Ashley Moates, junior in communication disorders and newly elected Miss Auburn, has dedicated her life and platform to a cause that hits closer than home.
Moates grew up in a small town in Georgia "that no one has heard of." She was the only student from her high school to continue on at Auburn University.
Along with her parents and three siblings, Moates found herself on a farm for the majority of her life. Forty minutes away from the nearest movie theater or shopping mall, Moates said the siblings were very fond of each other and became more friends than family.
"We all grew up very close," Moates said. "We are very close in age, the oldest being 25 and Anna, the youngest, is about to turn 20."
Moates watched her older sister leave the farm and head for the Plains, a decision her father, an alumnus, greatly appreciated. Moates mother, a former Alabama graduate, didn't mind though. At the age of eight, she hadn't thought about where she'd want to go, but visits to see her sister instilled a love for the school.
"I never really cared one way or the other in terms of football," Moates said. "Through visiting [my sister] and seeing how much she loved it and all the friends she made, my interest was peaked."
Involvement
Right off the bat, Moates was sure she wanted to pursue involvement with the AU Singers, the campus show choir. Following in her sister's footsteps, she too made the ensemble and performs semesterly.
"I love singing and dancing and I love the family it is," Moates said. "Everyone gets so close and you have so many different people of different majors from so many different backgrounds, and we all come together because we love music."
Today, Moates is the vice president of AU Singers and received her Miss Auburn nomination from the organization.
"I loved and believed in my platform from the beginning, but it couldn't have reached as many people as it did if it weren't for my team and those that believed in it as well," Moates said.
During planning, Moates told herself on many occasions, "If I can just make it to campaign week." She couldn't wait to start talking about what she was so passionate about. Preparation and budgeting were hectic, Moates said, but nothing could outshine campaign week.
Her main focus was spreading her goals and passions. Moates said her team helped more than she could have imagined and the week went off like a charm. Moates said she had never felt so loved and supported in her life.
"Getting the opportunity to share my heart with people all over campus was truly exciting," Moates said.
AUsome Dreams and Anna
"[AUsome Dreams] focuses on making uniquely Auburn dreams come true for people with disabilities and what that dream looks like completely depends on what that person is passionate about and what they love," Moates said.
Before elections, Moates made two of these dreams come true.
Drew, a 21-year-old diagnosed with Autism, loves to play tennis. After pulling some strings, Drew was welcomed to meet and play with the Auburn Men's Tennis team at a practice.
"The team made him an honorary member and told him he would always have a place with them," Moates said.
The second dream hit home for Moates.
Anna, Moates younger sister, has Down syndrome. She loves to sing and dance. Anna's sister made her dream come true by organizing a performance with the AU Singers.
"It was her dream to be an Auburn University Singer and it's something she has seen my older sister and I do that she has always wanted to get up there and try," Moates said.
Choreography was specially made for the Singers and Anna to learn and perform together. After practice, the group changed into their sequins or uniforms, Anna finding her own uniform to wear in performance.
The audience stood cheering as the group entered for their performance of, "Firework."
"Anna had the most joyful smile on her face and I did too because it was a dream of mine to have her up there with me," Moates said. "Seeing her do something she always wanted to do was even more of a gift for me."
Just 18 months younger than Moates, Anna has been a part of Moates life for as long as she can remember. Anna has a learning disability in mathematics and speech. Moates said she and her family understands everything Anna says, but others find it difficult at times.
"Communicating with the average person is difficult sometimes and it is sad to see that sometimes people see her and automatically assume they won't be able to understand anything she says," Moates said. "She can tell when people don't try."
Moates said it is difficult to watch people refuse to take the time to know her sister.
This element of her life has turned into a passion, leading her to major in communication disorders and eventually work as a speech pathologist. Moates said she interacted with her sister's speech pathologists and saw how much impact they had on Anna.
"We take it for granted that you can sit across from me and understand everything I am saying," Moates said. "Anna doesn't have that same luxury. It's been her biggest struggle throughout her life."
Moates said she has learned patience, hard work and dedication from Anna. Moates said Anna rarely gets frustrated with people and doesn't mind repeating herself. She is an accomplished equestrian that competes against others who are not affected by disabilities. Moates said Anna has a witty sense of humor and loves to make her family laugh.
"Whenever we are alone in the car I crank up the music--she always wants it to be louder-- and we jam to Taylor Swift or something like that," Moates said. "It's so great. It's one of my favorite things in the world."
Next steps for Miss Auburn
Transition teams have stepped in and Madison Rolling, former Miss Auburn, has handed the gavel to Moates.
"[Rolling] has been so kind and helpful," Moates said. "The entire process is going very smoothly."
Moates is working on finding people with disabilities that might have an Auburn dream they'd like to come true through reaching out to Best Buddies, an organization focused on enhancing the lives of those with intellectual disabilities.
"They have a lot of wonderful people there, so I am wanting to start there and start making as many dreams come true as possible."
Moates said she hopes to continue spreading awareness about disabilities throughout her term. Many people don't know how to interact with someone with disabilities or they are scared of the language barrier, Moates said.
"We want to help show people that we are all more alike than we are different and people with disabilities want to interact with people their own age and show their likes and interests as well," Moates said.
Moates hopes to set up a "Disabilities Awareness Day" on the Green Space this Fall to help spread awareness. Students would be welcomed to come interact with people with disabilities, play games and learn more about individuals living with disabilities. We want to encourage people to start conversations while those with disabilities get to experience the college life we all love, Moates said.
A final goal of Moates is to work towards a collegiate program for students with disabilities.
"A lot of universities have programs like this," Moates said. "Clemson University has the ClemsonLIFE program and that's one of the best around. They have classes tailored to the disability."
Moates said students with disabilities are faced with a moment of, "What's next?" after aging out of the public school system. A program such as this would give these people the necessary life skills to keep moving, Moates said.
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