Ashley and Michael with their adopted children, Annabella and Nicholas.
Living Mission for Life. M
ichael Mortenson, ’15, came to the University of Mary to play football. Ashley (Sickler) Mortenson, ’15, came for the physical therapy program and competitive scholarships. Both students from Dickinson Trinity High School, Michael and Ashley enrolled at Mary in the fall of 2010, around the same time Monsignor Shea became president of the university. “I was interested to see what would happen under his leadership,” Michael said. Many new initiatives were started during their time at Mary, giving Michael and Ashley a unique opportunity to grow in their relationship with God and each other. “Our sophomore year, the Rome campus opened, and that really transformed people,” Ashley said. “Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) came to campus and started Bible studies,” she said. “That had a really big impact on our community.”
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Momentum
Michael was also one of the founding members of Saint Joseph’s Hall, a discernment hall for men at Mary. The Catholic studies program started while they were students, and Michael minored in the program. The two had started dating in high school, and despite a brief break after returning from Rome to discern their vocations, they dated throughout college. They got engaged in 2013 and married the summer of 2014, before their senior year of college. Ashley had switched her major to nursing, and Michael was almost done with his degree in business administration and just needed to student teach to finish his secondary math education degree.
