Sheila M. Parson PhD enlisted in the Army in 1988.  She spent time in Saudi Arabia during Desert Shield/Desert Storm, returning to the US where she attended Officer Candidate School in 1990 and became an officer.  Sheila subsequently signed up for the Army reserves and served until September 10^th, 2001.

She started working for AT&T in May of 1994, beginning her career with Michigan Bell, working in Mobility Collections.  From there she moved to Ameritech Mobility Business Collections, Ameritech/SBC Force Management, SBC Operator Services and is currently in AT&T Talent Acquisitions for Technical Recruiting in AT&T Human Resources.

 Sheila is a proud member of AT&T Veterans, helping to charter both the Michigan & Southeast chapters.  She has also been an active member in the Tennessee chapter and is currently engaged in the Rocky Mountain Region chapter. In addition, Sheila has also served on several ad-hoc committees for AT&T Veterans.

 Sheila has also been a member of Women of AT&T since its inception.  She is proud to say that Cathy Coughlin & Cindy Bucks called her and asked her to be a part of Michigan’s first Board of Directors team.  Sheila just finished her 4-year term on the Women of AT&T’s National board serving as the Community Outreach Officer.  She is also an active member of HACEMOS. 

Sheila just published her first book in July 2021 entitled “The Profe$$ional Game Plan”.  You can reach out to Sheila for the pre-sale purchase of her book.

Sheila is also CEO of both The QSA Group LLC, a business service company, and The QSA Foundation which helps homeless children and military families around the world, mainly by hosting events like celebration for the homeless and stand-down events for homeless military.

Sheila has a Bachelors, MBA, Masters in HR and a Doctorate in Human Resources and Organizational Development.

Sheila is also an active member of the Military Officer’s Association and the American Legion.  

 Sheila M. Parson

 

 

 

 

 

Senior Talent Acquisition Manager – Human Resources -AT&T Communications

Q: What is your current position with AT&T?

SP: I’m currently a Senior Talent Acquisition Manager based out of Denver, CO.

Q: When did you decide you wanted to go into the service?

SP: I always liked to help the community, I did volunteer work at my church.  My mother didn’t have money to send me to college and I had a brother and 2 foster brothers that she was also caring for and I really wanted to go.  We were living in Detroit at the time, so I was working 2 jobs and going to Oakland University where you had to live on campus your freshman year.  It was there that I spoke to a recruiter and he convinced me to join the army.  I was able to go in as a Private 1^st class because of my college credits.  After I got out, I went back to college on the GI bill and got my degree.

Q: Do you remember your first days in service?

SP: Yes, I was a little afraid because I wasn’t quite sure what to expect and boot camp was tough.  I came from a loving family and the instructors were always yelling and I would just say “OK”.  I think that drove the drill sergeants a little crazy, but I looked at it as “Why is this crazy man yelling?”.  I had a drill sergeant throw a chair at me because I didn’t jump when he yelled.

I am a competitive person and I was always trying to outdo the guys and be the best by running the fastest or doing the most pushups.  I would work out, even when I didn’t have to.  I wanted to go above and beyond.  I wanted to make sure they took me seriously.

Q: Which war did you serve in?

SP: I was in Desert Storm, but I was in Saudi Arabia.  When we first got there, we lived in tents right off the airport for about 2 weeks.  It was scary with spiders and ants.  I was part of the Military Police assigned to do security, guard duty.  After the 2 weeks we moved into a hotel but didn’t stay long. After the two weeks,  I actually was stationed back in the states,  thank God.

There was an incident where we were told to get out of the hotel just before it blew up.

Q: Where there any casualties in your unit?

SP: Yes, there were two casualties and two women were raped.

Q: How did you stay in touch with your family?

SP: Just letters, we didn’t have cell phones or email back then.

Q: What was the food like?

SP: The food was gross, I didn’t like MREs, I didn’t eat pork or beef, so I would only eat vegetables and sides.  My unit would give me their crackers or packaged cookies just, so I had something to eat.

Q: What did you do after returning from Desert Storm?

SP: I went to Officer Candidate School.  We all felt that the officers didn’t know what they were doing, and we could better.  I had to take the officer’s entry exam and I passed.  There were 63 candidates and only 3 were females and I was the only black female.  That was scary and the 3 females all stuck together.  Officer Candidate school was harder than boot camp.  I was discriminated against and someone even made a comment that they thought all black women were lazy and I wasn’t going to make it.  When I finally did graduate, the person who made that comment came back and apologized and said that I gave him a new perspective on black women. I eventually got off active duty and went into the reserves and started working for AT&T.

Q: When did you get out and why?

SP: I got out on Sept 10, 2001, an easy date to remember.  I got married while I was still serving, and my husband didn’t like me being in the military, so I eventually got out.  My unit didn’t want me to go and they tried to call me back.  It was a hard decision, I was in for 16 years both active and reserves and only had 4 more years until retirement but after 9/11 happened, I didn’t want to go to another war, I had already been in Desert Storm.

Q: How did you get to AT&T?

SP: A friend asked for help with their resume they were submitting to AT&T, so I asked what jobs were available and applied, that was 25 years ago, and I love it here. I have my bachelor’s in Communications and Organizational Development, 2 Master’s degrees in Human Resources and Human Resources Management and a Doctorate in Organizational Development and Human Resources Management.  I am now working on a Nano degree in programming.

Q: How did your service and experience impact your life?

SP: I used to be a quiet person, the service has made me more confident.  It has helped me to stay focused and don’t take things personally; “don’t let things hurt you what others say and do”.  It also taught me to be very disciplined, consistent, ethical and very concerned about others.  They molded me into who I am internally and externally.

Being in the military has helped me handle a high-volume job. I am an extreme multitasker,  My peers tell me that I have too much work and they can’t understand how I do that and all I do outside of AT&T.  I tell them it’s my GRIT!!! I’m also very involved in volunteering.  I  run a non-profit 501c3 outside of AT&T that helps homeless veterans, I am part of the Military Officers Association here in Colorado, and the American Legion.