Foundation & Oceana CAN! Brings on Second Intern

Pentwater, Michigan – The Oceana Community Foundation is excited to announce that Ashley Guardiola has joined the Foundation as a second summer intern serving the Foundation & Oceana College Access Network (CAN)! Guardiola is excited to work alongside the staff and gain experience in graphic design and expand her creative efforts. She is currently attending Michigan State University as a rising sophomore this upcoming fall and is planning on graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in interior design, and a minor in graphic design. Guardiola is excited to bring her design skills into use and help create some new outreach tools for the Foundation and the Oceana College Access Network!

Ashley graduated from Hart High School in May 2023 and is currently working on getting her bachelor’s degree in interior design, through the School of Planning, Design and Construction in Michigan State University. Her interest in design blossomed during her employment at Pixel Graphix Studio in Hart Michigan, while still in high school. To gain even more creative and hands-on work experience, she interned at Heggs Fine Furniture to learn more about Interior Design and design concepts, which sparked her career interest.

“I am beyond excited to intern with both organizations. It almost feels like a full circle moment, as I received a Foundation scholarship when I graduated, helping me to exceed and push me forward in my college education. In addition, my parents and I were part of the Exito Educativo Program during my senior year of high school, which helps Oceana’s Hispanic and Latino families in need for more college information. It feels nice to come back after a year, and give back to my community, especially to help more Hispanic families and first-generation students, like me,” said Ashley.

Ashley will also be working alongside the Foundation’s other summer intern, Daisy Mendez, on a variety of projects. Guardiola will be gaining hands-on experience with responsibilities including social media management, content creation, event support, and will help to develop & launch a new podcast for both organizations.

“We were so lucky to have two exceptional candidates from Oceana County apply to our open intern position. In the end we decided to collaborate with Oceana CAN! to support both organizations and hired both of them!” said Tammy Carey, Foundation CEO. “

“We are excited for Ashley to join our Network to provide a unique viewpoint as someone who has engaged in Oceana CAN programming and is in the thick of her college journey. Her fresh perspective on how to communicate to students, families and community is going to be invaluable to our outreach efforts to get more people to complete education beyond high school,” said Alyssa Merten, Oceana CAN! Coordinator.

The Oceana Community Foundation was founded in 1998 by community leaders who envisioned a bright future for Oceana County. The Oceana CAN! program was initiated by the Foundation in 2012 as a leadership initiative and the Foundation continues to provide fiscal oversight to the Network. The Foundation serves as a bridge to connect philanthropy with community needs or opportunities and envisions an Oceana where everyone has access to resources to thrive.