Shana earned a B.A. degree in Industrial Management and Applied Engineering at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale while working at AISIN.
Since childhood, Shana had always been interested in science, engineering, singing, and crafting. As the daughter of a single mom with 3 children, Shana often had to put her interests aside to help care for her siblings. Money was tight and times were hard. She began college in her early 20s, but ran out of funding in her final year. In addition, she lost her mother at the early age of 21.
As a single mom herself, Shana struggled to continue with her education as bills, including student loan payments, piled up. She gave up on the dream of completing college, and searched for a better paying job to support herself and her son.
Shana initially found employment that required extensive travel to various manufacturing companies for contract work. Although the pay was great, constant moving was hard on her son and his grades began to suffer. When an opportunity to work at AISIN came up, Shana jumped at the chance.
“They knew that I had worked there before and were pleased with my performance, so they asked that I return again to assist them with another project. I gladly took the offer and knew that this was going to be my last stop as a traveler so that I could give my son the stability he needed. Working alongside amazing individuals such as Watanabe, Fujishiro, Wan, Kristi, and many more, a light bulb lit! This was my new home,” Shana exclaimed!
When her contract ended, Shana asked to be hired on full-time. AISIN agreed and enrolled her in an apprenticeship program where she was able to work at AISIN while earning her degree in engineering at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
“A month after interviewing with the company and applying for college (Southern Illinois University), I was called into the office to receive the good news that I was going to college, and offered a position to become an engineer for AISIN Electronics,” Shana reports.
“Well, a long story short, here I am in 2026, and graduating with my B.A. degree in Industrial Management and Applied Engineering. My son is making A’s and B’s on his report cards and is receiving all the help he could ask for,” Shana adds.
“Every day I say, ‘It looks like my blessing made a full circle back to me.’ I can’t thank AISIN enough for putting a little faith in me and giving me the opportunity to grow with their company. It is not every day we see a pathway made for people like my mother and myself (single moms) who struggled in life trying to make ends meet,” Shana says.