Emporia State alumni, previous Associated Student Government president and 2011 Homecoming candidate, Ashley Jowers, is continuing her education, but still loves everything ESU.
Jowers is now working on her master’s degree in Occupational Therapy at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She hopes to become a school occupational therapist or work in the geriatric population at a skilled nursing facility.
“As an alumni, I always come to Homecoming festivities,” Ashley said. “And I have to admit that I drive around during move-in day. This last year is the first time I didn’t have a sibling or cousin or anybody moving in so I was just like, ‘I’m going to drive around the campus’ and see. It’s just so funny because everyone is so excited for school to be starting.”
Jowers was nominated by her sorority, Chi Omega, and by student government for Homecoming queen in 2011. Her sisters knew her as Ashley Vogts at the time.
“It was just an honor to be nominated and then not only to be nominated to be one of the chosen five to get to do all the festivities,” Jowers said. “It’s kind of unexplainable because you’re just up in the moment. I can’t really put it into words.”
Jowers says during her time at ESU she was really into all things leadership. She was a member of student government, a Leadership Education and Development leader, a swarm leader and she worked in the leadership department for three years.
“I had the opportunity to sit on the search committee for the new president.” Jowers said. “That alone was like an experience of a lifetime. I got to meet distinguished alumni and current faculty members and I got to be the voice for the students.”
“(Jowers) was such a natural-born leader on the court, in the classroom and basically everywhere she went,” said Allison Fowler, one of the bridesmaids at Ashley’s wedding. “Ashley is always 100 percent genuine and never afraid to be her goofy self or speak her mind. She is such a beautiful person, inside and out, and I’m so proud of all she has accomplished.”
Jowers was the student government president during the time she was nominated for Homecoming Queen. She says another cool part of Homecoming was being able to share the experience with the student government vice president, Jennifer Thomsen.
Thomsen says her favorite memory from Homecoming week was the Yell Like Hell bonfire.
“Neither of us had much time to prepare as Homecoming week was probably the busiest week of our entire year,” Thomsen said. “However, we had a great time and were able to use the excitement of the week to ‘wing it.’ Ashley was always good at things like that, whereas I was usually the organizer. We made a good team.”
Jowers married her high school sweet heart, Stephen Jowers, also an ESU alumnus, in August of 2013. They have a dog named Turk, live in Emporia and hope to have children after finishing school.
“(In ten years) I hope to be in my career, wherever that will take me. And I also want to have a house full of children,” Ashley said.
Stephen Jowers said he had been planning on proposing for a few months but either the timing wasn’t right or he would chicken out. He finally decided to do it during a spring break trip that they took to Chicago. He had planned on proposing at The Bean in Millennium Park, but when they arrived he chickened out.
“Finally we were still walking through Millennium Park and we stopped in front of the Crown Fountain to take pictures,” Stephen Jowers said. “I started to shake really bad and while taking pictures I knelt down and asked her to marry me. The first words out of her mouth were, ‘Are you serious?’ She thought I was playing a joke on her, until I showed her the ring and she said yes.”
