Excelling both on the football field and in the classroom comes down to a grinding mindset for Queen's Football star Ashton Miller-Melancon. Miller-Melancon has earned numerous recognitions for his determination as a student-athlete at the university, and said a major component to his accomplishments is to leave nothing on the table, or football field, at Queen's.

"The one thing that I always go back to is just keep working," Miller-Melancon told GoGaelsGo.com. "I never want to settle for anything less than the best. I always think to myself, when I think I've done enough, work harder so that I can get to the point where I've achieved greatness in the classroom and on the football field. That I know I've done exactly what I need to do to have the success I want, and I'm not leaving it up to chance."

Miller-Melancon was named a Top 8 Academic All-Canadian for the 2022-23 season by U SPORTS last week. The award celebrates the eight best and brightest university student-athletes from across Canada, with the eight honorees selected from the 4,900 student-athletes who achieved U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian status in the 2022-23 season.

As part of the recognition, Miller-Melancon was invited to Ottawa to accept the Governor General's Medal for Academic Excellence. Miller-Melancon and his family toured Parliament, the Senate, and met a number of notable politicians, including Speaker of the House Greg Fergus, while learning more about Canadian history and politics during the trip.

He also connected and formed a bond with the other incredible student-athletes that were recognized as Academic Top 8 All-Canadians, and gave a speech at the ceremony, a highlight for Miller-Melancon because he was able to thank his family and everyone that supported him to this point.

"Being able to give the speech to my parents, to my coaches, to everyone I wanted to thank, it was a surreal moment. It made me realize that I've accomplished something and I hope the people in my life know how much they mean to me.

"Oftentimes people don't tell the important people in their lives how important they are to them, so I wanted to take that moment to let everyone know how much I truly love and appreciate all of them."

"Ashton is a great student-athlete. He is a role model for his teammates when it comes to balancing success on and off the field. He is always prepared, organized and thorough in everything he does. He has achieved a great deal of success on the field and in the classroom because of this. He is constantly assisting his teammates and helping push them to be more successful. Ashton exemplifies the characteristics of a student athlete with his work ethic, commitment to success and ability to support others around him. He is one of the most respected students we have coached and is an outstanding teammate. Ashton is widely respect across the league from both opposing coaches and players. He has received All-Conference and All-Canadian recognition." - Steve Snyder, Queen's Football Head Coach

Having won the award, Miller-Melancon joined a list of esteemed student-athletes from across Canada, and one that includes current Queen's Men's Volleyball star Erik Siksna (2020-21), and recent Queen's graduates Sophie de Goede (2019-20) and Slater Doggett (2018-19). He said the magnitude of the recognition really hit him at last week's ceremony.

"As I went to the ceremony, I wasn't sure what to expect. The class of the event and how prestigious it was, it made me realize in the moment, this is a huge deal. Seeing the pride on all the athletic directors' faces and on Pierre Arsenault, the director of U SPORTS. Seeing all the pride that they had in us, made me understand that this a once in a lifetime opportunity."

While Miller-Melancon's Academic Top 8 achievement culminated in Ottawa last week, it was an accumulation of all the hard work he put in over the season, and really every season, on the field and in the classroom at Queen's.
 
Miller-Melancon takes 4-5 classes per semester and during the season, splits his week evenly between football and academics. He schedules all his classes in the mornings and is typically in class from 8:30-11:30, before heading home for lunch and a couple of hours of homework. Football is around seven hours a day from mid-afternoon to night, and can include film study, practice, and weight training, before Miller-Melancon heads back home to finish any remaining homework.

Saturdays are gameday for Queen's Football, and Miller-Melancon said he reserves them just for football, focusing on the game and recovering physically afterwards, before getting right back to it on Sundays.

Miller-Melancon said he balances the two pursuits at high levels with uncompromising planning and organization.

"Usually, I make a checklist the night before of everything I need to get done, just so I know I'll have some structure. Next day I can stay disciplined to a rigorous schedule so that I'm able to complete everything in a timely manner.

"I enjoy getting ahead on the schoolwork and finding ways to do things that will allow me to be more productive."

Miller-Melancon is pursuing a major in Health Studies and a minor in Employment Relations and recorded a perfect 4.30 grade point average during the 2022-23 season. An Academic All-Canadian every season at Queen's, he has also been awarded four academic awards at Queen's, including the Pollack M. Foundation Award, Ted Reeves Memorial Award, Rassumen Athletic Financial Award and the Erie Todd Award while volunteering with the Kingston Housing Co-op and the Partners in Mission Foodbank Tackle Hunger Initiative.

