneur Workshop students. |
Arts on the Block, a local organization dedicated to helping creative teens plan for successful futures, called on students at USG who were interested in entrepreneurship to mentor young people in their summer “ARTpreneurs Workshop”. During the six-week program, Ashley helped teams of 2 – 4 students create business plans and learn to market their functional art. Products included durable purses made of magazine pages and strings of room lights created with revamped cat food containers.
“I was interested in helping artistic students understand how they can capitalize on their abilities,” said Ashley about her motivation to work with Arts on the Block. “I was able to use my communication skills to help them refine their ideas and analyze their strategy. The students were phenomenal.”
Ashley does not consider herself an artist, but does want to open her own business that will allow her to interact with people in her community – most likely a restaurant.
First Pageant, First Place
A chance meeting with Miss District of Columbia executive director, Teri Galvez, piqued Ashley’s interest in her first-ever pageant competition. She saw the program as a great way to earn scholarship money and to develop herself personally and professionally. With only a few months of preparation before her inaugural competition, Ashley was crowned Miss District of Columbia on July 10, 2011. She will head to Las Vegas in January 2012 to represent the nation’s capital in the Miss America pageant. Ashley is excited to be active in her community during her reign as Miss District of Columbia.
“In three weeks time as Miss DC, I’ve already been able to work with local young women to help them excel in their communication skills and learn to present their best self. I love my community and am so excited for more opportunities to work with young people over the next year,” she said.
Diving into Some Fun
Although Ashley’s free time is limited, she does enjoy jumping from 10,000 feet when she gets the chance. She recently took up skydiving and is excited to take her second plunge sometime soon. She also possesses a self-proclaimed obsession with the Harry Potter book and movie series. She didn’t dress up when she saw the “Deathly Hallows Part 2”, but she is planning to see it again. And she admits…a costume is not out of the question.