Nursing Student to Compete at 2012 Women's World Wrestling Championships - Updated
Nursing is not the only thing she excels at. Ashley McKilligan, a student currently enrolled in the Post-Degree BSN program, loves wrestling and is good at it, to the say the least!
She will be representing Canada at the 2012 Women’s World Wrestling Championships in Sherwood Park, Alberta on September 29th.
Ashley has been wrestling since she was 15 years old and has been on the Canadian National Wrestling Team since she was 20. Some of her accomplishments to date include placing in the top three at the Senior National Championship the past four years, winning the 2011 prestigious Hargobind International competition and placing third at the 2012 Olympic trials!
After completing her Microbiology degree in British Columbia, Ashley moved to Saskatoon two years ago to work with Huskies wrestling coach Todd Hinds and enrolled in the Post-Degree BSN program. When asked about it, Ashley said, “The instructors and advisors with the PDBSN program have truly made it possible for me to be successful in both nursing and wrestling! Our program is quite fast paced and intense (to put it lightly). I often have to miss days of class in order to travel to competitions and all of my instructors have been extremely understanding and flexible with making up class material. For example, one instructor came in on a morning off to help me catch up in a skills lab and another has moved exams for me, so I could attend important competitions”. She goes on to say, “I think this program is great! Our class is a very unique, intelligent and a tight knit group of people with different backgrounds and experiences. I have already made a lot of close friends and I am excited to spend the next year and a half with this great group”.
Ashley not only chose U of S because of her wrestling career, she wanted a change of scenery and to further her education. When asked why she chose U of S to continue her nursing studies, she replied, "I liked the idea of having a fast-paced program in a smaller classroom and being exposed to a wide variety of clinical experiences". After completing her program, Ashley is open to different areas of nursing, but she hopes to live in various places around the world and work in a couple of different areas to further her nursing knowledge and experience.
The College of Nursing wishes Ashley best of luck at the 2012 Women’s World Wrestling Championships!
Update: Ashley competed at the 2012 Women’s World Wrestling Championships in Sherwood Park, Alberta on September 29th and placed 15th out of 25 competitors. Although the placement was not exactly what she has hoping for, when asked about the competition, Ashley said “I truly enjoyed the experience and that’s what counts”.