K. ASHLIN RING

Hi I am Ashlin and I was raised in San Antonio, Texas. At the age of 3 I entered into the foster care system. At 4 I was diagnosed with hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain). A brain shunt was subsequently placed in my head. At six years old, I left the foster care system and was adopted. Due to the damage the fluid caused in my brain the doctors claimed I would never read nor write. I overcame my diagnosis of ID with a lot of hard work and stubbornness. At 18 I got my GED and started college. I worked my way through my teen and young adult years as a full-time nanny to children with special needs. I got married at 20 and had a daughter a year later. Then two years and 6 months later had a son. I decided to go back to school at UTSA and earn a degree in education and become special education certified. I graduate with university honors in Summer of 2020.        

Research:

I work on researching ways to improve education for foster care students. As a society, we place a big emphasis on educational backgrounds, but foster care students are usually left out of the conversation. These children not only change schools often, they change geographical locations, more than that they change families. I am working on a way to make their education a source of continuity in their life. I am working on giving them agency over their education.