Anything is possible.
Unlimited potential. Those are some of the definitions of the idiom “the
sky’s the limit.”
The living personification of that common phrase was
the keynote speaker at the 2018 Honors and Awards Convocation on April 3 at
Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center.
And it seemed fit that Sky is the nickname for SC State alumna Schylver V. Foster, a longtime executive at the BMW manufacturing plant in Greer,
S.C.
 |
| Keynote Speaker Sky Foster at the podium |
Foster has been at the huge car factory since its opening in 1994. She was part of the start-up team and in the nearly 25 years since, she has held several manager roles in recruiting, payroll, training and development; compensation/benefits and working structures; technical training, intercultural language programs, and other areas.
Today, she leads the BMW plant’s corporate communications department. In her long career with the German carmaker, Foster has traveled the world.
She told the students that earlier in her career during the time she worked for Robert Bosch, another German manufacturer in the Upstate, she took the initiative to learn the German language, saying this greatly helped her in networking and getting to know colleagues and top leaders in the U.S. and back in Germany.
A native of Gaffney, S.C., Foster’s career arc shows the importance of flexibility and being responsive to unexpected opportunities. At S.C. State she majored in secondary education and teaching. She would go on to earn a master’s degree in higher education administration at N.C. Central University.
“A passion for excellence” is what Foster encouraged today’s SC State’s students to seek and hold dear. “You need to be good at something and exceptional at something else.”
She didn’t say it but could have: the sky’s the limit with the right mix of focus, motivation, talent and hard work.
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