We were lucky to catch up with DeVonnda McCormick recently and have shared our conversation below.
DeVonnda , looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I get my work ethic from my mom. I was raised by a single mother. She is such a hard worker. She taught me the importance of hard work and dedication.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
DeVonnda Shantel McCormick was born and raised in Durham, NC in a single parent home. Despite the struggles and hardships that she and her mother faced, her mother persisted in instilling God’s word as the number one voice in DeVonnda’s life. Failure was not an option and being ordinary would not suffice. DeVonnda went on to earn a B.A. degree in history from Elizabeth City State University and later furthered her studies at Capella University where she earned a M.S.Ed. DeVonnda obtained the name VaughndaMonroe through her love for Marilyn Monroe’s Fashion and Sex appeal. She was looking for a twitter name when twitter first started years ago, and decide to put her first name Vonnda and Marilyn Monroe’s last name creating VaughndaMonroe. DeVonnda has a plethora of professional experience that includes her being a former Professor, a Mortgage Servicing Assistant Manger, and now she currently serves as a District Manager in Research Triangle Park in Durham NC. Outside of her professional career, DeVonnda mentors young women in her community, designs shoes, host events, and provides motivational speaking. In 2013, she was recognized as one of the 100 Most Successful Women in North Carolina. In 2022 she received the Master Coach of the Year award from ACHI Magazine. DeVonnda keeps God first in all that she does and hopes to carry his message of love into the world. That message has been a part of the divine call upon her life and inspires her outreach in her community. Travelling as a Plus size model, DeVonnda has seen and experienced how society has tried to put a cookie-cutter, one size fits all image on women. As a “Self-Esteem Coach,” DeVonnda’s intention is to bring women back to a place of loving themselves and to change society’s view of beauty. She believes that once you leave her presence, your life will forever be changed and you will start to look at yourself from a new perspective. Word’s from DeVonnda “Going through life I had to learn that I am who I am for a reason. God made no mistakes in creating me. He only made one me, so why would I try to be someone else?” The mission for this brand is to change women’s perspective from the inside out and to show them how to look and feel, and how to be a uniquely, beautiful you. After receiving countless emails and messages via social media from family, friends, and followers, DeVonnda decided to take this message on a global platform. In this business her hope is to help spread this message to the masses. Her dream is to be a vessel to help rebuild self-esteem and provide women with the tools that they need to live with power and purpose. In 2022, DeVonnda released her first book, “Heal Your Mind and Soul Through Self Work.” This book discusses her life story and the correlation between past trauma and its effect on self-esteem. In addition, she details and outlines step-by-step ways to start to heal, think positively, and do self-work.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Networking, transparency, confidence. I would recommend getting a mentor someone who can help you in your professional development.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
I would love to collaborate and bring a self esteem forum to life where we building women who have been broken and need some encouragement. If this is something you would like to collaborate on please reach out on IG: Vaughndamonroe
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Vaughndamonroe.com
- Instagram: Vaughndamonroe
- Facebook: DeVonnda McCormick
- Linkedin: DeVonnda McCormick
- Twitter: Vaughndamonroe
Image Credits
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