Her Story
About Jessica
Jessica Nestor works in IT at Cisco, where she has been employed since 2022 following her military service and supply chain experience. She began her IT career in 2023 and values the flexibility her role provides, allowing her to balance work with raising her son. Nestor attributes her success to God and family, emphasizing faith and a hardworking upbringing that instilled respect and gratitude. Her educational background includes an undergraduate degree in criminal justice and sociology, a master's in criminal justice from American Military University, an MBA in Business Administration from the University of South Florida, and a master's in HR from Georgetown University. She advises continuous learning and growth, integrity in communication, and encourages women entering the industry to step outside their comfort zones and seek mentorship.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jessica
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say God and family, God first. Everything that I have is a blessing. Everything that I've received is a blessing. Every opportunity that has come into my life has been a blessing. The way that I was raised, faith is always gonna be number one, and just always giving thanks and being grateful for both opportunities I have come into my life. And then family too, how it's brought up a very hardworking family, making sure that I respect others, people, and love people.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Never stop learning, never stop growing. Always continue to look for opportunities to grow, even if it's online training. Just try to find that time, try to get it in there. Because sometimes you can become stagnant and just comfortable where we are, so the best advice is to just keep the self-development going.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't be afraid to step into something new, something different, something that may not be your comfort zone. Make sure to reach out to people in different fields that maybe you're interested in and want to get to know better, reach out to them, try to seek out mentorship or guidance. There's a lot of people out there who love to mentor and answer questions. Don't be afraid to reach out to other people and seek that if you're trying to change careers.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity is definitely important to me. Having integrity in how I relate to people, how I communicate with people, making sure that I am being honest and open about whatever it is, tasks that are coming down from leadership, just being open and honest through conversation and discussions.
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