I have many influential female leaders that inspire my drive and pursuit of entrepreneurship as my career path. Mamie Till, the mother of Emmett Till, is a woman of virtue and strength. She is my leadership choice because, even though I cannot relate to her losing a child, I can relate to her perseverance and persistence for a better world. Her story and how it impacted and changed the world inspires me to continue to do the same persevere and be persistent in my journey to being a successful entrepreneur. Over the last twenty years I have worked in many different industries of work. This experience has given me the ability to observe and be part of a business on many different levels. For example, I have worked as an environmental technician for a hospital, worked in fast foods, and nursing. I also have had management training and taken management responsibilities over the years for different employers. Broadening my resume has given me the ability to understand a business from a corporate level to operations management, and not just one kind of business but any kind of business operations. The undeniable strength that Mamie Till exhibited while enduring the loss of her one and only child, going out public speaking about the injustice her son Emmett faced, goes without words. Thinking about this woman and how she realized that what she experienced was bigger than her and her son together, is how I feel and can relate to her today, having two sons of my own. She, in the mist of her sadness, pain, and sorrow, kept going to push for justice for her son and for other black families of the world and in the future. I grew up dealing with abandonment and feeling alone going through life from the tender age of five and even still today struggle with these same emotional barriers and trust issues. Inside, you feel full of love to give to the world but fear disappointment, abandonment, and rejection. I am sure this is the case with most people or women, but I feel that what I experience internally every day is a battle of trusting and relying on others. I have experienced so much disappointment with how things in my life happened since my childhood. It is almost impossible to protect your children from every possible risk or danger, but what is a child to do when that risk or danger is the family you were born into? What is a young girl suppose to do when her mother is not being a decent example or role model of what a virtuous woman exhibits? How do you give all of the love of God to the world and your family when you are not quite sure what to do or how to do it? No, I could not ever compare or relate the two of us and our stories or journeys to leadership, but what I can say is that I can feel her determination and focus on what was important to her and for her to do. She wanted the world to see how and what was taken from her and to see how she was not going to let Emmett Till's death be in vain. I may not be able to show the world what I went through, but I can show the world what I have become and be a leader through my entrepreneurship journey to becoming a leading business founder and job creator.

My dreams for my future career are to be an entrepreneur. I want to create businesses and jobs for the people. I want to use what skills and abilities I have obtained to create flourishing work environments for hard working people. Laborers deserve reasonable perks and incentives for their service and time. As someone wise once told me, “there are only twenty-four hours in a day.” It is not easy for one person to dedicate time to God, family, work, and self in one day. In my experience, in a day one of those important priorities can get neglected if you not too careful with time. It’s important to keep up with time and decency. Also I have worked with many people who work more than they do anything else, including myself. Yes, any working individual is doing what they are supposed to do, but work can break a person’s body down. Stress is one of many lead killers for most working individuals. I am a victim of stress. In my case, lifestyle played a big factor because my lifestyle was hard labor for over twenty years. I don’t mind the commitment, but over the years I have learned that it’s important to dedicate time to yourself. For all the hard work and time put into a company by a laborer, that is paid low wages especially, they should have the ability to look forward to incentives and bonuses that could help offset any neglected aspect other than work if that is what they put first. It’s important and necessary. A thriving economy is important. The laborers are the main key to a successful business and a positive economic impact.

A positive impact is important. It nourishes the ability to adapt and evolve with the evolution of the world. The world is changing no matter what we decide to do or not to do. Questions to ask yourself are what can I do to be a positive impact on the world, and how do so prepare myself to accomplish this mission? I have the spirit of an entrepreneur. With that, I intend to turn my skill sets I have obtained over my years of dedicated service to my communities in which I resides into flourishes businesses to provide stable and attainable jobs for families in need. I embrace change and growth and have a drive that is relentless. I contribute these qualities about myself to God for one, embracing my trials and tribulations to be able to turn negatives into positives. I have performed almost every skill sets from every dimension of the work force and business world. For example, from business management training to patient care experience, I have experienced and worked in the industries. My leadership skills have been preserved for what God intends for me to do. So I wait patiently for the opportunity to make and be a positive impact on the world. From my perspective I see so much pain and suffering and I want to make a difference and be apart of the change for better. The communities I have serviced have so much room for improvements, and I diligently seek resources and information to keep up with the needs of the people of the community. It’s important to invest time and energy into the children of the world. The elderly need 24-hour reliable care and attendance to ensure a healthy retirement or senior lifestyle. Let’s not forget about the environment and nature. It’s important to preserve the land in order for the world to be healthy and flourishing. Pollution controls and preservation of wildlife is key to having healthy habitation and a healthy environment for our children to continue the journey to a better world and better living for everyone and everything. I want to be able to contribute to the many nonprofit organizations and foundations that are already working to be positive impacts on the world on their own missions as well. No persons or organizations hard work should go unnoticed and unsupported. We all have a common goal to improve the world and it’s resources. We have a duty and a responsibility and with my skills and education I plan to do my duty and responsibility for a better world.

