Stories of Women Road Warriors

What kind of woman is a professional truck driver? She typically has strong driving and navigational skills. She is organized, disciplined, trustworthy and patient. She is a good communicator with basic mechanical knowledge.

Redefining the Road tells the stories of four women who have chosen the career path as professional drivers. The Women In Trucking Association (WIT) has recently recognized all of these individuals as Members of the Month.

Jessica Olsen, Professional Driver for SRS Distribution, was introduced to the industry when she worked as a truck stop waitress. She wondered if a driving career would be a good fit and regularly questioned drivers about their careers. However, like many restaurant workers in 2020, Olsen was laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With continued encouragement from her customers, she used the stimulus money she received to go to trucking school and obtained her CDL.

Shortly after earning her CDL, she accepted a position at ABC Supply driving a boom truck. She also learned how to operate a crane and became certified by the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators. NCCCO is an independent, nonprofit organization established by the construction industry in 1995 to develop and administer nationwide certification programs for load handling equipment operators and related personnel.

“Operating a crane is like stepping into the shoes of a much larger and more powerful being and each job site is a puzzle to solve. I truly enjoy going to work every day and 18 months later, that magic still hasn’t worn off,” says Olsen. In May 2022, Olsen began her career at SRS Distribution as a Professional Driver and Logistics Specialist II boom driver and operator.

When Raquel Sanchez joined the Army National Guard in 2011, she was offered the opportunity to drive a truck. Inspired by her father, Jim Sanchez, who has been a driver for UPS for more than 38 years, she realized her desire for a career behind the wheel. Sanchez left the military after eight years and continued doing various jobs. However, she never felt completely satisfied in the work she was doing.

Sanchez began her career at UPS in August 2019 and loaded packages onto delivery trucks. Progressing quickly, she became a delivery driver, and eventually began driving a semi-truck for UPS in February

2022. Most recently, Sanchez and her father made history by being the first father and daughter long-haul team on the West Coast. Sanchez feels a sense of accomplishment driving a truck and encourages other women to pursue a career in this industry.

“More than 70% of goods and services are delivered by trucks and being able to deliver loads on time gives you a sense of self-importance and value,” she says. “I feel proud of the work I do after completing my last stop of the day.”

Olsen encourages other women to pursue a career in the industry: “Don’t be afraid to go after an intimidating specialty and always be confident in your own abilities.”

Although Kathy Tuccaro was a nurse for 13 years, she found herself on a destructive path and homeless. A wake-up call led her to a women’s recovery center, where she attended a career planning workshop and was handed a paper that read: heavy equipment operator. “I told the woman that her test was wrong,” remembers Tuccaro. However, the woman looked back at her and sternly said, “if you believe in yourself a little bit, you will see the test is right!”

Fast-forward to Tuccaro’s inspiring life story. From there, she was sent to Women Building Futures where ExxonMobil was

Haleigh Fickett, Transport Driver for R.H. Foster Energy, an energy company based in Hampden, Maine, has held a CDL for eight years but has only been actively driving for about five years due to difficulties getting hired at a young age with no experience.

After obtaining her Class A CDL at the age of 17, she spent a few years working various jobs, while constantly applying for different driver openings. At the age of 20, she took a position working for the Maine Department of Transportation.

Fickett is always up for a new challenge and jumped at the opportunity the following summer to begin her career at R.H. Foster Energy, obtain her HAZMAT license, and start learning how to haul fuel. Although this decision was a huge step for her, as she didn’t initially plan to haul HAZMAT freight, she believes it has been the best career decision she has ever made.

“If I could give any advice to other women interested in this industry, it would simply be to never underestimate yourself,” Fickett says. “I was nervous when I was getting started in my current position because it is a very physically demanding job, but I have proven that if I truly put my mind to it, anything is possible.” sponsoring 16 women to take a 12-week Heavy Equipment Operator course. She was selected out of 170 applicants, hired by ExxonMobil in 2013, and now drives a 400-ton 797F Caterpillar Mining Truck, a 52,000-gallon water truck, and a 24M Grader. Not a traditional career path for a woman, to be sure.

Now 10 years sober, Tuccaro’s accomplishments include writing three books, including Dream Big! Which is available on Amazon, Kindle and in bookstores – and is even available in French, Spanish, and Hindi. She also wrote The

Mystical Swordsman of the Sugmad, which is about the spiritual journey of a little girl who is abused by her father. She travels the world working with women and youth, and also has been featured in magazines, on radio shows, podcasts, and TV shows, and is a cohost on a radio show, Women Road Warriors. She spoke at WIT’s Accelerate! Conference in Dallas last fall.

“You must believe in the person you want to become and work every day to reach your goals,” says Tuccaro. “You won’t regret the efforts put into building a new and better you. If I can do it, so can you!”