In the Classroom with Badger Guard Ashley Josephson
January 19, 2006 | Women's Basketball
While the Badgers prepare to face Iowa tonight at 7 p.m., Badger guard Ashley Josephson tells us what its like to be off the court and 'In the Classroom'. Thursday's game at the Kohl Center will be broadcast live by Comcast SportsNet Chicago with WGN sports director Dave Eanet and NBA analyst Greg Kelser. The radio broadcast with Mike Heller may be heard locally on WIBA radio 1310 AM and on the Internet.
Ashley Josephson, the next Van Gogh' Perhaps. Josephson 's work may not be comparable to that of a famous 19th-century European artist, but her skills have their own creativity that may, in time, land her a successful career in the 21st century.
Josephson, one of four senior captains on the women's basketball team, has always had an itch for art since her elementary days growing up in Onalaska, Wis. She started with stick figures in kindergarten to working with oils in high school. As an art major at the University of Wisconsin, Josephson is focusing on the creativity of graphic design in preparation for a career after basketball.
How did you decide on art as a major'
'In high school, I took a few art classes and I really enjoyed them. They were my favorite. Art puts you in a place where you can be creative and invent things on your own. In other classes, you can't really do that because things are right from the text. Art just lets you be creative and that is how I like to be. '
What might be a possible career for you '
'I would love to be able to work with a professional team and be able to come up with logos, and different things like that for advertising for the team. That would be my ideal job.'
Are there a lot of graphic design courses involved '
'Yes. This coming semester and also in my fifth year, I will be taking mostly all graphic design classes. Hopefully I will be ready for a job when I graduate.'
Did you enjoy art when you were in elementary school and had all those fun projects to work on'
'Of course. I always loved all those colors. I love getting messy. My mom saved sketch books from when I was in kindergarten. It is fun to look back at all your drawings and all your stick figures and little houses.'
Is there a project you did when you were younger that you remember as a favorite'
'I did a series of the Little Rascal characters on big sheets of paper that were about three feet by three feet. There were four characters: Petie (the dog), Alfalfa, Spanky and Buckwheat. We hung them up on my high school graduation day. They turned out pretty well.'
Do you have a favorite medium you like to use '
'I would say probably charcoal or ink. I am taking an etching class coming up and I know it will be a lot of hard work, but I think it will be one of my favorite classes at Wisconsin.'
What would you say has been your favorite class so far '
'Actually, my favorite wasn't even an art class. It was PE 100 which was a wellness class. We learned about how to take care of your body, how things work in your body and how exercise helps your heart, things like that.'
When you were little, taking those art classes in elementary school, what did you think you wanted to be when you grew up'
'I have always dreamed about being a professional basketball player. Any little girl who plays a sport dreams about being a professional in whatever they play. That always was my dream, but, reality check '' now I am getting close to finishing college and I need to look for a real-world job. We'll see where it takes me.'
What do you want to accomplish in your final season as a Badger'
'This team this year has the potential to do so much more than we have in the past years. We have such great team chemistry. We have great leadership on and off the court. This team can go far and all of our seniors' goal is to make the stepping stone for this university. We want to get more wins.'
