Deborah Quackenbush

I know exactly what I attribute my success to - my mother. My mother was not highly educated, you know, she got through elementary school and then she had to work, as it was during the depression. She was such a hard worker, raising 5 children. When my brother John, who had Down syndrome, was born, she stayed home for a significant time with him, but prior to that, she worked outside the home, but she still kept the home, worked hard, and we all had to do our part. You know how they say people put the L thing on their forehead, like loser? That wasn't my mother's thing. You weren't a loser, you're lazy. If you were lazy, she had your number. We always had to have our tasks done. I think that's where I became so disciplined. You had to finish. When you were asked to do something, you had to finish the job. She was a very strong person that way, and she was a very strong person of faith. So I really attribute my work ethic to her, my faith ethic to her also. You know, it's not easy raising 5 kids and a husband - we all raise husbands now and then, don't we? That was my inspiration.

The best career advice I ever received came from my two mentors. They told me that when you're looking to absorb things and learn things from others, they're not always going to agree with you. People don't have to always agree with you to be able to have you move forward. You have to learn from those things that make people stop and say, you know, I don't agree with that, and have you take a step back and have you realign your thought process around, well, why is that? How could I have done that differently, where I could have convinced someone? Take those learning moments - I've done this good, I haven't done this so good, so what am I taking away from that, and learn from it. And you notice I'm avoiding the word mistake, because it's not a mistake. Those aren't mistakes, those are learning moments. My mentors told me, you know, we're not gonna agree with you all the time, but we're gonna show you a path that is going to potentially - you take the good, the bad, you throw it away, you know, mix it up, and you make it your own. I think that if folks can learn that they don't need an attaboy all the time, that their reward comes from knowing that you've been disciplined, you've done the best you can, and put every amount of effort that you possibly can into whatever it is you're doing.

There's nothing wrong with being proper. I say that because I think that trying to fit in doesn't always have to be outrageous. Fitting in by showing your professional side along with your fun side, in balance the two. Being professional as much as you possibly can, because there's sometimes some situations that perhaps call for you to be a little bit more outspoken, but know the difference. And I think that you will succeed because I think we're living in an age right now where I think the general lines are blurred. I don't feel that young women or young men are looked at much differently right now. The number of women at the truck school group meeting I was at recently - there's many women, not just a handful of men. And that wasn't the case 20 years ago. That didn't happen. An organization like Women in Trucking didn't exist. Women truck drivers didn't exist. In the simulation industry, in the engineering jobs and all of that, in the 80s and 90s, not a lot of women were going into those engineering jobs. It's not that way anymore. So I would give the same advice to young men - be nice. You don't need to be the most outrageous person in the room. Don't compete about who can be the loudest, the brashest, you know, all of that. Be genuine and know your stuff. You're gonna get further in knowing your stuff than trying to compete on the other front.

I think that not enough folks are going into things that I do, into this world. And it's not so much the lack of individuals, it's a lack of understanding what it entails. I've been investigating, okay, if Deborah were to go to her great reward tomorrow, who's gonna step into these footsteps? I don't know. I think it's being able to be flexible, and I'm thinking that I think one of the challenges is that people look at a career as a, like, okay, I do this, and I have to do this and this. It's not a broader look at things, because not one day is the same for me. Not one. And so, are you flexible enough? And I think that's the challenge. I thought when I was in school, I thought I'd be an accountant. Numbers aren't easy. I hate that. And I quickly found out, no, no. So know what you're good at, but also know how to be flexible. And I think the challenge is, a lot of times, people don't look at that bigger picture.

Confidentiality, honesty, and integrity. Those are the three most important values to me. I say confidentiality because I've had situations where people have said to me, please keep this in confidence. You know what it is? The only secret that is really a secret is if you keep it to yourself. If you tell another person, it's no longer a secret unless that person dies. That's just how it is. I've had people say that to me, and then later say, well, why didn't you tell so-and-so that this had happened? Well, you told me it was confidential. I hold that as so important. Honesty - and I expect it back. Honesty back. I will be forthright and honest with individuals. That's reciprocity, right? And integrity - I think if you have the first two, people are going to look at you as a person with integrity.