Music helped shape past and present for CWU alumna, staff member

Until the age of 11, Ash Perron’s childhood was erratic, marked by constant moves and a struggle for stability.

Through it all, she found companionship in performing music with her peers, even if that meant picking up a new instrument every time she moved to a new town.

“I went to six different elementary schools before fifth grade, and sometimes you could be in band at a certain grade and sometimes you couldn’t,” said Perron, a program coordinator in the Central Washington University Office of Undergraduate Research (OUR). “I started swapping instruments based on whatever was available at each school until I settled on the flute as my primary instrument once I moved in with my grandparents.”

After some trial and error, Perron finally discovered the instrument that would stay with her through all the twists and turns ahead, which ultimately led her to a career at CWU.

“Throughout school, music was always the constant that was there for me every day,” she said. “When I turned 18, I leased my own flute, my first big purchase for myself. I still have it.”

As a result of a childhood spent on the move and searching for a supportive parental figure, Perron didn’t realize college was an option for her until the end of her senior year of high school in Spanaway.

“Walking through the halls of my high school in May of my senior year, I saw all these handwritten posters about where the seniors were going to college,” she said. “I remember thinking that might be a good idea for me too, so I applied to Pierce College later that summer and started down that road.”

An associate’s degree from Pierce College turned into a transfer to CWU, at the recommendation of Perron’s band teachers. While she initially sought to study music, she ended up pivoting to a degree in English, which she completed in 2013.

A move to Olympia heralded several career transitions, from Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) to an optometrist’s office to a remote job working in escrow, all culminating in a move back to Ellensburg in 2019 and a temporary position with the CWU Lock Shop.

“Once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat,” Perron chuckled. “Maybe it’s because I was raised around my grandparents’ work ethic, but I always thought I would get a job and be there for like 30 years and retire, which is what I’m trying to do here. If I can leave Central a bit better than I found it, that would be amazing, too.”

Perron left the lock shop during the pandemic, but she soon found her way back to campus in 2022 as the secretary to the dean of the College of Education and Professional Studies. In 2023, one of her coworkers noted Perron’s clear hunger to challenge herself and recommended a move to her current position with Undergraduate Studies.

That moment of encouragement proved pivotal to her understanding of herself as a professional.

“That person seeing me in that light helped me see myself that way, too,” Perron said. “It helped me embrace my need for bigger challenges and spurred me to apply to my current role, where I can take on bigger projects like SOURCE.”

In her current position, Perron has found room to grow, and along the way, she rediscovered her passion for music.

“I found music again about a year ago, because I got pretty depressed not having it in my life,” she said. “It took some time for that to build, and for me to notice what was wrong. Then one night, at spaghetti night I would have every Tuesday with my friends, we all realized that we missed playing, and that we had the makings of a string band.”

The band they formed, Tinned Fish, has been performing all over Kittitas County since and was recently voted Best Local Band by the readers of the Ellensburg Daily Record. At the intersection of personal and professional fulfillment, Perron has found ample opportunities to help students from non-traditional, first-generation backgrounds — people just like her — manage the rigors of college life.

“I didn’t know how to navigate higher education at all, and there are things I’ve learned through working here that would have been a huge help to me back then,” she said. “I didn’t know I could have been a McNair Scholar. Now that’s something I try to talk up every chance I get, so other students like me know to give it a shot.”

In her position with OUR, Perron interacts with students from all walks of life through events and the work she puts into organizing the annual SOURCE conference. She does her best to help them find all the resources they need to be successful.

“Growing up low-income is a totally different experience that a lot of people don’t understand,” Perron said. “I think having that lived experience helps me connect with students and connect students with the resources they need.”

This fall, Perron will start a Master of Applied Science program at Central, studying music in the context of cultural and environmental resource management. Her ultimate goal is to find new approaches to music education that reflect the reality of the folk music she’s so passionate about.

“I’m fascinated by non-traditional approaches to music pedagogy,” she said. “So many musicians, particularly those playing bluegrass or Appalachian music, play beautifully without being able to read a single note of music, but does that mean they’re not skilled musicians? Absolutely not; they’re incredible. So how did they learn and grow that culture outside of the classical approach to mastery?”

As she looks toward the next chapter of her education, Perron knows to approach it with an open mind and an endless curiosity. After all, that’s the only way to get answers.

“You don’t know what you don’t know, so never be afraid to ask questions,” she said. “There are people here to help and resources for you to use. Seek out that support because people want to see you succeed.”