Pamela Smith

I attribute my success first and foremost to God, because I know I wouldn't be here without Him. I've had 9 brain surgeries for hydrocephalus, and doctors said I should have been dead or a complete vegetable, but God brought me through every single one. When I would beg Him to take the pain away, He would take the pain away. My neurosurgeon was very spiritual and told me he prayed to God before every surgery, and he was right that it would turn out fine by the grace of God. Beyond faith, my father played a huge role in shaping who I became. He raised 10 kids by himself after my mother left when I was 10 years old, and he was an amazing father who taught us morals, values, and the importance of precision and attention to detail through his carpentry work. He told me and all my siblings to 'always be the first one in and the last one out,' which shaped my strong work ethic. I also had an 88-year-old mentor at the University of Phoenix who emphasized thoroughness and attention to detail in accounting, telling me to never leave anything undone, turn over every stone, and always find that missing penny because it matters. She taught me to always have documentation and be able to explain everything, which became my strength. I never gave up, even when things got hard. I refused to quit, and I kept pushing forward no matter what, proving to myself that I was still normal and capable despite having this thing in my head. My values of empathy, hard work, dedication, and keeping my mind active have guided me through everything.

The best career advice I ever received came from an 88-year-old woman who was my mentor at the University of Phoenix. She had come back to school for continuing education, and she told me she still had an 88-year-old brain. She said to me: never, ever leave anything undone. She told me to take my time, turn over every stone, and balance everything out, because the companies I work for, their life is dependent on me and how I do my job. She said if something doesn't look right, turn around, take a break, go back, and look at it again. Do it twice until you get it right. She emphasized that I should never just leave it, saying 'if it's a penny, it's a penny.' She also taught me to CYA, cover your you-know-what, and always do things where you can go back and show where everything was. I took that to heart, and everything I did, I had a reason for it. I made notes of everything, so if they needed an answer or needed me to explain something, I could do it just like the snap of a finger. That attention to detail became where I shined, and it's what helped me win all those awards at work.

Never, never give up. Never give up. There's all kinds of things that can come up in someone's life, and they think, oh, this is just too hard, or I can't do this, I can't do this. But can't never could. Go through the process, it will get better. Mainly, carry God along with you. He's right there beside you every step of the way. You just have to push yourself, and it will pay off. It takes a lot of courage, and it takes believing in yourself and the job that you're doing. If you love it, you love it, and when you love it, you really excel in it. Look at yourself and think about pushing through, no matter what. Keep going, keep going, keep going, and do your best. That's all we can do. With His guidance, you'll make it. I'm not a quitter, so I don't give up easy. I'm looking at myself, and I'm thinking about pushing through, no matter what obstacles come my way, because that's what it takes to succeed.

Right now, where I'm at in my life, I want to keep my brain so active that I'm involved in several things, not just one. I want to see how much I can do. I want to see how much I can keep going, and I want to do 2 or 3 things at once. That drive never left me. If anything, it made it stronger when I had the first brain surgery, because I knew then I had to move forward and keep pushing. Now, one thing doesn't satisfy me. I need multiple things to think about because I need my brain to stay active. I need to keep thinking, I need to keep researching, I just need to do all these things. One thing I'm not crazy about is AI. When this started, I was thinking, how does that come into the world and take the place of an actual mind sometimes? It's been something I've kind of enjoyed reading about, and kudos to the person who made this, but it'll never take the place of a real person. It's a good tool, but it's not the main tool.

Faith is absolutely the most important value to me. I credit God and divine intervention as central to surviving my 9 brain surgeries and overcoming all of life's challenges. I know I wouldn't be here without Him, and when I would beg Him to take the pain away, He would. Never giving up is a core principle I've carried through all my medical hardships and professional obstacles. I refused to give up and said if God is going to bring me through all of this, then I have to help Him by staying focused and keeping on working. Precision and attention to detail are critical values inspired by my father's carpentry background and reinforced by my mentor. I valued thoroughness in my accounting work, always balancing down to the penny and making sure everything was documented. Hard work and dedication have defined my career. I worked 10-hour days, took work home, and worked weekends to stay on schedule and make sure everything was perfect. I was always the one willing to put in the extra effort. Keeping my mind active is essential to me. I believe in continuously working on multiple projects at once and staying mentally engaged. I value human expertise and the power of a real person's mind over shortcuts like AI. Finally, my word and integrity mean everything. When I promised that million-dollar client we'd complete the job, he paid us based on my word alone, and that meant the world to me.