Her Story
About Ora
Ora Denise Scales is an accomplished mentor, professional development leader, and lifelong learner whose journey into education began later in life but has become the defining mission of her career. At age 55, Ora returned to college at the University of Phoenix, determined to create a new legacy through education. Despite facing significant life challenges—including breast cancer treatment, multiple knee replacement surgeries, and the heartbreaking loss of both parents in 2016—she remained committed to her academic goals. She graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus in Human Resource Management and is currently pursuing her Master of Business Administration, with plans to begin her doctoral studies in Education Curriculum Development in January 2027.
As a first-generation college graduate in her family, Ora represents a historic achievement, becoming the first across several generations to advance beyond a fourth-grade education level. Her passion for learning has transformed into a passion for helping others succeed. She serves as a Mentor and Director of Professional Development with organizations including Ambition in Motion through Delta Mu Delta, Golden Key International Honour Society, the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and the National Society of Leadership and Success. She is also a member of the National Black MBA Association. Through mentorship, leadership development, and student advocacy, Ora works to help individuals recognize their strengths, overcome barriers, and develop the confidence needed to achieve their goals.
Ora’s mission is centered on transforming lives through education, especially by supporting neurodivergent learners. As someone who identifies as a kinesthetic learner with dyslexia, she understands the challenges many students face and advocates for embracing learning differences as strengths. Her ultimate goal is to become a university professor and continue creating opportunities for students to discover their potential. She is also establishing the Johnny B. Mitchell Legacy Foundation, named in honor of her mother, which will provide scholarships for mothers and daughters who pursue higher education together and graduate together—building educational legacies that can impact generations to come.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Ora
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to my tenacity, my perseverance, and my don't-quit attitude. It's an attitude I have - I will not quit. I just figure out a way. Even when I was going through chemotherapy for breast cancer, knee replacement surgeries, and dealing with the loss of both my parents, I never stopped going to class. I would literally ask my husband to bring me my laptop to my bed because I just could not stop going. I guess my ancestors from five generations were pushing me, saying you got to do this, and I just felt that. My grandmother Ora Bell Mitchell never gave up, she never quit - she worked at the hospital for 40 years and never missed a day. That's who I'm named after, and that spirit lives in me. I chip away like a woodchuck - each day, I do something productive to get to my goal. The you in you is what's going to get stuff started, and you have to take care of yourself and never give up on your dream.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I ever received came from my mentor, Pastor Paul Anthony Dunn. He told me two principles that I keep in my pocket. First, he said, you are where you are because of the choices you have made. That really made me think about taking ownership of my path. The second thing he told me was that anytime God is about to do something new in your life, you meet new people. I've held on to those two principles throughout my journey, and they've guided me through every major transition and decision I've made.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
First thing first - no is not an option. I know you'll be told no about a lot of things, but don't let that discourage you from your goal. Establish your SMART goals and stay true to your vision. Do not deviate from it. Learn how to not let the external distractions or the internal distractions stop you from being successful - the internal ones are real and happen all the time. Active listening is so important - you can miss just one small detail and that can close or make a deal for you. I also want you to think about no's like bricks being thrown at you. Every no is like a brick - but it's what you do with that no. Do you duck, or do you make something out of the brick they threw at you? I've learned how to build off of the no's in my life, and that's where I'm at today. Look at what I did with my no's - I was told I was too old to go to school, that I'd be 59 when I graduated, that it was too late to start a foundation. But I built something amazing from all those bricks. Are you going to build, or are you going to keep ducking?
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Some of the biggest challenges I face is getting people to commit - getting the other team to commit so that you can help them move forward. It's a challenge because life happens, right? When life happens, you have to do revisions, or you have to be more flexible. Sometimes I've had people say, well, hey, I can't do this right now, this is not a good time, and you have to stop or pause. But then you work with someone else until you hear back from that person, or you call back and catch them, and then you can try to talk and navigate them through their situation. Right now, they're just in a storm and they can't see in front of them, behind them, or on both sides of them, and it's hard. The challenge is getting the other person to commit - that's the first challenge. My other challenges have been physical - overcoming breast cancer and the two knee surgeries I had, because the first one the doctor botched and I almost lost my left leg. But through all of that, I kept going.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I have four values that guide everything I do - I call them the four F's of my life: Family, Friends, Finances, and Fun. These four things keep me balanced and focused. Family comes first because they are my backbone and my support system. Friends are essential because you need people who believe in you and push you forward. Finances matter because you need to be responsible and take care of yourself and others. And fun - you have to enjoy life and not take everything so seriously. Beyond these four F's, giving is living for me. If you keep doing good things, it will come back to you. I put out good, positive things into the universe, and it brings it right back to me like a boomerang.
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