Launchpad: Ashley Zingillioglu
Monmouth helped her develop an edtech tool for students with autism. Now she’s advancing that work as a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania.
When Ashley Zingillioglu ’25 entered Monmouth as a software engineering major, she realized technical skills alone wouldn’t get her to her goal of creating edtech tools to help students with autism build communication skills.
She switched to English with a concentration in creative writing and added minors in business management, computer science, and communication sciences and disorders. That led to her building the prototype for “Talking with Friends,” a digital storytelling platform that helps students with autism practice socio-communication skills, which she is now advancing at Penn’s Learning Sciences and Technologies program.
How I Got Here
When students with autism move from elementary to middle school, they often lose access to digital learning tools that help them practice social skills. I wanted to create something that addressed that gap. With my professors’ support, the idea became my honors thesis, which I pitched at HawkTank—winning first place and helping me gain acceptance into graduate programs at Harvard, Columbia, and Penn.
Career Goals
My ultimate goal is to launch an edtech company that develops customizable, interactive social stories for students with autism, accessible through websites and mobile apps. I chose Penn for its interdisciplinary focus, talented faculty, and strong entrepreneurial ecosystem.
My Advice to Future Hawks
I would not be where I am today without my Monmouth mentors. An important part of the undergraduate experience is finding mentors you connect with and reaching out for help. They want to see you succeed.