In Pursuit Podcast

The plan changed. The people held. Hannah Mantle came as a nursing student with a plan, a clear direction, four years mapped out, no room for uncertainty. What she found in the months that followed was something she hadn't accounted for.  She remembers sitting in an office, uncertain and a little undone, wondering what would come next. What steadied her was not a new direction. It was the realizat...

The call came before the clarity. It always does. Student Grace Wanjiku had held other plans before attending the Ashland Theological Seminary: horses, accounting, a quieter life in Kenya. What broke through was a sense, shaped through hardship and confirmed through prayer, that she was supposed to be here. She left her young son behind during COVID, crossed the Atlantic, and arrived on the Semina...

Both from northwest England. Both found their way to Ashland.  Head Men’s Soccer Coach Nick Roberts grew up playing soccer in the working-class leagues of England where the game meant everything. He came to the States to play college soccer, pursued coaching with intention and spent decades building programs from the ground up. Sophomore Tom Woodward made his own version of that leap. Six hours on...

Not everything worth building shows up in the box score. In this conversation, Head Football Coach Doug Geiser and linebacker Jack Talkington reflect on what it means to pursue something worthy, not just something winnable. Doug traces the chain of mentors who shaped his coaching philosophy, from the high school coach who handed him a book of quotes and made his players take quizzes before practic...

Not every calling begins with certainty. Often, it begins with questions. Zack Van Farowe, a senior majoring in psychology and religion, sits down with Alex Hill, Director of the Center for CommUNITY & Belonging, to reflect on the path that led them both toward ministry. What starts as a conversation about choosing Ashland and finding community quickly deepens into something more personal: a c...

Leadership begins long before the title does. John Keim, a sophomore studying communication and journalism with a minor in political science, sits down with Randy, Ashland University’s Interim Vice President of Enrollment Management and longtime mayor of his hometown. What begins as a conversation about degrees and career paths quickly becomes something deeper: a reflection on public service, ment...

The path to the classroom rarely looks the way you expect it to. In this conversation, two seniors look back at the decisions that shaped their time in college and the moments that quietly redirected them. Wyatt talks about starting undecided, trying exercise science and eventually realizing that education allowed him to pursue what he loved — history — while also investing in people. Lauren refle...

The future does not always begin with a plan. Sometimes it begins with a question. In this conversation, Assistant Provost of Student Success Catherine Williams and student Payton O’Toole reflect on the moments that helped them discover their purpose. Catherine shares how her own experience as a student at Ashland still shapes the way she mentors students today. The faculty who challenged her to g...

Janel Molnar, Director of Recreational Services, and student Sarah Watson talk about what it means to care in quiet, everyday ways. Sarah shares how personal loss deepened her desire to walk with others, while Janel speaks to the importance of creating spaces where students feel seen. Together, they explore how care, practiced with intention, becomes more than kindness. It becomes purpose and cult...

Tyshawn Lane and Stanley Turpin reflect on growing up in Cleveland and the shift to a small-town campus away from home. They speak with honesty about the friendships and faith that carried them through the challenges of that transition, and the people who helped them persevere when it would’ve been easier to leave.

Dr. Tony Basham, Assistant Professor of New Testament and student, Grace Moricca share on the quiet work of listening to scripture, to the Spirit and to the people who walk alongside you. Together, they explore how calling unfolds over time, revealed through discipline, reflection and the steady presence of a community that believes in who you are becoming.  

Dr. Cara Rogers Stevens, Associate Professor of History and Dr. Greg McBreyer, Interim Provost and Associate Professor of Political Science offer a glimpse into the intellectual life at Ashland, where learning is both invitation and discipline. They reflect on curiosity, reading and the joy of serious thinking, not as abstract ideals but habits that shape how students approach the world.

Ashland University alumna Hayley Smith and women’s basketball coach Kari Pickens reflect on faith, mentorship and what it means to carry purpose through seasons of change. As Hayley prepares to play basketball overseas, they speak honestly about transition, trust and the steady presence of community through moments of uncertainty.