John Joyner
Ashley Eli, a junior studying industrial engineering and a forward on the women's basketball team, accepts the Leader of the Pack trophy from 2013 winner Austin Bath during halftime of the homecoming football game against Georgia Tech at Carter-Finley Stadium Saturday.
Ashley Eli, a forward on the women’s basketball team and a junior studying industrial engineering, was named the 2014-2015 Leader of the Pack at the homecoming football game against Georgia Tech on Saturday.
The Leader of the Pack award recognizes students who make contributions to NC State in the areas of leadership, scholarship and community service. The selection process includes an application, personal interview and a student-body vote.
Eli said she was pleasantly shocked when she heard her name called for the Leader of the Pack award during halftime.
“I was really nervous at first,” Eli said. “I didn’t get nervous until I actually walked out onto the field. They announced a few other awards before they announced Leader of the Pack, and finally when they announced my name, I couldn’t believe it.”
Ashley said she learned about the award this semester and decided to see how she would do.
“I wasn’t really aware of the award until my academic advisor told me about it and said I would be a good candidate for it. After she told me what it was, I looked it up, applied, and from there everything just happened,” Eli said.
Eli said she enjoyed and appreciated the selection process because it really let her present all aspects of herself.
“Throughout voting, I really was able to get out there and meet students,” Eli said. “It was a great experience. Just going to the library or Talley and talking to people was great and made me get more active in the process.”
Being a student-athlete, Eli’s time was very limited. However, she said she tried to do as many extracurricular and community service events as she could so she could be a good role model for others.
“As an athlete, a lot of younger children look up to me, so I think it’s important for me to give back for what we have,” Eli said. “When I was younger, a student-athlete came up and talked to me, and I think it is important that I do the same for them.”
Along with the honor of being named the Leader of the Pack, the winner received a $2,000 university scholarship.
“I am already on an athletic scholarship, so I might use the award for graduate school if I decide to go, but I am not sure,” Eli said.
Eli said she appreciated her supporters and wouldn’t have been able to win the award without them.
“I want to say thank you for all the support from everyone who voted for me and everyone who believed in me,” Eli said. “I want to thank all of the athletic staff, our academic advisors, my coaches, my teammates and my parents. I’ve had so much support here, and I’ve had such a great experience at NC State.”
Eli also gave some advice for potential candidates next year:
“I just encourage everyone to just apply because you never know what you can do until you try,” Eli said. “That’s exactly what happened to me. I didn’t know what was going to happen. I just kept on going further and further and then I ended up being Leader of the Pack.”