Ashley Bastock graduated from John Carroll University in 2015, and ever since, she has impacted sports media in Northeast Ohio and across the country. When Bastock started college, she hoped to become a sports broadcaster but working for Cleveland.com as a Browns beat reporter was not where she envisioned her career taking her..
She is grateful that JCU allowed her to see different opportunities in sports media. She did not think about the other possible career choices within sports like writing or production.
“I wrote for The Carroll News, I called games for WJCU, I worked at the TV station. I had all this array of different experiences and at the time I didn’t even have being a writer really crossing my mind. I guess I should say because I thought I wanted to be in broadcasting.”
“Everyone has to be multimedia now and do everything and I think at John Carroll, I had the opportunity to do that stuff and it really prepared me for what I do now,” she said.
All of those opportunities allowed Bastock to find her passion for writing. She has been covering the Browns for three years and has featured pieces on players like Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, Greg Newsome II and Anthony Schwartz. Being able to connect with athletes on a personal level is part of what she loves about her job.
Her career is a big part of her life, but not the only part. She still works out regularly and enjoys her other hobbies like watching reality TV. These things help her disconnect and unwind.
“Working out is a big hobby for me. I think that sort of athlete mindset has never left so that helps keep me sane…Watching a lot of Bravo and reality TV I definitely think that sometimes helps me to just take my mind off of work.”
Bastock takes pride in the Jesuit principles that JCU encourages. She advises students to be open to any opportunity presented to them in their field. That mindset helped her pave the way for herself when she was first starting in the industry.
“I never wanted to think I was better than an opportunity or look down on an opportunity. I was given any opportunity no matter how small it was, I just tried to do it to the best of my ability. Because I was like if I do this well, if I answer phones well I’ll get to do the next thing,” she said.
Bastock encourages students to make the most out of any opportunity in their career field because you never know where it will take you.
