Diversity & Inclusion Spotlight: Army Sgt. Ashley Gorbulja

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The Ohio National Guard profiles Sgt. Ashley Gorbulja, a team leader with the 583rd Military Police Company in North Canton Ohio, an example of what happens when youth, ambition and focus combine.

Profile in success: Young Soldier sets career path

By Ohio National Guard Public Affairs

Sgt. Ashley Gorbulja (left), a team leader with the 583rd Military Police Company in North Canton, Ohio, supports a community event with her fellow unit Soldiers. A full-time student at the University of Akron, Gorbulja also works part-time at Cuyahoga Community College in veterans services, has volunteered at the Louis Stokes Veterans Affairs Medical Center and volunteers at the Northeast Reintegration Center in Cleveland working with female offenders who are working to integrate back into society. (Courtesy photos)

Gorbulja and her father, Mike, who owns a small Family business in Brunswick, Ohio.

Sgt. Ashley Gorbulja (second from right), supports a community event with her fellow unit Soldiers.

Sgt. Ashley Gorbulja (right) with American Legion Post.

NORTH CANTON, Ohio (08/26/16) — Seven years ago, during the height of the recession that affected her Family’s small business in Brunswick, Ohio, it didn’t look like college was going to be in the cards for Ashley Gorbulja.

Mike Gorbulja remembers when his then-teenage daughter announced to the Family that she was going to put herself through college.

“(Ashley) said she’s going to pay her own way through school to make it easier on everybody,” he said.

Now a sergeant in the Ohio Army National Guard, Ashley Gorbulja is an example of what happens when youth, ambition and focus combine.

“I’ve been going strong since about 2009 about what I wanted to do with my career and my life. Military has been number one, health care has been number two,” Sgt. Gorbulja said.

Sgt. Gorbulja is a full-time student at the University of Akron, where she’ll earn a degree in exercise science pre-physical therapy and organizational supervision with a minor in psychology. She’s paying for all of her schooling through the Ohio National Guard Scholarship Program and other military education benefits.

“I have not paid for anything in the past two years,” she said. “I’m financially independent, I’m 22 years old, my education is paid for, and more than likely my master’s degree will be paid for with a graduate assistantship.”

In addition to school and duties as a team leader with the 583rd Military Police Company in North Canton, she works part-time at Cuyahoga Community College in veterans services, has volunteered at the Louis Stokes Veterans Affairs Medical Center, volunteers at the Northeast Reintegration Center in Cleveland working with female offenders and she’s the commander of an American Legion post.

She said her future goals include becoming a commissioned officer in the Ohio National Guard, earning her doctorate and working with wounded Soldiers to help them become successful and achieve their goals.

Sgt. Ashley Gorbulja is also commander of an American Legion Post.