Meet CLS Alum Ashley Blake: Continuing to Learn and Serve

Published August 29, 2023                                                                                                      By Darlene Muguiro                                                                                                                UTEP College of Health Sciences

This summer, CHS alum Ashley Blake (Clinical Laboratory Sciences, 2006) accomplished what most endurance athletes consider the ultimate bucket list accomplishment – finishing the 350-mile, 10-day Heart of the South foot race. The journey is one of many for the mother of two, who thrives on opportunities to set and reach major goals, including educational pursuits.

Blake says her passion for science began as a child, despite the fact that both of her parents were “creative, left-brained people” who pursued careers in the arts. As she grew older and gained experience in laboratories, she knew that she wanted a career in the field.

“I knew that I loved working in a lab, and I also thought that being in a health science field would be very rewarding,” she said. “Clinical laboratory science turned out to be a beautiful combination for me, where I could pursue the study of the human body and have the ability to work in a lab.”

Blake began UTEP’s Clinical Laboratory Science (CLS) program as a transfer student from another university, saying that the option to begin in-person classes rather than continue as an online student from the other program just made “perfect sense.” She was drawn to the program’s national accreditation status, which would make it easier to work anywhere in the nation upon graduation, as well as the smaller “family” feel of the program.

“I remember we were this small cohort of students, and it felt like we were siblings, seeing each other all day long in the labs, and we had these two ‘moms’ who were teaching us (Drs. Delfina Dominguez and Lorraine Torres),” she said. “I loved that aspect of the program – working one-on-one with faculty and my peers. We were paying state tuition, but it felt like a private university education in many ways.”

Blake says one of the most rewarding parts of pursuing a CLS career is the ability to provide patients and doctors with the information they need to make important decisions. As UTEP CLS students, Blake and her peers were exposed to this concept early on through organizing and working in free medical clinics in the community, where they performed preventative health screenings.

“Through the healthcare clinics, we learned that this is how we give back as professionals to the community,” she said. “This is what Miners do – we learn, and we give back. This is something that I’ve always carried with me, to always continue to learn and continue to serve. It’s the important thing I’ve carried with me from my education at UTEP.”

After graduation, Blake started a family and worked for a doctor’s office. She also worked for a laboratory conducting genetic testing in agriculture. At the same time, she picked up a love for long-distance “ultra-running” (any distance over 26.2 miles) and began competing in marathons. She started off at shorter distances and eventually made her way to join the highly-coveted competitor list for the Barkley Marathons, a 100-mile ultramarathon race held each year in Frozen Head State Park in Tennessee. Blake has also attended the world championships for orienteering in 2022 and 2023; she and her race partner were named the North American champions and the US champions.  

“I’ve hit a lot of milestones that I wanted to achieve in ultra-running, and I’ve run in places that were on my bucket list, like the Grand Canyon,” she said. “Things that really draw me are adventure; I love trying new things and being in new places, really testing myself and how I’m going to react in certain situations.” 

Blake says that while running marathons is a tremendous accomplishment, the fact that she knows she can reach finish line makes it less attractive than an experience like the Heart of the South marathon, where completing the race is never guaranteed. Participants meet at the finish line in Georgia, and are driven across state lines to the undisclosed start. Competitors are only then given the race route and asked to check in every 12 hours with race organizers. In between, they are left on their own to brave the elements and make decisions regarding shelter, sleep and food – runners only bring a small backpack with the bare elements to survive.

In her own experience as a Heart of the South competitor, Blake says she was touched by the generosity of strangers who often checked in with her while she was running or walking to offer food and water. She says living on the road makes you begin to look at life differently.

“The interactions I had with total strangers, ‘road angels’ who were Good Samaritans offering food and water, and asking if I was okay, made me realize that there is still good in the world,” she said. “So, I’ve begun to ask myself if I’m keeping my eyes open and looking for ways to help others. Where ever the road takes me, I’ll continue to learn and continue to serve.”

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Go Miners!

For more information about the Clinical Laboratory Science Program, please visit: https://www.utep.edu/chs/cls/