"Ashton Miller-Melancon is an incredibly accomplished student-athlete who has had an outstanding career at Queen's to-date. He made his mark in his first year when named to the OUA All Rookie Team and earned the Royal Todd as Queen's Football's Rookie of the Year in 2021-22, and has continued to build on that success in each and every year. In 2022-23, Ashton was named a U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian and an OUA First Team All-Star. His on-field accolades are matched in the classroom, earning Academic All-Canadian recognition in successive years since arriving on campus. Ashton displays all of the qualities that we hold in high regard for Queen's and U SPORTS student-athletes and I have every confidence that he will continue to find success in all that he does." - Linda Melnick, Queen's Athletics & Recreation Executive Director

On the field, Miller-Melancon is no stranger to Queen's Football fans. While his name isn't called over the loudspeaker at Richardson Stadium often, it's because opposing quarterbacks rarely test his side of the field. A defensive back, Miller-Melancon is often tasked with shutting down opponents' top receivers. When QBs do throw it his way, the ball just as frequently ends up in Miller-Melancon's hands as it does the targeted receiver's.

Miller-Melancon has 13 interceptions over his three seasons with Queen's Football, regular season and playoffs combined, and is inching closer towards Queen's Football All-Time Top 10 list in the category. He led the country in interceptions his rookie season in 2021, and finished in the Top 10 in the OUA in 2022. Miller-Melancon is a three-time OUA All-Star and former U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian and OUA All-Rookie.

Miller-Melancon said the support he's received at Queen's from his teammates on the football field, and the larger Gaels student-athlete family, has helped him achieve the high standards he sets for himself.

"Whenever there's a class, I always like to go through the class list and see who's in it. I'll recognize the football athletes right away, but then there's athletes from other sports as well, and we'll tend to sit together or ask each other questions because we already have that bond of being part of the Athletics and Recreation community.

"You already have a common bond with someone, it just makes it a lot easier to build that camaraderie and to help each other out academically, mentally, and athletically whenever possible."
 
Looking to the future, Miller-Melancon has at least one more season with Queen's Football. But after that, he said he hopes to take football as far as he can, with the goal of getting drafted into the Canadian Football League and starting a professional football career. Miller-Melancon is thinking post-football as well, working with academic advisors to finalize a plan, and could see himself applying to law school in the future.

With such a full plate, Miller-Melancon said it can be tough to endure through the busy periods at time. But when those moments arise, he leans on his principles to push through.

"I take a quick five minutes, I just listen to some music and calm myself down because when you're overthinking, you're not going to be productive. It is hard sometimes but usually that only happens a couple of times a semester because I like to get ahead on assignments and stuff like that in the earlier weeks of the school semester."

Preparation is a big part of Miller-Melancon's success as a student-athlete. Being dialed in ahead of a big event, be it a football game or an exam in the classroom, maximizes Miller-Melancon's chances to succeed. The two scenarios just look a little different ahead of time.

"When it comes to an exam, I don't get pumped up necessarily. I just feel calm because I know that I've done all I can to prepare. I come in stoic and ready to handle business.

"In football, I definitely have those feelings as well because I prepped all week, watched film, had a great week of practice. But football is a very aggressive game, so you can't just come in soft. You need to bring energy, you need to make some contact before the game to get yourself fully pumped up and ready to take on the hits, ready to beat the blocks, make the tackles. I come in very calm, but then you do have to bring the energy and get yourself physically ready to go dominate the opponent."

While there's nobody lining up opposite of you in the academic world like there is on the football field, there is still a competitive angle to academic pursuits. It's a mindset that was ingrained in Miller-Melancon by his parents at a young age, and one he still goes back to today as he continues to impress both academically and athletically.

"When I was younger, my mindset was always to be the best student, be the best athlete, show everyone that you can do it.

"Whenever I'm on the football field, I'm trying to prove every day to everyone that I'm a contributor on this team, I can be someone that can help us win, and that can be counted on. Whereas in the classroom, my mindset is to be the best student possible.

"I want to do it for my personal pride, knowing that I've accomplished something, that I I've reached a standard that I deem acceptable, which is always the highest standard possible."