Hello all! My name is Ashley Lane, and I live in the small town of Otsego, MI. I am currently a senior at Otsego High School. Like a true JIF alumnae, I am involved in many things in my school and community. I play the flute in band, am color guard captain during marching season, and am involved in a regional winter color guard group. I am also captain of the debate team, involved in forensics, National Honor Society treasurer, and a freshman mentor. I am on my school’s tennis team as well, and have been dancing for the past 14 years, my favorite type of dance being tap. In my virtually non-existent downtime, I enjoy reading, watching 90s romantic comedies, hiking or just being outdoors in general, and traveling. I traveled out of the country for the first time last summer after being nominated by my school to go on the Michigan Ambassadors of Music European Tour, which was a 16-day trip to 7 European countries. It was such an amazing experience, being able to play music and sing all across Europe, and you could say that I have now officially been infected with the travel bug.
Among my other activities last summer, I attended the Brown University Leadership Institute as a Summer Scholar, where I took a course in Leadership and Global Engagement. It was an absolutely incredible experience that never would have been possible without the generosity of the Joyce Ivy Foundation. The experience truly helped me to expand my comfort zone, along with allowing me to explore a potential future area of study, and to continue to develop my skills as a leader. One of the core aspects of the Leadership Institute program is the Action Plan, where you are challenged to take back what you learned to your community. Partly inspired by the Joyce Ivy Foundation’s mission to help young women reach their potential, I decided to create an after-school program for middle school girls at my local middle school this year, which focuses on the development of self-esteem, body image, and leadership skills. It is called GLOW, which stands for Girls Leading Our World. My passion for girl’s higher education and leadership, along with the other issues GLOW works to address, has only grown with my founding of this program. I cannot thank the Joyce Ivy Foundation enough for the huge impact they have had on my life. The Joyce Ivy Foundation has truly helped shape who I am today and encouraged me to get out of my comfort zone and explore the possibilities for my future. Had it not been for the Joyce Ivy Foundation and JCAS, I probably would not even be considering many of the colleges that I am applying to today. I am so excited to continue working with this wonderful foundation, and to continue my outreach with young women in my community as a JIF Fellow.
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