Alumni Spotlight - Ashley Herrick Ramos '07

Ashley Herrick Ramos ‘07, a remarkable athlete and exceptional tennis player, left an indelible mark on Elyria Catholic High School when she won the girls doubles tennis state championship in 2007 with her partner Jacqueline Sammon ‘07. Her commitment to EC, however, began long before high school having been born into a true EC family.

Ashley was raised in Amherst and attended St. Joe’s Amherst for preschool through 8th grade and there was never really any doubt that she would attend EC. “I don’t know that there was ever a question of whether I would go to EC or not. My immediate family all went to Elyria Catholic. My cousins went through EC, and so it was just like I was planning to go there to follow in everyone’s footsteps. I never considered going anywhere else,“ Ramos explained. 

Mr. Whitney’s chemistry class is one she will never forget from her time at EC. “Mr. Whitney always did a cartesian diver project where you were paired with a partner and created a diver in a bottle and it was a class competition. He had a great sense of humor and made that class so much fun and, despite not being the best chemistry students, my partner and I won that contest.” Ramos also credits Deacon Pat Humphrey ’71 as having a positive influence through her participation in peer ministry, which was a huge part of her life at EC.

“Two other people really stand out too. Amy Butler was the principal and her husband, Terry, was the tennis coach. I remember them always being very involved with our program and looking out for us. We always had a really awesome team from beginning to end. Freshman year I played first singles and my cousin, Becca, was second singles so we would play right next to each other and that was really special. I remember our grandparents coming and setting up chairs between the courts so they could watch both of us play.” 

While Ashley’s freshman and sophomore years on the tennis courts were a success, junior year is when things started falling into place for Ramos. Her year-round training partner, Jacqueline Sammon ’07 transferred to Elyria Catholic from Bay High School and that’s when they decided to play doubles together. “Our junior year we finished second in the state and then senior year we won state. That was really special and it was remarkable that she had transferred in and we got to play together and just created some amazing memories. It was an exciting time and I look back on it so fondly. It made my high school experience. Tennis was my high school experience.” 

From the moment she first held a racket, it was clear that she had a natural talent and a true love for the game. She began honing her skills early on at the tutelage of her mother, Mary Kobb Herrick ’78, a long-time tennis pro on the west side of Cleveland and former EC basketball and tennis star who finished 4th in the state in tennis her senior year. Herrick was the year-round coach for Ramos and Sammon and assisted with the program at EC. “It was wonderful to have her around. She knew both of our games inside and out and was really able to support both of us,” said Ramos. 

Following high school, Ashley matriculated to Carnegie Mellon where she played on the tennis team all four years. After undergrad she moved on to Texas A&M earning a PhD in Clinical Psychology. She worked as Pediatric Psychologist for 6 years at Children’s National in Washington, DC and just recently moved back to Northeast Ohio to start a Food Allergy Psychology Program at Rainbow Babies. “It’s been quite a journey. I haven’t lived in Ohio since high school, but its really fun to come back and see people from my past, but also meet a lot of new really cool people.” She went on to explain the food allergy program, “pediatric psychology is the process of working with kids that have chronic medical conditions and helping them to adjust and cope with those. I work in a very niche population, which is allergy immunology. I work with a lot of kids with food allergies or immune deficiencies and my goal is to support them and help them manage those chronic conditions well.”

Ashley Herrick Ramos '07 lives in Avon Lake with her husband, Jordan, and their two children, Ben who is 8 and Sophia who is 2. They are members of St. Joseph Avon Lake. Much of her free time is tied up with the kids and their activities (Ben is playing tennis if you are wondering), but she still enjoys hitting the ball around. Since Ashley returned to the area, she is playing some tennis with her mom and for the last year has helped her mom run the CYO tennis program in Cleveland, which was started by Herrick.