Yvette Hunsicker is proof that with hard work and determination, anything is possible!
After joining Honda at the age of 19 to work on the company’s assembly line, Hunsicker knew that she had big aspirations.
“I joined Honda at the age of 19 and I made a decision to leave college to come to Honda. I lived relatively close and I knew some friends parents’ had started working here and I heard it was a company that promoted from within.”
Her thought process was that leaving from her studies at Bowling Green State University and taking on a position for the car company could propel her into the dreams she had of ultimately working in the nonprofit sector.
“When I came [to Honda], I was hired into production as a welder,” Hunsicker recalled. “So from that point to today, I now lead corporate social responsibility, inclusion and diversity. I have fulfilled every dream that I had [both] personally and professions because as I said, social service, or being a servant, individual, and this is kind of who. I am. I get to do that.”
The company’s slogan is “the power of dreams,”which Hunsicker is a testament to. Prior to working at Honda, Hunsicker had always worked in a professional environment, so when she interviewed for the position, the person conducting the meeting was not only impressed, but skeptical that she wanted a job in production. After a further conversation surrounding her goals and aspirations, Hunsicker told the man that one day she’d love to work in his position… something that stuck with him forever.
After being met with a few No’s for positions at Honda that she thought were the perfect fit, Hunsicker ultimately landed a role on the associate relations team under Human Resources.
“I worked in Human Resources for about 20 years. But I really had the flexibility to do what I wanted to do here, meaning I had the opportunity to take on new challenges and different departments and roles,” Hunsicker explained. “I even moved to Japan for two years, decided I would like to try that, and I did it. I was a non-traditional expatriate. I was single and I took my son who was five years old with me at the time to Japan, had a successful assignment, and started a school while I was over there for expatriate children.”
Now, Hunsicker is constantly on a mission to make the world a better place through the work she does at Honda.
“I’m always looking holistically, internally and externally about what I can do to make Honda a better place, but more importantly, keeping Honda accountable for our commitment to society,” she shared.
As she looks ahead to the future of Honda, Hunsicker aims to continue the brands 30 plus year commitment to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, while also allowing other Black women to see themselves reflected through the work that she does.
“I want them to see me as a person, because what I have not let go along the way is who I am. I am a Black woman,” said Hunsicker. “I’m a Black woman who grew up going into the parks and getting government sponsored lunches. I am the girl who had to leave college because I couldn’t afford it. I’m that person, who, being in a room where I am the only woman, and most times the only Black person and the only Black woman all of the time. Using my voice, knowing how much space to take up and not being afraid to take up that space. I haven’t changed who I am… I am still true to that person.”
