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By Elizabeth Exline
鈥淲hen people ask me, 鈥楬ow was your day,鈥 my day is always good. I woke up. It鈥檚 a good day.鈥
This outlook is more than an exercise in philosophy for 澳门天天彩开奖记录 alumna Camille Salter, PhD. It鈥檚 a way of life born from adversity and rooted in faith. It鈥檚 also what鈥檚 led her out of a childhood punctuated by physical and emotional abuse, through multiple brain surgeries as an adult and into an existence where her work and her personal life have flourished while helping others.
Salter was born in Northern California, the oldest of three kids whose parents had frequent and physical arguments. By the time Salter was 5, her parents had divorced, but the emotional and physical abuse continued.
鈥淚 reminded my mother a lot of my father, so I got a little extra attention, so to speak,鈥 Salter says euphemistically.
Salter鈥檚 difficult childhood included few positive role models. She frequently found herself out of the classroom, despite her affinity for school, because of the abuse. By the time she was 14, she鈥檇 stopped seeing her father on a regular basis, and she鈥檇 cultivated a strong sense of independence by looking after her siblings and managing household tasks (including filling out paperwork for Section 8 housing on behalf of her mother). She didn鈥檛 know what she wanted to do as an adult, but she knew she wanted to live a life opposite that of her parents.
Her first step toward her future came in an unlikely form: She responded to a newspaper ad for a babysitter.
鈥淗ere was this little 14-year-old girl,鈥 Salter recalls with a self-aware laugh, 鈥渞eady to take care of a 6-month-old baby.鈥
Salter arrived at the family鈥檚 home for an interview, and the mother of the family invited Salter in to get to know her.
鈥淎 couple of days later, my mother became very abusive to the point where I was running out of the house, crying,鈥 Salter explains. Salter reached out to the woman from the newspaper ad, acting on instinct that she could help. And she did. The woman picked up Salter, intending to return her to her mother. But when she spoke to Salter鈥檚 mother, the woman realized just how bad Salter鈥檚 home life was, so she offered to take Salter in for a few days while everyone calmed down.
鈥淭hose couple of days turned into two years,鈥 Salter says.
The years Salter spent with her adopted family were not her happy ending, but they were transformative. At her adopted mother鈥檚 prompting, Salter returned to school and earned her GED certificate. The couple was also active in their church (her adopted father was a deacon), and that brought Salter to a spiritual faith she hadn鈥檛 had before.
In fact, Salter鈥檚 relationship with the church stayed with her, even after she returned to her biological mother. Then, on her 18th birthday, Salter鈥檚 mother issued an ultimatum: Either stop going to church and live in her home 鈥 or leave.
Salter chose the church, which supported her as she began to work and live independently. Her outlook at that time speaks to her character. Where some people might see only a traumatic childhood and limited opportunities, Salter saw blessings.
鈥淪o many people in my life were Christians who reached out each time there was a cry for help,鈥 she explains. 鈥淪o, I began to work with the young people to try and give back what was given to me.鈥
Salter began to mentor young people through her church, taking them in to live with her when necessary and providing the structure they needed either to finish school or learn a vocation.
鈥淚鈥檓 a very committed person,鈥 Salter says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to fail somebody, because I think about how many times I鈥檝e been failed.鈥
It was in this role as mentor that Salter鈥檚 life changed once again. She was attending the graduation ceremony of one of her mentees when the speaker, a first-generation college graduate, delivered a message that felt like he was talking to Salter personally.
鈥淗e was saying, 鈥楧on鈥檛 be jealous. Join us,鈥欌 Salter says. 鈥淎nd I thought to myself, 鈥楬e鈥檚 talking to me.鈥 So, I decided to go back to school.鈥
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Salter was 33 years old and married, and her husband supported her while she navigated her way back into the classroom. First, she earned her associate degree from her local community college. Then she transferred to University of California, Berkeley to earn her bachelor鈥檚 degree.
At that point, Salter was on a roll. She went back to work and leveraged tuition assistance to earn her master鈥檚 degree in public administration from another university in 2007. This was when she wrote her thesis on a subject close to her heart: 鈥淭he Glass Ceiling Through a Historical and Cultural Perspective: Remedies to Reframe Organizations for Change.鈥
鈥淭his was a passion of mine because I dealt with the struggles of not only being a woman but a woman of color working in the business world,鈥 Salter says. She was used to being told she was well-spoken or disabusing people of their assumption she had children. Those stereotypes followed her, and she was determined to overcome them the same way she had overcome the other barriers in her life.
鈥淐amille鈥檚 demeanor, though strong, is gentle,鈥 explains Sophia Mammo, a close friend of Salter鈥檚 for more than 15 years. 鈥淚t seems she doesn鈥檛 know the term听肠补苍鈥檛. She sees everything as an opportunity to grow and develop. But above all, it is her heart that blows me away. She will go that extra mile for anyone who wants her help.鈥
By 2009, Salter was ready to start a new chapter in life. She was introduced to 澳门天天彩开奖记录 (UOPX) through her previous employer and decided to leverage its tuition assistance benefit to pursue her Doctor of Management.
Just three months into the program, however, a major car accident revealed a brain tumor. She had her first surgery in February of the following year. That same spring, her husband left her.
Salter鈥檚 friends encouraged her to take a break. 鈥淚 remember when she was studying to complete her doctorate, she was dealing with very serious brain surgery,鈥 Mammo recalls. 鈥淪he acted like that wasn鈥檛 a factor. I was in awe of her perseverance to see her goals and hard work come to fruition.鈥
Focusing on something besides her health and relationship gave Salter an objective to work toward. And, in some ways, school came first. 鈥淓ach time I had one of my surgeries, I made sure it was when we were having a week-and-a-half break,鈥 Salter says.
In 2012, her dissertation was accepted, but doctors found what was her third tumor after repairing a brain aneurysm. 鈥淭he third one did send me over the edge,鈥 Salter admits, 鈥渂ecause my brain didn鈥檛 have time to heal from all the surgeries. Luckily, I鈥檓 still alive, and I have all of my bodily functions 鈥 which is very rare 鈥 but I鈥檓 a rare person.鈥
Today, Salter鈥檚 health is stable, and she鈥檚 able to focus on the things that matter most to her. She is a senior learning and development specialist at , where she can gratify her love of learning and mentoring as she trains her company鈥檚 leaders in the art of effective leadership. She also started a mentorship program.
Looking back, Salter acknowledges the challenges she鈥檚 faced without letting them define her. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a blessing that you have whatever you have in life,鈥 she says. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 up to you what you do with life.鈥
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