Christina Otto

CHRISTINA OTTO
Hometown: Cookeville, Tenn.
Occupation: Owner-operator
Company: Oakley Trucking

Three years ago I was sitting in my garage drinking coffee. It was another day without a job. Another day I couldn’t pay the bills. Looking over the help wanted section, there was the trucking ad again. Being a 23-year-old 5-foot-3-inch, 100-pound woman, I had brushed the ad off so many times. I didn’t know anything about trucks except they were big. I loved to drive but all my friends kept saying it was to dangerous, I couldn’t drive something so big.

About a month later I enrolled in a class I could pay back while working. If I failed I would have ended up back on the couch. Thankfully I did not.

It’s been a three-year roller coaster. I’ve driven box and reefer. I now own my truck with a hopper or pneumatic.

The most beautiful part to me is the American dream. No matter how far down you go, never give up, no matter if no one believes you can. Believe in yourself, a dream, and grab a gear!