The G could stand for a lot of things in Ashley Smith’s life.
Take your pick: Gumption. Grief. Graduation.
Grace.
That’s the one word Smith keeps coming back to as she describes her journey toward the doctoral degree she’ll receive in a few days from UNC Greensboro’s Department of Counseling and Educational Development.
At 35, Smith is closing in on her fourth college degree, including a bachelor’s, a master’s and now a PhD in counseling and counselor education from UNCG. And grace has seen her through.
“My concept of grace is still developing,” Smith says. “I think of grace as being patient with yourself, of giving yourself the space to learn and grow from the things that you’re encountering, without the expectations of perfection.”
Smith pauses a moment, gathering her thoughts inside a quiet classroom of UNCG’s stately Curry Building.
“For me,” she says at last, “grace is being enough as you are.”
That’s not as easy as it sounds, especially in a world fraught with travails.