Ashley Neal, Neighbor

I loved growing up in the bay area.  I was always playing a variety of sports, however soccer was my life.  I love competition, staying active, and pushing myself to the limit, and through soccer I was able to do all of these things.  I also took an interest in photography upon taking my first black and white class my freshman year of high school.  Since then, I have never put the camera down.

I came to Sacramento in 2006 to become a student at Sac State.  I love the campus as well as the students, and the teachers in the photo program are absolutely amazing.  I took a special interest in my advanced photoshop class, as well as my experience on the State Hornet Newspaper.  I love the photo-manipulation capabilities that digital software has to offer.  The possibilities are endless and honestly, photoshop is an art of its own.  Working as a photographer on the State Hornet Newspaper was probably one of the best experiences I've been lucky enough to take part in since coming to Sacramento.  I've met some amazing people, and come to find out that photojournalism is something that I love to do.  I plan on continuing with the Hornet crew during my last year of school and I know it will open up many more doors into my future.

Other than soccer and photography, I've been lucky enough to have a third love of my life; and that is the love of animals.  Growing up I've had numerous types of pets, some including: cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, horses, chickens, and fish.  If you can think of it, I probably once had it as a pet.  So when I came across the Sacramento County Animal Shelter on Bradshaw Rd, you can say that I immediately felt at home.  I was lucky enough to do a story on the Hornet about the shelter which lead me into volunteering, and the rest is history.  

Overall I've had a great time living in Sacramento and I hope to continue to live here for many more years.  Although my time with Patch has been short thus far, it has been an amazing experience already.  I very much look forward to my future with this company.