Jayla Mosley returns to campus after years away as she poses by the flower pots outside of the Student Center. Paula Farmer | Washtenaw Voice.
RJ Hunt
Editor
Jayla Mosley’s journey at WCC started when she was in high school as a student of Washtenaw Technical Middle College. Mosley had an older brother and older sister who went to WTMC. Mosley thought it was cool of them to be high school age and in college. WTMC was the best choice over other college prep programs because the credits earned had a better chance of transferring to a university. Therefore, studying at WCC began.
With Mosley taking WCC courses while being a WTMC student, this encouraged her to stay at WCC to continue her education because she enjoyed the professors and everyone else around her at the school. A professor that stood out to Mosley was her algebra professor, Matthew King. “He was one of the best professors that I remember because he was a really nice guy,” said Mosley. “It was people like him that made me want to stay because it was intimidating. I was a high school-age student and going to a college environment. (WCC) really prepared me mentally for a university.”
Coming out of high school, Mosley was unsure about what exactly she wanted to do in life. She had an idea about doing something business related. She started off with an Administrative Assistant One certificate. Mosley then took some math classes and one of her professors suggested going into accounting. This led to her earning an Accounting One Certificate.
Mosley loved the environment that WCC provided. “It felt like a family,” said Mosley. “I know a lot of companies use that term loosely, but because it was a small to midsize campus, it really felt like that. I saw a lot of people I knew from the community. It helped me grow up.”
Some of Mosley’s favorite memories at WCC included helping her sister run a book club, and using the bridges to go from building to building. “I know that sounds really dumb,” said Mosley. “When it’s cold and terrible out, it’s one of the best things ever.”
Mosley appreciated WCC because of the life skills she learned including communication and team building. She also appreciated how WCC was a bonus financially due to classes being cheaper than traditional universities. Mosley mentioned that it’s easier to change your major at WCC compared to a university. “If you want to change your major, WCC is the place to do it… you don’t want to have money go down the tube, and student loans are crazy,” said Mosley.
When Mosley transitioned from WCC to Eastern Michigan University, it was smooth for her because of how WCC prepared her. “If I didn’t have my experience at WCC, I probably would have been more afraid,” said Mosley. Mosley graduated from EMU with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Management in 2016. She then went on to Central Michigan University for her Masters in Human Resources Administration in 2019.
Mosley was originally going for Accounting at EMU. After taking some classes, she started pondering if this was the right field for her. “Do (accountants) really just sit at the desk all day and do numbers because I don’t know if I really want to do that,” said Mosley. She took her first Human Resource class and everything clicked for her. Mosley really enjoyed the things she could do with a human resource position. Her mom was a superintendent for a school, so seeing her mom in a leadership position encouraged Mosley to want to follow suit.
After spending years moving up the ranks at FedEx, Mosley found a job with Neapco. Neapco is a tier 1 auto motor supplier that makes different parts for cars. They are known for working with the Big Three of the auto industry (Ford, GM, and Chrysler). Mosley’s role with Neapco is an HR generalist.
Some of the main roles of Mosley’s job is to handle communication within the company, including helping with a monthly newsletter, leading the diversity and belonging initiative, and recruitment. Mosley enjoys her job because she’s doing what she wants to do, especially because she describes her coworkers as genuine. She loves how she’s looked at as the helper instead of the enemy from HR. She feels like she’s helpful and people know she is there for help instead of thinking of her as the enemy since she is in HR.
Mosley’s goal for her future is to continue to work at her career. She hopes to be a Vice President for a company one day. Mosley recently earned her SHRM certificate (Society of Human Resource Management), so she’s hoping that earning that certificate and taking the other necessary steps leads her to that VP role that she is striving for.
