Halloween 2012. Truck driver Jess Graham planned to take a night off from homeschooling her daughter on the road so they could trick-or-treat. But her dispatcher had a better idea. Knowing her daughter was with her, the dispatcher sent Graham to deliver a load to the Hershey Company plant. There, Graham’s daughter would have the trick-or-treat of her life – an entire pillowcase full of Hershey chocolates and candies direct from the source.
Graham, who operates “The Black Widow,” a 1995 Freightliner FLD, is one of two drivers for Georgia-based GTO Trucking. She has been in transportation for most of her adult life but has been driving heavy trucks since 2012 when she got custody of her daughter.
“My skills were driving, and all [the jobs] available required a Class A license. I jumped in and went for it,” Graham said. “I left the taxi-sedan service and went to a mega carrier. I was determined to make it, and within 11 weeks, I was on my own with “The Black Widow” and was able to pick up my daughter to start our new life.
“When I got my daughter, my dispatcher would run me out to Sterling, Ill., to the local Walmart, for a couple of days every three or four weeks because there was another parent driver there who had his son in the truck that was a year younger than my daughter, and he was homeschooling his son in the truck as well,” she explained.
The two children would be able to sit in the drivers’ lounge, play games and interact, and run around. Everyone at that Walmart knew both kids, explained Graham, and the dispatcher always had treats in her drawer for them.
When reminiscing about her start in the industry, Graham stated that “no one enters trucking because they are just doing amazing and it's a bucket list item. People who enter are usually at the end, and it’s sink or swim. It's an industry that with hard work and determination, someone can really change their station in life.”
“In my journey to find other women like myself, I found the Real Women In Trucking. They are a driver-led advocacy organization headed by Desiree Wood. Not only am I a member, but I am also an alternate board member. Our mission is to speak for the those who need a voice.”
This past year, Graham became part of the group that started T.E.A.R. (Truckers Emergency Assistance Responders), a charitable organization that helps stranded drivers when issues such as carrier abandonment, wage theft, retaliation, truck accidents, sexual misconduct between trainers/co-driver teams, and other various scenarios arise.
“Every day is a challenge,” Graham said. “As I was just getting my footing, I was also a single mother homeschooling my daughter in the truck. Also, being a huge minority in the industry, bullying is common even among groups that are supposed to support women. The biggest challenge I overcame was gaining the confidence to know that I excel in this industry, and no one can bring me down.”
Graham’s advice?
“Go big. Don't accept less than your best. Don't settle for restrictions, especially automatic. Drive stick shift. You could have asked me to land on the moon before I would have figured out how to shift, but don’t let up. Get every endorsement you can, and then the sky is the limit. Bide your time. Get your CDL. Be a company driver or drive on your own.
“Trucking has given me the freedom to set my own path and be my own boss, so don't give up on yourself before you actually get into the industry.”
