Project Director: Ashleigh D. Starke
Ashleigh Starke is a photojournalist whose work spans human-interest stories, sports and current events. After earning an undergraduate degree in photojournalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia, Ashleigh began her photo career by chronicling the experience of patients awaiting organ transplants. Her photography has appeared in the Jefferson City (Missouri) News Tribune, the Columbia Missourian, the Midland (Michigan) Daily News and the Lewiston (Maine) Sun Journal. The relationships she cultivated with the diverse people she photographed inspired her to pursue a master's degree in Intercultural Relations from Lesley University in Boston. While at Lesley University, Ashleigh conducted extensive research on the ways people grieve, particularly the rituals and practices that people use to maintain emotional connections with deceased relatives. Through My Eyes is an extension of Ashleigh's unending commitment to use photography as a medium for those who are unable to fully express themselves and their emotions through words.