Homecoming Court: Ashley DeCarbo
“Excited . . . humbled . . . shocked.” Ashley Decarbo found herself riding a tidal wave of emotions when she found out that she had been named to Shenango’s Homecoming Court by the Class of 2023.
Ashley is a student who bleeds blue and gold; her love for Shenango runs deep. “I love Shenango so much,” she said. “The people here, the teachers, the sports teams, the auxiliaries. It’s somewhere I will truly miss when I leave.”
Part of that love stems from celebrating the time-honored homecoming tradition. “It gives everyone a chance to come together and do something fun. And for people who have graduated, it gives them a chance to come back to Shenango and reconnect.”
While Ashley loves everything about the homecoming celebration, like spirit week, the parade, and the dance, for her, it’s the football game that is her favorite part. “I love football season,” she stressed.” “There’s always extra excitement around [the homecoming game] so it’s super fun.”
Adding to that “fun” for Ashley is her good buddy Braeden Zeigler, who will be escorting her. “Ziggy is one of my best friends,” Ashley noted. “ He always makes me laugh and I just knew we would have a really good time together.”
While homecoming will certainly be a crowning moment of her high school career, Ashley is well aware that the person she is today is due in large part to the influence of her parents.
“They’re both such hard workers,” she said. “They’re both very intelligent, and they’ve just taught me the value of education and of hard work. They’ve shown me how to treat other people.”
Ashley also recalls the influence of her grandfather, who died this past year. “He was a hard worker and he cared about his family so much,” she shared. “[I admire] the amount of respect that everyone had for him.”
Shenango alumnus Mia Edwards from the Class of 2021 is a homecoming court member who Ashley remembers admiring as an underclassman. Mia is “truly one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. She’s an amazing athlete. She could be so cocky, but she’s not,” Ashley stressed. “She is extremely humble and down-to-earth.”
Mia’s love of the game is something that Ashley shares as well. A three-sport varsity athlete, Ashley plays volleyball, basketball, and softball. Basketball holds a special place in her heart because “we just have such a family aspect of our team. It feels awesome to be a part of that.”
Being a dedicated athlete has reaped a plethora of rewards for Ashley. Skills like “time management, learning how to take losses and bounce back, and [continuing to] work even when things are hard” are lessons that Ashley knows she will carry with her long after she leaves the halls of Shenango.
Ashley’s journey will likely continue at Ohio University where she will major in either biology or in nursing. For now, she will look to follow her own advice to underclassmen: “to cherish every moment, try your best, and enjoy it all.”