From Maryland Promise to Marketing Master: Smith Shady Grove Scholarship Student Shares Success Story

As a Maryland Promise Scholar and recipient of the Capital One Scholarship for Transfer Students, Ashlynn Battle ’24 is driven to give back to those who have supported her throughout her college experience.

Battle, who transferred from Montgomery College to the University of Maryland Robert H. School of Business Shady Grove campus in 2022, says the financial assistance she received from the Smith School provided her with a “stress-free” learning environment, allowing her to concentrate on pursuing her marketing degree and catalyzing her academic success.

Battle’s decision to pursue a marketing degree stemmed from personal experiences during the summer before transferring to Shady Grove. A friend contacted her for help growing her small business’ presence on Instagram. Through creating logos, editing videos and interacting with customers online, Battle “fell in love” with marketing and saw a path forward at Shady Grove to enhance her creative strengths with business analytics.

“I think that experience opened my eyes to the other side of business. When I originally thought of business, I thought about entrepreneurship and running a business, but I never thought of the more analytical side, and that's what I really became interested in,” says Battle.

At the Shady Grove campus, Battle joined other undergraduate transfer students in taking advantage of this extension of the Smith School’s top-ranked undergraduate program. She benefited from its small class sizes, access to academic advising and career counselors, and its vicinity to organizations located in the Montgomery County high-tech corridor. Battle enrolled in one of the three business and management majors offered at the campus and followed a tailored cohort-style course format to complete her bachelor of science degree in two years.

Battle was an active participant in the Smith community as a member of the American Marketing Association and served as a positive changemaker and voice for her peers as part of the Dean’s Student Advisory Council. She also worked with school administrators in the latter role to promote increased student involvement and events at Shady Grove.

“I have had the best experience at Shady Grove thanks to great relationships with my professors and a great group of friends. Everything I've done on campus is something I'll remember forever,” says Battle.

Another significant benefit of Battle’s Shady Grove experience and financial support was that it allowed her to use earnings from her two jobs to help her family. She has a part-time retail job and a role with the Montgomery County Recreation Department’s Club Adventure program, an afterschool program for elementary school kids.

“This experience means the world to me because my parents didn’t have the opportunity to finish college. I primarily grew up with a single mom, so paying for college was something we knew would be difficult,” says Battle. “It gives me an overwhelming sense of pride thinking about walking across the commencement stage and holding that diploma in my hand.”

Emboldened by a desire to continue her studies, Battle extended her time at the Smith School by enrolling in its Plus 1 program—an accelerated business master’s degree program that sees students take graduate-level coursework during their senior year. She plans to earn a master’s degree in marketing analytics and hopes to enter the healthcare marketing industry or explore other careers that maximize her expertise and potential.

“I’m really excited at the idea of having what I’d call a ‘big girl job’ and giving back to my family in ways I wasn’t able to as a student,” says Battle. “I think about it all the time, and I can’t wait.”