As a teenager, I would rush home from school to watch the Oprah Winfrey show.

I adored Oprah — here was a Black woman whose early life was fraught with difficulties, but who pulled herself up and achieved unimaginable success.

Little did I dream that years later, at this month’s 20th Anniversary Massachusetts Conference for Women, I would be chatting backstage with Oprah and Gayle King. After we talked and took photos, she gave a shout-out to me and my business — Salon Monét on Boston’s Newbury Street – and promised to visit me there. Wow.

Like every Massachusetts Conference for Women, this year’s event with almost 11,000 attendees was packed with inspiration and motivation, providing a road to empowerment for women of every age and background. Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Caitlin Clark of the WNBA’s Indiana Heat, modeling icon Beverly Johnson, Gov. Maura Healey, Olympic gold medalist Gail Devers and other powerful leaders and achievers addressed the crowd, amplifying the conference’s theme of Power in Unity.

Power in Unity speaks to me. Throughout my life and career, connection and collaboration with family, friends, colleagues and clients have lifted me up and kept me moving forward through good times and bad. I grew up in Boston housing developments. Later, despite a solid clerical position in Boston’s financial district, a rent increase resulted in eviction from my Quincy apartment. I was homeless with two small children. Those were dark days.

Thanks to Quincy Community Action Program’s family shelter and access to childcare, I was able to keep my job, go to cosmetology school, and freelance evenings styling hair at Newbury Street salons. Clients who loved my work supported my dream of opening a hair salon on that upscale avenue. It happened – Power in Unity at Work.

I first attended the Massachusetts Conference for Women in 2019 as an honoree, receiving the conference’s TARGET Storytelling Award.

When I stood on that stage before more than 10,000 people, I could not even see the back of the room. In addressing this huge audience, I said: “By helping each other we can achieve our greatest dreams. By working together, we can find our power and purpose.”

This year, Oprah’s words resonated as she encouraged people in the room to receive validation from themselves, not demand it from the world — and to trust their gut. “The reason you are born is because you have something that nobody else has to share,” she said. “And you can do that in a way that no one else can… Your purpose isn’t out there. Your purpose is always right here.”

Basketball star Caitlin Clark emphasized the importance of pushing boundaries on and off the court. “Go after the things people say you can’t do because more times than not, you can,” she said. Clark emphasized that people must always believe in themselves.

For me, this conference provided a push toward finding my purpose for the year ahead.

Shellee Mendes is the founder/owner of Salon Monét on Newbury Street. She is an entrepreneur and philanthropist.