Cherryland scholarship recipient now has a good job with Hagerty.

As a high school senior at Traverse City West, Ashleigh Hammond was working a part-time job, participating in extracurricular activities, and studying hard to get into college.

Learning was not something that came easily to Ashleigh. She was diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age and school was a challenge at times.

“I owe so much to my fourth grade teacher, Jean Britten,” said Ashleigh. “She spent six years tutoring me to help overcome my dyslexia. She was truly an angel in my life.”

Ashleigh knew she wanted to attend college and her mom, being a co-op member, encouraged her to apply for one of Cherryland’s student scholarships.

Ashleigh received one of Cherryland’s $4,000 scholarships. She started her collegiate years at Northwestern Michigan College but wanted to
try living away from home, so she opted to move to Mt. Pleasant and attend Mid Michigan Community College.

Early on, Ashleigh decided she would dedicate her Cherryland scholarship money to books for each semester, a hefty expense many students overlook when budgeting for college.

She took several online courses and even some night courses to allow her to work full-time the entire four years she was enrolled in school.

“Online classes also allowed me the flexibility to work at my own pace,” which, she explained, was key for her to succeed with her dyslexia and her tendency to be an auditory rather than a textbook learner.

Unlike many college students today, Ashleigh was able to graduate from college debt free, thanks to her hard work and determination. Armed with a degree in psychology, Ashleigh found a job with Hagerty Insurance right out of college that convinced her to move back to Traverse City.

Having worked since high school, first at Gill-Roy’s Hardware in both Traverse City and Mt. Pleasant, and then in parts and services at an auto dealership in Mt. Pleasant, Ashleigh started at Hagerty with a mature work ethic and skill set that helped her become a licensed sales agent and underwriter in the little over two years she’s been with the company.

Now a homeowner in Traverse City, Ashleigh is once again a Cherryland member and still recognizes what the scholarship did for her. She credits her work ethic and determination to her father and her street smarts and negotiating abilities to her mother.

“My Cherryland scholarship was such a big help to me,” she said. “It was a difference maker.”

Just like Ashleigh Hammond.