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s the senior director for corporate social responsibility (CSR) at ON Semiconductor, I am responsible for the companys strategy covering a variety of topics in the environmental, social and governance (ESG) space and beyond. Throughout my career I have held roles across many disciplines and of increasing responsibility, starting as a quality and reliability engineer, as the warranty administrator for Delco, as the manager for returnable packaging, coordinating new product development input to the sales and operations planning, to global quality systems. I've managed people for the majority of my career, at times up to 65 individuals, and believe that developing people and being a positive role model and mentor is one of the most important jobs providing benefits both personally and for the company. I began my career in an industry and company that did not have a lot of women or women of color as individual contributors or in management. In general, it was a challenging time for both people of color and women in the workforce. Early in my career, there were concerns that ranged from traveling alone as a woman on business trips or being the only female in a group meeting while the general manager cursed and slammed his fist on the table. He later apologized. Years ago, I was asked by my manager to write a letter to his daughter for Black History Month. The letter was to describe where I had experienced racism. It was happenstance that I recently had inquired about an apartment in a less integrated part of the city where I was living. I was told on the phone that there was availability. When I arrived at the location within an hour to see the apartment, I was politely told there were no vacancies and whoever spoke with me must have been mistaken. When my manager read the letter, he promptly said, You didn't experience that. His response made clear to me that not only did he not believe me, but he did not trust or respect me, either. Never before or since have my integrity or ethics been questioned. At that point I knew it was time to move on. My parents are a significant reason why I persevered during challenging times. Growing up I tried many things to determine what I liked best. I played the lute and piano, took ballet lessons, played softball, was a prolific reader and loved mathematics. By the time I graduated high school, the only math course I had not taken was calculus, which I later decided to study at the local university in the summer before starting my freshman year in college. My parents instilled in us a good work ethic, not to rest on our laurels as well as a sense of work-life balance. They taught us that learning is a lifelong endeavor. My parents also felt that majoring in something 'technical' rather than in fine arts was to ensure we would get a well-paying job and a successful career. Repeatedly they told us to remember we are competing against our personal best and not others. I understand that better now - focusing on others achievements keeps you from being the best person that you can be. Throughout my career, I volunteered or sought other opportunities that could teach me a new skill, provide more visibility in the organization or enhance what I already knew. I truly believe this is very important. The key is to be known as a person that can be counted on to keep their commitments, to develop employees as a manager and when possible to put your manager in a favorable position. This plus working hard, continually improving and overcoming roadblocks makes a career successful. As we all know, every career has ups and downs. What matters most is how you deal with the downs. My faith, family, friends and mentors have been my support system and North Star when dealing with adverse situations. It is important to me to keep a positive outlook no matter what. That helps me to reflect, think and discern the path forward. Depending on the situation, the path can be to do nothing (just a season in life), change the scenery (this isnt the right position) or change jobs (this isn't the right company). I believe that leaning into learning has allowed me to have a wide view of possibilities when I've found myself in a situation that didn't feel quite right. And as I look back on my career has been one of the biggest sources of my success. Before joining ON Semiconductor Theresa worked for Delco Electronics (formerly a part of Delphi Automotive) and Motorola. She has a B.S. Mathematics from the University of North Carolina - Greensboro and an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University.
Advice on Building a Successful Career and Overcoming Adversity
By Theresa Haywood-McCarley, Senior Director, Corporate Social Responsibility at ON Semiconductor
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