Guild and Team USA Learning Network celebrates 2 Team USA luge athletes going for gold medals

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Ashley Farquharson and Chevonne Forgan have a lot in common.

Both USA Luge teammates have been named to Team USA and are looking to make the podium in their respective luge competitions at the upcoming Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, to be held Feb. 6-22.

Additionally, they both enrolled through the Guild and Team USA Learning Network to pursue Purdue Global degrees — Farquharson a business administration degree and Forgan an early childhood administration degree. Purdue Global is the preferred online university and degree provider of the Guild and Team USA Learning Network.

Farquharson will be competing in her second Winter Olympics; first representing the U.S. at Beijing 2022, finishing 12th in the individual women’s luge and seventh in the team relay.

Forgan is looking forward to being part of Team USA for the first time, especially after having a stellar 2024-25 World Cup season, ushering in a new era in luge — she will be competing in women’s doubles, which will make its debut as a medal sport at Milano Cortina 2026. 

Meet Ashley Farquharson

A Park City, Utah, native, Farquharson moved to Lake Placid, New York, to pursue her luge career and train with USA Luge at the Lake Placid Olympic and Paralympic Training Center.

Farquharson enrolled in Purdue Global classes shortly after the partnership between the Guild and Team USA Learning Network and Purdue Global was announced to earn her Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in wealth management and financial planning. She also has encouraged other luge athletes to sign up and work on their next chapters.

Farquharson has balanced her training and classwork — having completed 12 classes — so she can graduate by December 2027.

In preparing for Milano Cortina 2026, Farquharson worked with a performance psychologist, sports psychologist and a goal-setting specialist to help her navigate the twists and turns of life and the highest levels of national and international competition.

“Working with these specialists helps prepare your mind and body for nervousness, competitive anxiety and other emotions. Another part of this was that process-based goal setting combined with self-reflection can yield significant improvements in results-based goals,” she said. “This means that putting your focus on the process rather than the results can yield better performance outcomes. I’ve also been working personally with a sports psychologist to try and create the best competitive mindset I can going into this Olympic season.”

Farquharson is looking forward to having her whole family cheering her on at the track in Italy, but she’s also excited to get back to classes following the Winter Olympics.

“The best part of taking classes with Purdue Global is the flexibility. Everything is very much on your own time,” she said.

Farquharson is excited to return, sharing her Purdue Global story with athletes and fans.

Meet Chevonne Forgan

Chevonne Forgan hails from Chelmsford, Massachusetts.

After testing out a luge sled in 2012, Forgan began competing internationally in individual divisions in the Youth World Cup series in 2016 and then Junior World Cup series in 2018. During the summer of 2020, she switched to the women’s doubles division.

The 2024-25 doubles season has been Forgan and her doubles partner’s best season yet, with seven World Cup medals, including a gold medal.

“We feel well prepared and excited to face the challenges that qualifying to compete for Team USA in the Winter Olympics will bring us this year,” Forgan said. “We are hoping to build off the momentum from last year as we go into the qualifiers this year.”

Forgan is excited for the debut of women’s doubles luge in the Olympic Games, a journey more than five years in the making.

“I still remember the feeling of finding out that it had officially been added,” Forgan said. “It really solidified this goal that we had as a team to make it there. This creates so many more opportunities for women in luge, and it’s incredible to be a part of that.”

Forgan also was excited to serve on a team of international athletes that tested the new Cortina Sliding Centre in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.

“Being a part of the team that tested the Olympic track during the prehomologation, or precertification, stage was an honor,” Forgan said. “The track has changed quite a bit since then and continues to get better and more challenging as we get closer to the Winter Olympics.”

When Forgan is not training, she is pursuing her Bachelor of Science in early childhood administration through Purdue Global — the exact degree program she was looking for, as she has always wanted to work with young children.

“Early childhood administration opens more doors for what I can do within the realm of early childhood, and I am interested in the administrative side of things,” she said. “This degree allows more opportunities for me while allowing me to work on my degree online.”

Forgan has found a good rhythm in working on her classes and assignments while balancing her training and preparations for the Winter Olympics.

“I set aside time for school and make sure to work it into my schedule whenever I can. Just doing a little bit every day means staying on track,” Forgan said. “I do love to learn, and it feels great to be back in school.”

Purdue Global’s flexibility allows Forgan to focus on the present while looking ahead to the future.

“To be able to compete in the sport that I love and pursue my dream of making it to the Winter Olympics while being able to work toward my dream job and future after sport is a blessing,” Forgan said. “I am grateful to have this opportunity.”

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.