MILLINGTON, Tenn. – Ashley Craig, a Navy civilian from Rand, West Virginia, recently earned a master’s degree in journalism and strategic media from the University of Memphis.
Craig, a 2003 graduate of Riverside High School, earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from West Virginia University in 2008.
“I went back to school for my master's degree almost on a dare,” said Craig. “One of my closest friends had been after me to go after a master's degree for years, and one day he challenged me to do it. He told me nothing was holding me back but myself.”
Craig celebrated this major academic milestone in a ceremony on Dec. 15 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee.
“This degree is the culmination of a lot of hard work,” said Craig. “It’s something I did only for myself and not for anyone else. I have a bunch of favorite quotes that I try to use to guide me, the one that motivated me through school came from President Kennedy's speech at Rice, where he talked about the choice to go to the moon. He said, 'We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.'
"Working a full-time job and a part-time job while going to school remotely in the middle of a pandemic was hard. Changing careers and moving halfway across the country away from home was hard. But I intended to win and finish, and I did.”
Craig worked as an adjunct professor teaching undergrad students in Introduction to Media Writing and Introduction to Media while completing her degree.
“I really enjoyed watching my students progress and grow in their writing,” said Craig. “Writing can be a difficult skill to learn. It was great to see them learn to tell a story and know that I helped even a little bit. I also just liked being able to help the next generation of journalists.”
Additionally, Craig started working full-time as a public affairs specialist at the Navy Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO) during the master’s program after working at the Charleston Daily Mail and Charleston Gazette-Mail in Charleston for 15 years.
NAVCO educates and informs Americans about their Navy through a variety of different outreach programs. Since most of the Navy’s assets and personnel are strategically located on the coasts, these outreach efforts reach Americans in cities without a high naval presence.
“This job has allowed me to meet so many people and learn so much about the Navy,” said Craig. “People join the Navy for so many different reasons and come from so many different backgrounds with a common mission to serve our country. I enjoy being able to travel the country to tell their stories and the Navy’s story.”
Some of the keys to Craig’s success in the program are the values she learned from Rand.
“Growing up in the Kanawha Valley, you learn early on that you have to work hard for the things you want,” said Craig. “I had a lot of good influences and role models when I was a child, and though my challenges might have been different than those of my peers, these people made sure I knew my goals were never out of reach.”
Craig is grateful to others for helping make earning a degree possible.
“There are so many people who have been there for me,” said Craig. “My family, both the one I was born into and the one I’ve built, has supported me so much throughout this. They’ve read drafts and talked through ideas with me. They talked me out of giving up at least twice a semester. I’m grateful for the support of my friends and colleagues both at the Gazette-Mail and here at NAVCO. I also want to thank my professors for their guidance and the lessons they worked so hard to give us.”
Craig plans to continue her academic journey later this year by attending a six-and-a-half-month-long course at Defense Information School to earn the Public Affairs & Communication Strategy Qualification.
Craig worked as an adjunct professor teaching undergrad students in Introduction to Media Writing and Introduction to Media while completing her degree.
“I really enjoyed watching my students progress and grow in their writing,” said Craig. “Writing can be a difficult skill to learn. It was great to see them learn to tell a story and know that I helped even a little bit. I also just liked being able to help the next generation of journalists.”
Additionally, Craig started working full-time as a public affairs specialist at the Navy Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO) during the master’s program after working at the Charleston Daily Mail and Charleston Gazette-Mail in Charleston for 15 years.
NAVCO educates and informs Americans about their Navy through a variety of different outreach programs. Since most of the Navy’s assets and personnel are strategically located on the coasts, these outreach efforts reach Americans in cities without a high naval presence.
“This job has allowed me to meet so many people and learn so much about the Navy,” said Craig. “People join the Navy for so many different reasons and come from so many different backgrounds with a common mission to serve our country. I enjoy being able to travel the country to tell their stories and the Navy’s story.”
Some of the keys to Craig’s success in the program are the values she learned from Rand.
“Growing up in the Kanawha Valley, you learn early on that you have to work hard for the things you want,” said Craig. “I had a lot of good influences and role models when I was a child, and though my challenges might have been different than those of my peers, these people made sure I knew my goals were never out of reach.”
Craig is grateful to others for helping make earning a degree possible.
“There are so many people who have been there for me,” said Craig. “My family, both the one I was born into and the one I’ve built, has supported me so much throughout this. They’ve read drafts and talked through ideas with me. They talked me out of giving up at least twice a semester. I’m grateful for the support of my friends and colleagues both at the Gazette-Mail and here at NAVCO. I also want to thank my professors for their guidance and the lessons they worked so hard to give us.”
Craig plans to continue her academic journey later this year by attending a six-and-a-half-month-long course at Defense Information School to earn the Public Affairs & Communication Strategy Qualification.