Guild and Team USA Learning Network U.S. Olympic luge athlete balances career and online business classes

U.S. Olympic luge athlete Ashley Farquharson poses with her helmet.

Ashley Farquharson, a U.S. luge Olympian, enrolled in online business classes from Purdue Global. She is training for the upcoming luge season, with her sights set on qualifying for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. (Purdue Global photo/John Underwood)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Ashley Farquharson feels at home sitting on a sled, perched at the top of an ice-covered track, preparing to go 80 mph.

Farquharson has a routine. She has observations from previous runs going through her head, fine-tuning techniques she has learned from participating in luge for more than 15 years.

She rocks her sled back and forth before launching, powered by hands pushing against the ice, heading down the track.

Farquharson has competed in numerous venues, including the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 in the women’s single and mixed team relay competitions.

She is also preparing for another type of life-changing adventure: She’s now a college student, thanks to an educational partnership between Guild and Team USA that offers eligible Team USA members access to online classes at Purdue Global, which is the preferred online university and degree provider of the Guild and Team USA Learning Network.

During this offseason, Farquharson began a new routine of taking classes, turning in papers and contributing to discussion boards in her pursuit of a bachelor’s degree at Purdue Global.

After-school luge program develops into a passion

Farquharson’s mother signed her up for every community rec sport and after-school program possible. One involved her going to a luge track and trying the sleds.

“I remember being nervous. I remember not realizing how much wind would be on my face, but it was a blast. I had a great time, and I just wanted to keep going,” she said.

Farquharson kept going. She joined the club team and advanced to the development team after participating in club races and tournaments. She could be found sliding whenever possible, developing and then honing those skills.

As she prepared to graduate from high school, she earned an opportunity to try out with USA Luge for a spot on the Olympic Winter Games PyeongChang 2018 team, which she just missed making.

“I just thought it would be a lot more fun for me to pursue luge instead of going to college. I just really jumped in,” she said.

Two weeks after her high school graduation, she moved from Park City, Utah, to Lake Placid, New York, to begin in-depth luge training at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center. Her family supported the decision, saying that college could wait.

“My mom, when I was choosing what I wanted to do, said, ‘You can go to college whenever you want. You don’t have to go to a two-year or a four-year and box yourself in and pick a degree. You’re still so young; you can go and do your sport and pursue your dreams, and then go back to college later. No one’s going to stop you,’” Farquharson said.

Everything comes full circle

Team USA athletes spend, on average, 10 years of their adult lives training for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, so they often have to choose between their athletic success and long-term education and career planning.

When Guild and Team USA announced the new Learning Network partnership that looks to expand educational and economic opportunities for Team USA members, Farquharson’s phone started lighting up as teammates were making sure everyone saw the announcement.

She knew she wanted to go back to school. She had enrolled at another school a few years ago but started and stopped several times.

“This opportunity is just incredible,” she said. “I never thought I would get to go to college for free, and it’s something that I have struggled to set up for myself in the past. This is an opportunity that I can’t pass up.”

Through the Guild and Team USA Learning Network, Farquharson is now enrolled in Purdue Global’s business administration and finance program through the School of Business and Information Technology.

Sitting with her laptop, Ashley Farquharson looks out a window.
Ashley Farquharson (Purdue Global photo/John Underwood)

She has completed five classes as she wants to stay on track to graduate by December 2027. She will move to one class during competition season.

“I want to set myself up for future success,” Farquharson said. “When I retire after sport, I want to have a solid plan and a foundation to fall back on.”

Farquharson believes she will be successful because she has a lot more focus, direction, solid work ethic and better time management skills, thanks in part to those who have pushed, supported and cheered for her throughout her luge career.

Farquharson is using those same skills in her classwork. She knows that with travel to competitions and trials, she will have to communicate with her professors about her work. She’s preparing for time zone differences as well as addressing Wi-Fi and computer access in Europe.

Family, team and country support are key to success

The opening ceremony leaves an inspirational mark on athletes and viewers. While she was an individual luge athlete for Team USA at the Beijing Games, she felt support from all over, including from her teammates.

“Walking into the stadium and seeing the giant American flag and knowing that you’re not just with your team, you’re with your entire country, was really cool,” she said.

She finished 12th in the individual women’s luge and seventh in the team relay, which gave her experience that she uses as inspiration to this day as she looks to make the luge team in 2026.

“We’re gearing up to qualify for Team USA for the Milano Cortina Games,” she said. “I have more experience, so I know what to expect.”

The same can be said for her Purdue Global experience. She is one person taking classes, but has support systems from faculty, fellow students, advisors and more cheering her on, preparing her for the next chapter.

To follow Farquharson, check out her social channels, including Instagram and Facebook.

About Purdue Global

Purdue Global is Purdue’s online university for working adults who have life experience and often some college credits. It offers flexible paths for students to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degree, based on their work experience, military service and previous college credits, no matter where they are in their life journey. Purdue Global is a nonprofit, public university accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and backed by Purdue University. For more information, visit https://www.purdueglobal.edu.

Media contact: Matthew Oates, oatesw@purdue.edu, 765-496-6160, @mo_oates

Note to journalists:

B-roll and photos of Ashley Farquharson are available via Google Drive.

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