Hi there!
My name is Ashley Cotton, and I am currently a second year at student at the University of Nevada, Reno studying International Business Marketing and Japanese.
I was born in Los Angeles, but moved to Reno at a young age, and I absolutely love it here. This was the perfect town for me to grow up in.
My biggest passion growing up was music. Whether it was dance, theater, or band, I was always doing something relating to music. I actually was a jazz studies major my first year! Jazz music has played such a huge part in my life. I played trombone for 8 years, and hope to get back into playing soon! I performed in so many groups, such as honor bands, all state, and was even a founding member of Northern Nevada’s first all female jazz ensemble. I decided to switch to international business, however, because it more aligned with my career goals.
I have had a deep interest and passion for learning Japanese language and culture for about 3 years now! Ever since I visited Japan with my Mom, it has been my goal to work or study there. In the summer of 2025, I took an online Japanese intensive course, and it really sparked my drive to study this language. I am currently taking classes at UNR and I love it so much. I really hope to eventually be able to study abroad in Japan, and potentially find work there.
Currently, the thing that takes up a lot of my time and I have a huge passion for is taiko. Taiko is a form of Japanese drumming. I am a part of a club called Wolf Pack Taiko on my campus, and it has been an absolute joy! I have met some of my closest friends there, and I continue to meet incredible people through it!
Thank you for taking the time to read this about me page! I encourage you to look at the rest of my personal website!