Grit and Grace

Overcoming adversity is nothing new for Cassie Bell. 

The two-time Oakland University alumna has spent her whole life conquering even the most daunting of obstacles and now lives by the motto “difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.” 

For the first 13 years of her life, Bell was raised by a single mother and moved frequently as a result of financial struggles. Her mother and grandmother would climb through dumpsters to find clothing for her and her siblings to wear, and as a result, she was frequently bullied in school because of her socioeconomic status. 

“As an adult, I have [a better] perspective of the selflessness of my grandmother and mom, and the continued sacrifices they made for us children,” she said. “I certainly learned this message the hard way. But we are a sum of all our experiences, and I wouldn’t be who I am today without all of that.” 

Bell’s teenage years were equally challenging. At the age of 17, she became pregnant and gave up the opportunity to attend the United States Naval Academy to give birth to her first child. That same year, she married while she was still in high school, creating a rift with her parents that lasted nearly a decade. 

“Stepdad being a Baptist preacher, I felt like quite a disappointment for my family,” Bell recalled. “[It was a] very difficult time for me as a young, new mom, [but] I made a promise to my mom that I would finish school — and I meant all of my education, not just high school.” 

Determined as ever, Bell not only kept her promise, but defied the odds. After her high school principal and guidance counselor encouraged her to transfer schools once she became pregnant, Bell refused and graduated in the top 10 of her class. She started taking college classes, but had to drop out and seek full-time employment to support her newborn daughter Melanie and then-spouse, who was also taking classes. 

Three years later, Bell and her family had moved from New Mexico to Rhode Island, where she gave birth to her son Quinton. Over the next couple of years, she  underwent a series of medical procedures for a precancerous diagnosis. It was the first of seven moves her family would make between 1995 and 2004 as a result of her then-husband’s employment challenges, making it more difficult for her to fulfill her promise of going back to school. 

By 2001, Bell and her family had moved to Michigan, where she became a store manager at a small electronic store, an experience she credits with beginning her “initial unconscious path to HR.” 

"In a male-dominated space, I found myself unfairly blamed for sexual harassment simply because I smiled at an employee that morning. Forced to endure grueling 14+ hour shifts, seven days a week due to inadequate staffing, and left to work standing up on crutches for 28 weeks without proper support or discussion. These things became my ‘why.’ ” she said. 

Bell left her job and, after her divorce, began a new life. She repaired her relationship with her parents, met and married her now-husband Alex, and, under his encouragement, finally began pursuing an education in human resource development (HRD). 

In 2007, Bell took a full-time position with Lowe’s as an area HR manager and worked her way through school, attending classes online at OU while traveling across the state of Michigan for work. She ultimately graduated with a bachelor’s degree in HRD — and a 3.9 GPA, to boot. 

Shortly after graduating, Bell relocated her family several times from Pittsburgh to Bentonville, Arkansas, where she saw success in a multitude of HR-related leadership positions with Sam’s Club and Walmart Supply Chain from 2011-2022. During that time frame, she prioritized implementing HR practices that would benefit people both personally and professionally, including the development of the first tiered leadership program that launched globally. She also served as the people lead for the Walmart emergency operation center, aiding in everything from pandemic relief to active shooter response efforts.

“We are generally all established with the same amount of willpower as others, but some people have to overcome many more obstacles,” Bell said. “I’ve had my fair share of obstacles in my life — some self-induced — but there are so many others that have even more. How do we help remove these for them?”

But just as things started to look up for Bell, she was impacted by several more hardships. From 2016-2020, she suffered several consecutive losses, including her grandfather — who she called her “one male role model in [her] life” — mother, aunt and stepdad. In 2021, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, for which she began undergoing treatments the following year. 

Four breast cancer treatments later, Bell again took matters back into her own hands and returned to OU in 2022 for graduate school.

“I decided life was too short,” she said. “I enrolled in my master’s program back at OU because I really believed in the solid education that OU provided. I knew it matched my moral beliefs and that it had only positioned me for success.” 

Later that year, Bell accepted a position with NAPA Auto Parts as vice president of HR strategy and operations. She graduated from OU in 2023 with a master’s degree in organizational leadership and a 4.0 GPA and has since transitioned into a new position with NAPA as their Chief Human Resources Officer.

“Have the passion to succeed and be in the right place at the right time,” Bell said. “I used to think, ‘I’m never going to be successful because luck hasn’t always been on my side.’ I learned, though, that the right place and time is because of the steps you have to take to position yourself to be ready in the right place and time. I’m truly blessed for my amazing husband, children, friends and leaders who have surrounded me and continued to champion me to success.”

For additional information on the HRD programs available at OU, visit oakland.edu/orgleadership.