Society can most effectively empower women by acknowledging women as equals where disparity exists. All women should be treated equally and with the same respects in areas such as the workforce, military, and so many other levels of existence, including the home. The first area to work on change needs to occur in the home. Most women deal with a life full of obstacles and mistreatment from birth. When this occurs, most women struggle through life trying to figure out who they are inside before in society. This struggle makes adjusting to life difficult and for some, almost impossible. When society is faced with a woman with such a background, a manner of compassion and consideration could go a long way for any woman facing a society that’s unapologetic. If the people of a society can search deep within themselves for the love of God and its good intentions for us all, the world could be a better place for women in any society no matter the obstacles and adversities. Search and recognize the good within themselves and see how that small gesture towards change and focus could shape a great society to effectively be empowering to all women.

Today, I am Ms. Lashanda Saunders, formally known as Lashanda Stuart before September 09, 2020. I began my journey of pursuing higher education right out of high school August 2004. I spent my first year of college as your average first-year student, eager and ready to take on my destiny, to be a successful businessperson. After the first year of college, I returned home to Roanoke, Virginia for summer break undecided on if I were going back to campus the following year or participating in the distance learning program. God had other plans! I decided to stay in Roanoke, and within the first semester of sophomore year became pregnant with my first son named Love. Young, naïve, gullible, and in love, life took its own path to success. Love Sha'Shawn Saunders was a mere terrible two-year-old, and God was cooking up another blessing when my future husband became incarcerated in October of 2008. Yes, I was 4-5 months pregnant with my second son named God Allahson Saunders. I just started a new skill set of being a Certified Nurse’s Assistant full time, meanwhile continuing my education at Old Dominion University. At this point, I am a single parent with one on the way, a college student, and working in the healthcare field. Despite my adversities, I enjoyed the challenge and helping others. At the same time was overwhelmed with emotion and sadness. I felt like any and everything that could go wrong did from the time I was born. No matter what, I can remember from the age of eight having an optimistic, cheerful outlook feeling that God would see me through my struggles. Both my parents had a life filled with triumph and defeat surrounding drug abuse and incarceration; when my children's father got arrested, I just felt I could not escape the nightmare. He was sentenced to twenty years in 2009 for drug conspiracy, and it had a major impact on my life's journey as I looked to him for guidance and security. I did not realize how much the roles were truly reversed once he became incarcerated. I am not sure if it was because of our seeds together or destiny, but I felt obligated and wanted to support him through this obstacle in his life. I had no experience with what responsibilities I had taken, but God! My drive to want to keep my family together, being the one I was born into had not been together since I was two, kept me strong and focused. My drive for success is just as strong. I had to pause going to school in 2013 in good standing due to reaching the limit for federal aid under the undergraduate program. I also had to take time for the kids being they were in elementary school. So, for the next eight years, including my own struggle with being incarcerated from 2014-2015, I managed to focus on my children and working full-time. Throughout this time, my future husband was blessed with a time reduction and was released October 2, 2019. Throughout his incarceration, I supported our family and him. It was incredibly challenging, but God made a way out of no way I could see at the tender age of twenty-two. Now that life's many pieces have been put back together, the only piece I am missing is my bachelor's degree, majoring in accounting and minoring in business management. I have applied for reactivation of admission and have been accepted to start back Fall 2023. Despite many adversities in my life, God and Old Dominion University granted me a second chance to achieve my most important goal to success and giving back to the world thanks for what it has given me. My story here is brief but one day I hope to draft a book about my life because it would be a best seller.