Jamari Gilbert | Freelancer
The Business and Economics club at Western was given a valuable opportunity in being able to have Shelli Honeywell, an Alumna, come back and speak to the club about her experiences after college. She emphasized how she continued to persevere until she eventually found the place where she felt she could make the greatest difference: The Department of Corrections in the state of Oregon.
“I get to change the world every single day” Honeywell said.
This is not the way that many people get to feel in their job, so how did she get that point in her life? How did she get to a position where she can interact with inmates and change their lives for the better? The answer might not be as complicated as it seems. Although, as Honeywell described her journey, she shared that there were many lessons she learned before reaching the point where she is now.
“Each job and each thing that you do is a life lesson,” Honeywell said, capturing the heart of what it takes to succeed as a professional.
Honeywell’s address also highlighted how, in life, it is sometimes unclear where exactly we will end up going.
“I would never have told you that I would work for Corrections,” Honeywell said when sharing with the audience about how she tried different careers, looking for one that she knew that she would love.
Honeywell’s advice did not end there, though, as she offered many other food-for-thought experiences to the club members as well.
Describing what led her to a career which allows her to change lives as, “one of those small detours,” Honeywell made a powerful statement that shows how just one “small detour” can set your life down a completely different path than what you could have imagined. But one of the most crucial ideas that Honeywell told the audience is that “the connections you make… will get you where I am.”
This event was a great learning experience that the Business and Economics Club was able to capitalize on; an opportunity to meet and interact with someone who is out in the field — someone who has both influence and connections — was truly one of the best results from the address.
“If I can get anything from it, it would be a (story of) success” said Jesse Honeyman, a junior and business major who attended the event.
For any students who are intrigued by this event or like the sound of a business and economics club, Western’s Business & Economics Club meets on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. at the Werner University Center, in the Ochoco Room.
Contact the author at jgilbert16@wou.edu
