What is the importance of Ashby College in the novel, Groundskeeping?

Ashby College is one of the novel's primary settings. This is the college where Owen gets a job as a groundskeeper. Through the school's program, anyone who works on campus is allowed to take one course free of charge. Owen signs up for a creative writing workshop called Jungle Narratives. Although unsure what to expect, Owen discovers that the course might provide him an avenue to the future. His professor even encourages him to enroll in the master's program. After Owen starts graduate school, he spends an increasing amount of time on campus.