Ashley Panaggio was born on August 21, 1985 in Daytona Beach, Florida to Tom and Laura Panaggio.  She has two younger sisters, Christine and Elizabeth.  Growing up, Ashley was very involved in many activities including ballet, tennis, band, dance, horseback riding, and won numerous state and national awards as a competitive gymnast for 12 years. During her gymnastics training, Ashley was home schooled along with her two sisters. However, after a debilitating back injury forced her to quit gymnastics, Ashley returned to high school and joined both her dance and tennis teams as a co-captain.

While at Seabreeze High School, Ashley was very involved in many student organizations, including the National Honor Society, the Leo Club (which actively raises money for the blind), and was President of the Student Government Association.  Ashley also worked as a political aid to Senator Evelyn Lynn and was selected out of her entire senior class to represent Seabreeze High School at the Annual Florida State Girl’s State Convention held at Florida State University each year. While representing her school in the Capitol, Ashley had the opportunity to meet many high ranking government officials including Governor Jeb Bush, and actually had the opportunity to participate in a mock Senate session. She was in heaven!

After high school, Ashley attended Stetson University on a Faculty Merit Scholarship to obtain a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing. At Stetson, she held the office of Secretary and Vice-President of her sorority Delta Delta Delta and helped with many campus community service initiatives including Relay for Life, Greenfeather, and helped to organize a golf tournament to raise over $10,000 for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. She is a Florida’s Bright Future Scholarship Recipient and a member of Stetson University’s Honor Roll and Dean’s List.

Since graduation last May, Ashley has been working in the Special Events Office at her Alma Mater.  She is currently seeking her certification in Events Management from the University of South Florida which she will complete this fall. Directly following, Ashley has been accepted into the University of Florida’s Master’s Degree Program of Mass Communications with a focus on Political Campaign Management. She hopes to one day open up her own national and international company that focuses on coordinating political/non-profit fundraising events and corporate conventions. Following her love for public service, Ashley’s goal is to eventually run for public office at both the local and state level. 

On a personal level, Ashley’s platform, “Living Beyond Depression” has made a dramatic impact on her life. After suffering and recovering from Major Depression during her sophomore and junior year of college due to a series of unfortunate events, Ashley has worked to decrease the negative stigmas associated with depression as well as increase awareness of the detection and prevention of youth depression.  As a titleholder, she believes that a platform is not just an issue that you are passionate about, but an issue that has affected you so deeply that you never want anyone to suffer in the same way. Fighting this illness and giving adolescents the tools to live beyond their depression is Ashley’s foremost goal. As Miss City Beautiful, her primary goals focus on increasing awareness of the causes, symptoms, and treatment for youth depression as well as advocating for increasing government funding for prevention programs within our state.  She works closely with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the Mental Health Association of Central Florida, and is a Spokesperson for “What a Difference a Friend Makes” anti-stigma campaign.

If you or anyone you know is battling with depression, do not wait!  Please call 1-800-273-TALK or visit www.whatadifference.org. You could save their life!

Update from Ashley

LEGISLATION ALERT!!!

The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act, H.R. 1424 passed in the House of Representatives on March 5, 2008! This bill would mandate insurance companies to treat individuals with mental illnesses the same as individuals with physical illnesses as far as coverage is concerned. However, the bill must be reconciled with a bill already passed in the Senate that slightly differs on the extent of coverage allowed. Please urge our lawmakers to push this important bill forward by clicking on the link below and filling out the online letter to our local Senators and Representatives.

 Please visit: https://secure2.convio.net/nmha/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr007=yq036c35z1.app13a&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=325

Your voice makes a difference!

Sincerely,

Ashley

Miss City Beautiful 2008

www.ashleypanaggio.com