Ashton Carter, 2004-2025; SIUE Student Senator and Business Administration-Marketing Major
Ashton Carter, a fourth-year business administration-marketing major in the SIUE School of Business, died one day before his 21st birthday.
Ashton was recruited from Kenwood Academy to attend SIUE and received a full scholarship as a Meridian Scholar.
Not long after arriving on campus, Ashton was quite a popular figure. He joined numerous organizations and connected with the students on a level that got him elected to office as a Senator in the Student Government. He served a two-year term from 2023-25.
Gabrielle Allen, junior in the School of Nursing, attended the same high school as Ashton and was glad to reunite with him when she transferred to SIUE.
"He spoke life into everyone. He was inviting. He was comforting. If you had any questions or problems, you could come to him. You could talk to him,” Gabrielle reflected. “He was an amazing person to be around and an amazing person to encounter. He will be truly missed, and he is still truly loved.”
Ashton mentored a community of classmates, and prioritized community service among his social circles. He pledged the Iota Pi Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., where he was installed as treasurer in 2023 and then chapter president the following year. Ashton simultaneously spent two years in office in the National Pan-Hellenic Council taking on the roles of compliance officer and secretary in 2023 and then vice president in the spring of 2024.
Ashton was a formidable presence in the Student Opportunities for Academic Results (SOAR) office and was fully involved in numerous student organizations, such as the Black Student Union where he was also treasurer and held the position of secretary of Fashion Hub this year.
Devin Willis, junior in the School of Education Health and Human Behavior and Ashton’s fraternity brother and current chapter president recalled, “I looked at him as a mentor. I saw the way he carried himself throughout his presidency, and it inspired me to be better. He always pushed me and always supported me. He always gave me great advice, and I appreciated him.”
“If I have learned anything, it is to walk in kindness because you never know when someone will be gone. I miss my brother,” said Bryan Robinson, a senior in integrative studies. “I just wish I had five more minutes. It’s definitely heartbreaking, but it is also an opportunity for us to unite, come together and lean on each other. Because at the end of the day, we are all we got.”
Ashton’s family has shared that an Omega and memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 20, at The Greenwood Oasis on the campus of New Life Covenant Southeast, 7621 S. Greenwood Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60619.
PHOTO: Ashton Carter
