Introducing Ashleigh Ostin

Hi everyone! My name is Ashleigh Ostin. I’m from Farmington, Michigan, a suburb in the Metro Detroit area. I am a member of the Miami senior varsity team. I am currently a sophomore at Miami University and this will be my second season skating for the senior team. I am majoring in International Studies with minors in Spanish and Marketing. Ever since spending summers in Finland and Denmark when I was 11 and 13 through a children’s international program, I’ve known I wanted to pursue something related to these experiences. I hope to someday work in the business world for an international company that allows me to continue my passion for traveling and international affairs.

I started skating at the age of 3 after watching my older brother play hockey. I asked my mom if I could do that too, and it wasn’t long before I was signed up for group lessons. I’m not sure my parents knew what they were getting themselves into, as I think they expected me to play hockey like my brother. Obviously that was not the case. From then on, our second home became the rink.

I joined my first synchronized skating team at the age of 6. I skated for the Gems on Ice until 2007, winning national medals at the juvenile, intermediate, and novice levels. I then joined the Hockettes and skated for three seasons on the junior team. I graduated from Mercy High School in 2010, became a freshman at Miami University and earned a spot on the senior varsity team that fall.

My favorite Team USA memory was competing at the 2011 World Synchronized Skating Championships in Helsinki, Finland. Because Finland already holds a special place in my heart due to time spent there in previous years and close friends that live there, being able to compete in Helsinki was a dream come
true for me. The feeling I got stepping on the ice for the short program was the highlight of the experience and is something very difficult to put into words. The crowd and amount of cheering and noise in the arena was astounding. Being able to skate one of our best performances in such an amazing atmosphere is a memory that will remain with me forever.

When I’m not on the ice, you can usually find me in our local Starbucks enjoying a cup of coffee and getting some homework done. Otherwise I am probably spending time with my teammates. It’s an awesome thing to go to school and have classes with your teammates in addition to skating. You could say we spend just about every hour of every day together. I also coach group lessons here at Miami, which I really enjoy. It’s so rewarding to be able to give back to the sport that’s been such a big part of my life and given so much to me over the years.

All of the Miami teams have been very busy and working extremely hard over the past few months. We had a very successful parents weekend exhibition and loved performing our short program at a recent hockey game. We are looking forward to debuting our programs at our first competition of the season, the Dr. Porter Classic in Ann Arbor! See you all at the Cube!

Miami Senior performs during the the Miami vs. Michigan Hockey game

(photo by Pam Sutter)

Love & Honor,
Ashleigh

Fun Facts:

Favorite sports team: Detroit Red Wings

Favorite cities: Helsinki, Amsterdam, San Diego

Most played song on my IPod right now: Icey Queen by Milos Rosas

Favorite singer: Madonna

Favorite movies: Miracle, Beauty and the Beast

Favorite book: Wuthering Heights

Favorite vacation spot: Northern Michigan in the summertime

Favorite food: Coffee, Frozen Yogurt (especially from Yogurtland in California!)

Favorite place I’ve traveled for skating: Helsinki, Finland

Favorite program I’ve ever skated: 2008 Junior Hockettes free skate (“Flamenco”)

Favorite quote: “A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.”