Meet DeLana Davis | Director of Training Services & Instructor

We had the good fortune of connecting with DeLana Davis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi DeLana, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I’ve always had a passion for people. At times I was afraid to step out on my own being a single mom, However after experiencing bullying, supervisors sabotaging my job, and medical emergencies due to high levels of stress not having a well enough rounded work/life balance. I couldn’t take off for doctors appointments and I was missing pivotal moments with my boys. My stress levels were so high that one day in 2013 I passed out at work and was rushed to the hosiptal. I was showing signs of a stroke but I was also paralyzed from the neck down, my vision, speech, and hearing were all impaired. All my test were coming back normal but I was anything but normal. 5days in the hospital one of the doctors said that I was lying about my condition and kept asking if I was experincing some type of abuse at home. A nueorolgoist later found that I had a condition called Conversion Disorder;where the mental stress takes a physical state. I was released on my 7th day having most of my functions back to normal but still having to use a walker. A month later I started having random seizures that would sometimes impair my speech and my ability to walk. The same neuorologist who I now I had to see regularly told me that if I didn’t get my stress under control that I would either have a heart attack or a storke and I wouldn’t see my 31st birthday, which was 6 months away. I was on a ton of medications and I knew then I had to make a lot of changes in my life to decrease the amount of stress I was under. I worked in corporate until 2018 and until one day God gave me a peace about stepping out on faith and let me know I wouldn’t be alone. I typed up my resignation letter at my desk this same day and left my job that I was getting physically sick at everytime I pulled in the parking lot for work. I walked out of those doors and the sun was shining so bright. I went back to school and got my Associate’s and started buildng on what I already knew. I started my 1st business Dee Accountant Servicesproviding taxes,bookeeping, and notary services. I had more time with myboys and I was having less seizures. During the off season a friend told me about a instructor positon that would train me and certify me and that the role was with Red Cross. I started teaching people how to save lives and I fell in love with it. I enjoyed the interaction of people from every walk of life coming together in a space to learn with no pressure and leaving with a smile and confidence to save a life if necessary. I saw how much of an impact these classes were really having on people’s lives and it ultimately moved me to go out on my own and start South Texas Safety Training LLC. I wanted to impact people’s lives even further not only in the healthcare , general indsutry but in the communities that are affected by the emergencies I teach about but can’t afford classes. I resigned from Red Cross and was excited to start my journey of building South Texas Safety Training LLC. And then the pandemic hit and at first I was so discouraged but then I saw an opportunity to rest and build in the stillness the pandemic brought. So during the pandameic I really did a lot of learning and took time to do all the certifications I could. I took all the necessary steps to become a training center with Red Cross, ASHI, and a training site for AHA. Once things started opening back up I took a position as Adjunct Instructor to continue teaching CPR and Basic Life Support. I used that experience to sharpen my teachings skills further and help me train my new and oncoming instructors. Since we have opened back up fully I have been able to teach 5 star rated classes that are leaving my clients and participants with the confidence and skills to save lives. So many see training as boring and many come in not wanting to go through class but once I start I make sure to keep everyone engaged and even entertained most times but they never leave the same way they came in and thats what makes STST stand out.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
What sets me apart from others is that people leave my classes with the actual confidence and skills to save a life if ever necessary. And my goal in starting my business was to make sure that not only do I create a healthy and less stressful environment for myself but when it is time for me to expand even further with more staff and instructors that it will be a safe and healthy environment for them to thrive in as well. I wanted to ultimately create a different experience not only for staff but for clients who didn’t have training classes that were to their standard.

What I’m most proud of is being able to impact people’s lives that I come in contact with while training. Being able to be out in the underprivileged community and give this knowledge and skill free of charge to those who can’t afford it is what excites me.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate this to my boys who have been with me on this journey of sacrifice and perseverance. It hasn’t always been easy being a serial entrepreneur and single mom but hopefully the one thing they can take away is that I never gave up.

Website: www.southtexassafetytrainingllc.com

Instagram: south_texas_safety_training

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/delana-davis-a09b98186

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southtexassafetytrainingllc?mibextid=LQQJ4d