The ROCK Alumni Spotlight: Breanna
This spotlight series is from The ROCK Center for Youth Development
“At the center of our mission to build hope and resilience in youth is the role of The ROCK and Discover You™ programs in each student’s story. This year, The ROCK’s Annual Dinner celebrates our part in helping young people flourish in the community. Flourish celebrates the steady, beautiful growth that happens when young people feel supported, encouraged, and engaged in a safe space to discover who they are.”
Breanna's Journey: from Shy Middle Schooler to Empowered Marketing Professional
Finding Her Voice
Breanna first walked through the doors of The ROCK as a shy middle schooler who preferred to blend into the background. She wasn’t sure of her voice yet, or how to use it.
She credits her time at The ROCK with helping her come out of her shell. Through daily interactions, activities, and a caring staff who believed in her, Breanna gradually built the communication skills and sense of community that helped her write her story. “I wasn’t the most outgoing when I started,” she shared. “But the friendships I made in The ROCK program really helped me come out of my shell.”
A Voice for Others
Through middle school and high school, Breanna learned she enjoyed helping others tell their stories. It was this passion that led her to pursue a degree in Journalism at Central Michigan University with minors in Broadcasting and Media Design. This passion brought her back to The ROCK in 2025, this time as an intern, helping students tell their stories. Behind the scenes, she helped manage social media and marketing efforts, feeding her passion and talent for telling stories, building connections, and amplifying the mission of a place that shaped her.
Today, Breanna is flourishing in her career as the Marketing Coordinator for Serra Saginaw Automotive. This week marks an exciting milestone: her very first commercial is airing! It’s a full-circle moment for someone who once hesitated to speak up at all.
Flourishing in the Community
Even with new professional accomplishments and a bright future ahead, some of Breanna’s favorite moments still tie back to her roots at The ROCK.
“I love running into ROCK students out in the community,” she says. “Seeing how much they’ve grown reminds me of where I started, and it’s so much fun seeing who they are becoming.”
Breanna’s story is a living example of what The ROCK strives to give every student: a place to belong, a space to grow, and the support needed to truly flourish. As we gather for this year’s annual dinner, we celebrate stories like hers: stories that begin quietly but bloom into something extraordinary.
We invite you to join our Annual Dinner on Thursday, March 12th. Hear stories of our students and alumni flourishing, and celebrate the community of support that makes our programs possible. Reserve your seat today!
Do you have a Midland County story you would like to tell that aligns with our vision?