This is not a story about the University. This is not even a story about a student from the University. This is a story about fourth-year Education student Ramzi Shaykh's best friend. This is a story about fourth-year College student Philip Robbins's girlfriend. This is a story about Amy Cowie's twin sister. Ashley Cowie was a sophomore at Florida State University when she passed away in an accidental shooting Jan. 9.
"It's been nine months now," Shaykh said, his hands pressed against his forehead. For Shaykh, Robbins, the Cowies and everyone who knew Ashley, those nine months have felt long and painful. "It doesn't really get easier," Shaykh said.
It's difficult to imagine how something like this could get easier. On the night of Jan. 9, Florida State student Evan Wilhelm was showing off a new flashlight he had put on his rifle when the gun accidentally went off, shooting Ashley. The news read: "Ashley Cowie, 20 of Orange Park, Fla died from a rifle shot to the chest."
What these headlines failed to capture in their succinctly tragic blurbs was not the death that occurred but the life that was lost. Who was Ashley Cowie? And why should students at a university in Virginia care about a girl who grew up and lived her life in Florida?
The news was right: Ashley grew up in Orange Park, Fla. The Cowies, along with Shaykh and Robbins, attended St. Johns Country Day School, a K-12 private school. Although the Cowies were a year younger than Shaykh and Robbins, the four became friends in their intimately small school environment.
Shaykh smiled while remembering how Ashley's middle school days were. "In gym class I remember seeing the twins fighting all the time," he said. Shaykh described Ashley as a "goofy, kind-hearted girl."
This goofiness, though, disappeared on the tennis courts, where Ashley and Amy seemed to rule effortlessly. Those middle school gym arguments captured "all the attitude" Shaykh says the twins had; their tennis skills took that attitude and pitted it against their opponents. "They were good at singles, but they were the best doubles partners," Shaykh said. One time Shaykh collected a group of 10 to 15 people to skip school to go see the twins play in a match. "You know people usually will do that for football or something ... but they were just so fun to watch," he said.
This past spring, a tennis tournament - "Smash for Ash" - was organized to raise money in Ashley's honor, a reflection of the way Ashley's interests have shaped the way she will be remembered.
The Ashley Cowie Memorial Fund will establish a scholarship at Florida State in her honor. Twenty-five thousand dollars are required to start this fund and Robbins and Amy Cowie say they think they have raised enough through the various events and philanthropies they've organized.
Cowie said that she and her parents have been considering ways to use the money raised after meeting the sum for the scholarship.
One of these ways may be through donation to the homeless, Cowie said.
Ashley cared about the homeless. In high school she would make Robbins drive to McDonald's to get burgers for the homeless men she saw on the street. Shaykh, Robbins and Cowie all tell this story independently of one another. "She was a better person than I am," Robbins said.
Cowie said Orange Park does not have a homeless shelter, pointing to a possible source for donation.
She said rather than blindly donating to some group who helps the homeless, she and her mother want to visit hospitals and other areas where homeless people are to see what needs should be fulfilled.
Though Ashley's compassion for those she doesn't know shines through in the stories of her friends and family, she is also remembered as a loving girlfriend.
Robbins and Ashley had been dating since his junior and her sophomore year of high school. Shaykh describes them as having something "stronger than your typical high school relationship."
Robbins is in the University's ROTC program and is also in the Navy, which means during the summer he travels abroad.
"Ashley was the kind of person waiting for him when he got home," Shaykh said.
Robbins brightened up noticeably when talking about Ashley visiting the University.. "She instantly loved all my friends," he said. Ashley got to know a lot of people in Chi Phi
Read More
An ode to running
By Malone Morchower | 10 hours agoIn addition to providing me with opportunities to connect with others around Grounds, I really value the way that running immerses me in time and place.
Khul Ke Nacho — a celebration of free-spirited dancing
By Malaika Rehman | YesterdayThe sea of attendees wearing desi attire and dancing joyfully throughout the night was a reflection of the thriving Pakistani community in and outside of PSA.
Holding onto every grain in the hourglass
By Mai Hukuoka | 2 days agoNow that I’m back at school, I have made it my mission to take note of the sneaky passage of time.
