Ashley Vickers, B.A. in Psychology, 2023
Mar 31, 2023, 12:30 PM.
article key points
An FIU Online ambassador and mother of two children with special needs looks forward to graduating so she can help her hometown community.
Ashley Vickers is determined to set an example for her family. A dedicated mother of two children with autism, Vickers also loves to serve others. As an FIU Online ambassador, she helps online students engage with university resources, while at her job as an HIV prevention and training consultant, she educates people on HIV and helps raise awareness. Once she graduates with her degree in psychology, she will use her new skills, knowledge and abilities to help her hometown community of Belle Glade, Fla., where her grandmother raised her.
“I want my kids to see, that as long as you keep pushing, and as long as you keep moving forward, you'll be OK,” she says.
Special needs
It became clear to Vickers and her children’s father, that both her son and daughter were not hitting their milestones. Their son was non-verbal and slow to walk, and their daughter has trouble connecting and regulating emotions.
“My son and my daughter just got diagnosed with autism last year,” the FIU senior says. “At both appointments, I was choking because I was trying not to cry.”
Despite raising two children under the age of 8, Vickers is still determined to finish her degree, all the while coordinating her children’s care. She keeps an incredibly busy schedule.
Online learning supports her academic momentum—it also offers the flexibility she needs to juggle family obligations, work and school. Vickers still manages to be an involved and engaged student as an FIU Online ambassador.
Flexibility helps family
All the therapies she has been able to coordinate for Mason, her 8-year-old son, are making a difference. He will soon move from his special needs class to a general education classroom.
“He loves to draw, he's very, very creative,” she says proudly as she shares some of Mason’s artwork.
Vickers’ daughter, Madison, who is 3, is non-verbal; however, she’s getting good care and Vickers has a good support system with her children’s father and family.
“I'm hopeful for my daughter. I really am because, like with my son, I see the improvement he made these last few years,” states Vickers.
Goal fulfills passion
Vickers is passionate about mental health. She saw firsthand how mental issues can affect families as it has her own. She also mentions the destructive nature of substance abuse and how people need counseling, but many times they don’t know how to get it and may not trust those who are in the field. Vickers’ goal is to become a licensed clinical psychologist and open a practice in her hometown.
“I want my first practice there to be like, hey, I'm from here too, because they have a thing where they don't trust a lot of outsiders. They think people just do things for recognition. I want them to know that they can trust me, that I sincerely care,” she explains.
Community resources
“Community is important.” says Vickers as she discusses her current position with the Florida Health Department as an HIV prevention and training consultant. Vickers is coordinating a November HIV awareness and prevention event in Belle Glade, Fla., that will feature community health agencies so people can be aware of the different resources available, ranging from sexual health to financial assistance.
“I just want to help my community because my people really do need help, and I want to help them,” she says.
Early influences
Vickers’s grandmother is a big influence on her granddaughter's educational and personal trajectory. Her grandmother’s missionary work and church involvement taught Vickers that being of service is important. Raised in the church, she saw how crucial it is to help others around her.
“She always used to tell me, ‘Ashley, God will be a blessing upon you if he sees that you're a blessing upon others,’ and that always stuck with me. So, giving back is something that's really important to me,” affirms Vickers, who credits this and the empathy she has been able to practice in her psychology degree program as her driving factors.
Graduation around the corner
In her current senior seminar class on autism, Vickers says she’s learning a lot and is able to share her personal experience in discussions to help other students understand the material better.
Aside from her studies, Vickers never thought she could be so involved with university life as a fully online student. Currently a part of five different student organizations, she is also a member of three honor societies, where she serves as a secretary and treasurer for one of them.
“If it wasn’t for online learning, I wouldn’t be here continuing my education because it’s most definitely impossible for me to sit in a classroom,” says Vickers, who looks forward to graduation in May with great anticipation.
