Her Story
About Shaylee
I've been working professionally as a motivational speaker and advocate for about 3 years now. My journey started when I was in school and wanted to graduate debt-free, so I got into pageantry. They ask you to have a platform, so I decided to advocate for my chronic illness, and it just kind of blossomed from there. A lot of companies started seeing me on my social media, and being a public figure in my state, I started working with companies locally, then on a national level, and even internationally. I work with amazing partners like Spoonie Threads, which makes comfortable clothing for people with medical devices, and Hollister Incorporated, my ostomy company that provides my ostomy products. I've been fortunate to win the HPN Hero Award through the Ole Foundation, which was a really proud moment for me. Looking back from being a young child, I never thought I'd be winning awards based on my health, something I used to hide. Now I'm proudly presenting that from an advocacy perspective on social media. I've also won several presidential service awards and I'm currently working toward my lifetime service award, which I'm halfway through. I'm at a point where things have blown up more than I expected, and I'm looking for guidance on how to continue growing, especially in terms of being compensated financially for my work rather than just receiving products.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Shaylee
01What do you attribute your success to?
I think my success comes from my love for serving other people. I have always loved giving back to not only my community but other people in general. When you focus less on yourself and your own problems and just want to help other people, it makes your problems seem less worrisome. It's always helped me not focus on the bad in my life by helping other people. I've loved volunteering and doing service opportunities, and I've actually won several presidential service awards. Now I'm working towards my lifetime service award, which I'm halfway through. At first, it really was just about getting out and helping other people, but now I love the networking and the ability to connect with other people and learn about their stories, or hear from other volunteers about why they're volunteering. It's so fascinating what you can learn by being in different atmospheres and places with different people.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think what I've learned along the way is there's not a mold. I feel like a lot of people think there are molds for modeling and public speaking and pageantry, like you have to fit a certain look or be a certain person, and I've kind of learned that that's not necessarily true. The best thing to be is really just yourself, and own that, and stay true to yourself. When you do that, a lot of people resonate with you more, instead of trying to become something that you think other people want you to be or to see.
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