{"id":21702,"date":"2025-11-13T16:05:41","date_gmt":"2025-11-13T21:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/?p=21702"},"modified":"2025-12-12T13:47:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T18:47:15","slug":"launchpad-ashley-zingillioglu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/launchpad-ashley-zingillioglu\/","title":{"rendered":"Launchpad: Ashley Zingillioglu"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/div>

Launchpad: Ashley Zingillioglu<\/h1>
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. <\/div>
By Breanne McCarthy
Photo by Melissa Kelly<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/header>\n\n\n\n

When Ashley Zingillioglu \u201925 entered Monmouth as a software engineering major, she realized technical skills alone wouldn\u2019t get her to her goal of creating edtech tools to help students with autism build communication skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cTalking with Friends,\u201d a digital storytelling platform that helps students with autism practice socio-communication skills, which she is now advancing at Penn\u2019s Learning Sciences and Technologies program.<\/p>\n\n\n

How I Got Here<\/h3>\n\n\n

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\u2019 support, the idea became my honors thesis, which I pitched at HawkTank\u2014winning first place and helping me gain acceptance into graduate programs at Harvard, Columbia, and Penn.<\/p>\n\n\n

Career Goals<\/h3>\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n

My Advice to Future Hawks<\/h3>\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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