THIS WEEK'S PERSONALITY: Ashton Henley will study computer engineering
This is the sixth in a series of 10 personality stories on the Top 10 academic students in the Loudonville High School Class of 2022.
For pretty much his entire life, Ashton Henley has been involved in doing things with computers and electronics.
So, it is not surprising that Henley, son of Buzz and Karen Henley of Loudonville, plans to pursue a computer engineering major at Ohio State after graduating from Loudonville High School.
LAST WEEK'S PERSONALITY: Jolee Baldner’s dream: owning a bookstore
Henley is an honor student at LHS, carrying a 3.97 academic average, marred only by an A-minus in American government one grading period.
Starting when he was in the eighth grade with the encouragement of Margie Danner, his across-the-street neighbor, Henley started helping at WZLP radio in Loudonville.
“At first I downloaded and entered programming on the air, but later I found myself answering questions for others at the station on computer stuff, and later still troubleshooting computer and electrical problems,” Henley said. “I found out I really enjoyed that kind of work.”
This past year he made another technical achievement by building two computers, one for him, a high-speed, high-powered gaming computer, and a second for his younger sister, Alyssa, a sophomore, not quite as sophisticated, he said.
“I worked a summer job last year to raise the money to buy all the parts for my computer, many from traditional computer stores, but also having to look harder for special things due to supply issues. In one instance, I drove to West Virginia to purchase a special video card.
“The end product was worth it, a computer I built myself that would probably cost $1,500 in a store, and the one for my sister $500,” he said. “I do my school work, and play a lot of games on my computer.”
Favorite subject at Loudonville High School is math
Again, not surprisingly, computer savvy Henley’s favorite subject at LHS is math, “particularly the classes taught by Ben Drown, including college algebra and trigonometry last year and calculus this year. But I also really have enjoyed the history classes taught by Keith Lemke, including World War II history, geography and world history, and I really enjoyed chemistry (Dan Weber).”
He is a member of the National Honor Society, and Leo Club at LHS, and plays the baritone horn for the band.
He said to maintain his excellent grades, “I have to study a lot. I will spend hours studying for a history test, or writing an essay for English. Math comes a little easier for me.”
He works at the Go Karts at Mohican Adventures.
For fun, he said he enjoys going on road trips with friends. “We have a lot of fun making a Wal-Mart run, or to eat out in restaurants,” he said.
He also enjoys playing both video and board games with friends.
He extended thanks to his parents, his sister and his neighbors, Jim and Margie Danner, for encouraging him to excel in school.
“Jim Danner was instrumental in me get to go to Boys State last summer, which was a wonderful experience,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: THIS WEEK'S PERSONALITY: Ashton Henley will study computer engineering
