The picture on the right was taken on May 7, 2016, the day Ashleigh Nicole “Bear” Langbein graduated from Emory & Henry College. Ashleigh earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and had plans of continuing her education up to the Doctorial level. The heavens had other plans, however, and Ash’s physical life ended the morning of January 9, 2017, nine days shy of her 24th birthday.
Ashleigh was born in Orlando, Florida on January 18, 1993, and as a child of Navy parents, lived in South Carolina, Virginia, California, Hawai’i, and Texas. She graduated from high school in Poquoson, Virginia and moved to Hawai’i, planning to attend college on the islands. Shortly after arriving on Oahu, an opportunity to attend Emory & Henry College presented itself in the form of a Presidents Scholarship. So with three suitcases and one person she knew at Emory and Henry, she boarded an airplane just prior to Christmas 2011, and arrived at Emory & Henry to start classes in January 2012.
From the start, she loved Emory & Henry. Having grown up in or around large cities, she enjoyed the atmosphere and beauty of the surrounding area, the people, and the familial nature of the campus. During her first year, she performed in the school’s national participation in the election night performances of “44 Plays about 44 Presidents.” Ash loved theatre and moved toward the dramaturgical aspects in keeping in line with her love of research and facts. She rushed and became a sister in Pi Sigma Kappa, and later a member of Alpha Psi Omega. Although theatre and the arts were a passion, her academic drive kept taking her into the realm of psychology.
The above information tells you about Ashleigh’s life, but not about Ashleigh herself. Other information, such as winning the California State Science Fair for Psychology, being recognized by the American Psychological Association and Mensa during the same fair, tells you that she was a very bright person. Ash was also active for several years in the National Junior Leadership organization, attending conferences all over the United States to discuss leadership issues and challenges facing her generation. (Her favorite was in Boston, MA, where they spent a week in Salem discussing the witch trials.) This information tells you that not only was she bright, but that she had a desire to help others through understanding the cause and effect nature of political, social, and economic issues. What none of this still tells you is who she was, and why she mattered to the world and the Emory& Henry community and family.
Bear struggled over the years with the same issues that confront others her age such as acceptance, confidence, and finding direction and meaning. Moving every three to five years with the Navy meant having to start over again with these struggles with little to no safety net other than her parents. She often felt like she was always playing the role of the outcast, the person on the fringe of social constructs. Art and science were major escapes, and she used both to broaden her understanding of not only herself, but also of the social world she resided in. This gave her a strength and grace that allowed her to embrace who she was versus who others thought she should be. Ash would not be one to wear the same clothes that everyone else wore, and not because she wanted to specifically be different, but because she wanted to be who she was, to like what she liked, and more importantly, to show others it was okay to be whom they were.
When you look up at the night sky, what do you see? If you answer stars, the moon, clouds, or other visible object, then you only see the surface of what is out there. Ash loved the interconnected nature of the world, which begins with looking up at the stars. She would often wander the campus at night, with friends or people she had just met at a sorority/fraternity gathering or other event and show them the stars. Her excitement came not from simply looking up, but in recognizing what the night sky represented to her life and the Earth itself. That excitement is simply that we are all made of star-stuff. While that thought might make some feel small in comparison, or disconnected from their spiritual beliefs, Ash felt an empowerment of self and a closer connection to spirit. She loved the idea that the spiritual and the scientific both collide to create a web that connects each person not only to one another, but to everything in the universe. From this perspective, Bear looked at each person as a connected thing, and tried to always find beauty and understanding in the individual. For that, she was always excited to see a person, often acting like someone she had just seen five minutes earlier in a way that seems to imply she had not seen them in five years. She was always wishing for people to open their minds to possibilities, and worked to slowly chip away at closed or one-sided thinking. It is not that she wanted every person to think like she did, but she wanted people to at least consider alternates and/or conflicting opinions. She could often be sighted behind Hillman with a crowd of people around her having lengthy discussions (lasting for hours from what her E&H family has shared) on the arts, sciences, philosophy, politics, and even comic books. Her friends often commented that Ashleigh loved nothing more than the sharing and challenging of ideas between her connected worlds.
Above all things, if you are receiving aid from this grant, know that Ashleigh is so excited for you. She enjoyed helping others to the extent that she often forgot to take care of herself. Ash might not have time to stop for five minutes to eat something, but would have plenty of time to help someone with any- and everything they might need. Speaking of time, Ash did not prescribe to a linear interpretation of time. This is not to say that she did not understand how to use a clock and a calendar, only that Ashleigh time had its own unit of measure. During Ashleigh time, she might not have been going in the direction that a straight line of time would lead a person down, instead, Ashleigh time meandered, taking a much longer road. While her clock may seem inefficient or silly, she used her time to expand her understanding of the world through books, music, scientific research, self-reflection, and social assistance. When her clock caught up with everyone else’s, not only was she right where she was supposed to be in terms of the responsibilities and commitments that time dictates, but was more often than not, further ahead in her understanding of the world, and most importantly, the loudening of her voice.
Go out and change the world, but do it on your terms. Ashleigh would tell you to be different, to maintain your integrity to self above all others, and to use your voice to challenge and change the world for the better. This endowment was set up to continue Ashleigh’s work, to let her voice continue to rise through those who benefit from it, and to continue to connect her with her family at Emory & Henry. Ash would be so proud of you for moving towards this next step in your life. Along the way, remember that it is the little things in life that matter and must be remembered, for it is these little things that makes us who we are. More importantly is that it all these little things, a smile to a stranger, a tight Bear Hug when someone needs it, taking a moment to listen to a stranger, or simply acknowledging a feeling as valid can do more to change the world than the mightiest of intentions.
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