Student spotlight – Ashley Collins

Education is one of the four pillars of UNMC’s mission and our students are the lifeblood of that aspect of campus life.

In UNMC Today’s Student Spotlight, we get to know some of these students, who will become tomorrow’s health care professionals.









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Ashley Collins
Today we meet Ashley Collins, a clinical laboratory science student who will graduate this spring.

  • Name: Ashley Collins
  • Hometown: Omaha
  • Year/program: Class of 2012, Clinical Laboratory Science

What is your best memory from your time at UNMC?

My best memory from my time at UNMC is probably from the first week of class when I recognized how respected the UNMC CLS program truly is. In addition to the UNMC students who complete their clinical rotations in Omaha and affiliate sites throughout Nebraska, there were several students from universities in Kansas, Missouri and Colorado that were on campus throughout the first eleven weeks of the program known as student lab. These students are a part of UNMC’s accredited CLS program through contracts with their universities. There is also a contract with the University of Iowa and although those students don’t attend student lab on campus, they do watch the video of our lectures so we always made sure to speak through the microphones to say “hi.”

Our four brand values are leadership, commitment to excellence, working together and being a trusted resource. Pick one and tell us a time you witnessed it embodied at UNMC.

Working together. As a CLS representative on the SHARING student committee, I regularly volunteer at the SHARING clinics. There is a strong focus on an interdisciplinary approach at the clinics so I continuously see students from several different programs working together to provide quality health care to our patients. I love being a part of a health care team on which individuals strive to effectively communicate with and respect one another.

List three things people may not know about you.

  • I love music! Although I’m no virtuoso, I’ve played violin since I was 9 years old. I also have some experience with percussion/drumline, harp and vocal music.
  • I’ve been an independent beauty consultant with Mary Kay Cosmetics since 2008.
  • I’ve served in the United States Army Reserves as a Medical Laboratory Technician since 2009.