Jessica James, DTM

I attribute my success to my ability to turn challenges into opportunities and rise above adversity. My family has been instrumental in shaping who I am, particularly my late mother who was a respected nurse and gave me honest guidance about following my heart and making my own path to be happy. She told me that I needed to choose a career where I could thrive, and even though I initially wanted to be a nurse like her, she wisely recognized that I would be too sensitive for that field. Looking back, she was right. Being on the autism spectrum has given me an exceptional attention to detail, which is a unique characteristic that I've been told about repeatedly, and now it's time for me to put it to good use in pharmacy tech work. I've had to work for everything I've earned without getting handouts, and I call that a blessing in disguise because it demonstrates how strong I am as a woman. I live by the quote that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you're able to rise above it or what you make of it. My journey from receiving a mediocre grade from a professor to becoming a Distinguished Toastmaster five years later in 2025 exemplifies my tenacity and resilience. I don't give up, and that's what motivated me to go back to school to become a pharmacy tech even when the job market is challenging. My involvement with Leadership Greater Syracuse, where I served as team leader for the Central New York Food Bank Group, and my extensive work with the autism community through the Syracuse Autism Speaks Walk planning committee have all reinforced my commitment to turning my experiences into strength and using my voice to advocate for awareness, acceptance, action, and allyship.

The best career advice I ever received came from my mother, who told me to follow my heart and to make my own path to be happy. She gave me the freedom to choose what would truly fulfill me rather than just following in her footsteps as a nurse. Even though she was a respected nurse herself, she had the wisdom and honesty to tell me that I would be too sensitive for nursing and wouldn't be able to handle it emotionally. Looking back on it, she was absolutely right. Another piece of wisdom that guides me every day is that life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you're able to rise above it or what you make of it. This perspective has helped me stay resilient and focused, especially when facing challenges in the job market or in my studies. My family also taught me that if something is too good to be true, then I should steer clear of it, which has helped me make sound decisions throughout my educational and career journey.

My advice to any woman entering the healthcare field, whether it's pharmacy tech, medical billing and coding, or transcriptionist work, is to make sure you have enough energy for studying, because it requires a lot of studying. But remember that the prize waits for you at the end of the finish line. Don't depend so much on handouts, because if you don't have handouts or don't get many handouts and you do it from the bottom up yourself, that's what makes you a strong, phenomenal woman. You'll be able to reap the rewards more instead of reaping from getting things handed to you on a silver platter. I've had to work for everything I've earned, and I didn't really get any handouts. I would call it a blessing in disguise because that just manifests or demonstrates how strong I am as a woman without anybody's help or a handout that's not going to last or be beneficial in the long run. Tenacity, resilience, and self-sufficiency are essential values to hold close. You need to have a strong can-do mindset to overcome obstacles and stay focused on your long-term goals. Don't give up, even when the job market is challenging. That's what motivated me to go back to school to become a pharmacy tech.

The challenges I see with the pharmacy tech industry, although I haven't finished the program yet, is probably the employment or the job market, because it's so challenging right now. Thousands of people are having a hard time getting jobs, even at typical supermarkets like Wegmans or Kroger. But I would say don't give up, and that's what motivated me to get back into school and go back to become a pharmacy tech. While there's no such thing as a stress-free job, the healthcare field does seem to have more opportunities compared to other industries. The key is to remember that life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you're able to rise above it or what you make of it. If you excel in pharmacy tech, you have to have exceptional attention to detail because you're dealing with medications and working with customers who might not have a clue on how to administer the meds to themselves or their loved ones. That level of responsibility and the critical nature of the work means that precision and care are absolutely essential.

Family is at the absolute core of my values and serves as the foundation for everything I do. My late mother, who was a respected nurse and passed away in 2024 from kidney failure, taught me to follow my heart and make my own path to be happy. My family legacy in healthcare, including my great aunt who is a retired nurse in Florida and my aunt who was a prominent hospital administrator in Washington, D.C., has inspired me to carry on that tradition in my own way. Putting my prominent attention to detail into good use is extremely important to me, especially as someone on the autism spectrum where exceptional attention to detail is a unique characteristic. I believe strongly in turning words into action and demonstrating strength through self-sufficiency and resilience. I've had to work for everything I've earned without handouts, and that has made me a stronger woman. Tenacity and a never-give-up mindset guide me every day, along with the belief that life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you rise above it. I am deeply committed to autism awareness, acceptance, action, and allyship through my extensive work with the autism community, my role on the planning committee for the Syracuse Autism Speaks Walk, and my involvement with Leadership Greater Syracuse. These values of advocacy, inclusion, and using my voice to help others are central to both my personal and professional life.