Turning Fear Into Action: College Student Creates Movement To Support Those Suffering From Epilepsy
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GLOUCESTER COUNTY, N.J. (CBS) – A Gloucester County College student hopes to be a lifeline four people her age going through the same medical condition she has. She has built something she wishes she had when she was diagnosed years ago. It means a lot to 21-year-old Ashley Kulikowski that she is about to play piano. When she was 12, she was diagnosed with epilepsy.
Her mother Gina said Ashley would sometimes have two seizures a week.
"And Ashley as a young girl would come out of her seizure with such fear," said Gina. "For a mother to go through that is the most difficult thing."
After years of treatment, Ashley has been seizure free for almost two years, but it took a long time for her to shake the fear.
"It was very hard for me to see I wasn't alone," said Ashley.
Ashley turned that fear into action.
At 17, she started an epilepsy fundraising non-profit, "Fearless Movement," and then branched out with a school program called "Art Empowerment."
In March, we saw it in action with first graders at Dorothy L. Bullock Elementary in Glassboro, where she was teaching them to talk through their fears.
"It's refreshing to see our students know how to communicate what they're feeling, said Ashley.
Now, she's reaching people another way. This week, she launched the free Fearless Movement App, which she designed to connect young people going through what she did.
There are listings for events, crisis lines, fundraising links, even a social media section.
"They're not along in what they're facing," said Ashley. "I wish I had an app when I was 12 years old and filled with fear and depression because of my epilepsy."
Now other young people will have what she didn't.
That's not all that Ashley has been working on.
On Thursday November 15, about 150 people will participate in the 5th annual Volley for the Cure Tournament at Glassboro High School.
It goes from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
The app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or on Google Play.
You can reach the Fearless Movement on Facebook or Instagram.
