Hired Before Graduation “Where Are They Now?”: Shanell Haines

May 12, 2025

At UW-Whitewater, it’s never too late to start your degree.

That was the experience of Shanell Haines, a single mother and nontraditional student, who refused to let her life challenges define her. Despite naysayers, she rose to the challenge and let her motivation prove that she deserved to be there.

Through the Pathway for Success program, she made the best of her situation, achieving a 3.6 grade point average in the end with the support of the students and professors who worked with her to succeed. She found that she was hard on herself because she knew that no one was going to do that for her.

“I wanted a better life for my son and myself. I wanted to break generational curses,” Haines asserted.

Haines chose to attend UW-Whitewater because of its reputation as one of the best business schools in the world. She wanted to get a degree in a field that she knew would guarantee her a job, ultimately choosing to major in marketing.

“I remember I was having the hardest time in my accounting class, and I just needed to pass this one test to pass the class,” she recalled. “When I passed, I was so excited.”

At the UW-Whitewater commencement ceremony in May of 2014, the University Marketing and Communications department — where Haines worked on campus — snapped a picture of her putting her hands in the air as she walked across the stage.

She had achieved her goal of being hired before graduating and landed a job as an assistant store manager at Kohl’s Department Stores.

After graduating, Haines said she really came to find herself, enjoying experiences she never thought she’d have the chance to live out, such as traveling to Paris, France, and being able to stand on her own two feet, creating a role model for her son to follow.

Haines eventually ended up moving to Florida with Kohl’s, but in November of 2017, she decided to turn her focus on real estate and has been in that career path ever since.

“I heard about getting a real estate license during a group interview and ended up going through an accelerated course for real estate,” Haines said.

The resilience that grew from overcoming challenges fueled the fire inside of her. She knew she was meant to do more.

“The only thing keeping people back from reaching their full potential is their own mind,” she said.

Currently, Haines works as a real estate agent in Florida, selling beautiful homes. To the next generation of students who are continuing their studies and graduating, she gives this advice: “Pick a direction and start. Do the best that you can to make the best of the situation. You’re never too old to start. You can’t listen to the naysayers — there is no right or wrong answer. You can’t let people steer you on your life path.”

Haines is also passionate about business. To students in the College of Business and Economics, she urges them to decide what they want out of life and develop that life around an end goal.

“Really learn about finances, how to survive, how to invest,” she said. “Figure out first where you want to be, and what your endgame is. Pair your goals, let that drive you to where you want to go.”