Inspiring Journey Revisited 22 Years Later: Jessica Pelasky is the T.O.P.S.

T.O.P.S. is an acronym that stands for just a few of the amazing attributes that I took away from my brief discussion with Jessica as she generously gave her time for a conversation with me on October 18, 2022. Those attributes include: Trailblazer with Opinions, a Positive Outlook, who wants to Speak out for things that are not right.?

Some people engage in hobbies for moments of respite from the day-to-day grind, like swimming or crochet (which are two of Jessica’s). I seem to have developed a hobby of watching old talk shows. They take me back to a simpler time; a time when I was much younger, living in a pre-9/11 and pre-Pandemic world. I have re-watched and watched for the first-time daytime talk shows like The Phil Donahue Show. ? I even caught a glimpse of someone I knew in the studio audience when he had the cast from the movie, Steel Magnolias in 1989. (True story for which Nancy Hogshead-Makar can attest, and I spotted her even before she asked her question alongside Phil Donahue with his iconic microphone aimed at an audience member).?

My most recent endeavor was re-discovering the first few seasons of the Rosie O’Donnell show that began in the late 1990s. I reacquainted myself with her segment, entitled SuperKids, in which Rosie would share amazingly powerful stories of bright high school students who have overcome a great deal in their short lives. One of these impactful segments gave the viewers an opportunity to have a brief glance into the life of Jessica Pelasky. Rosie’s narration revealed Jessica’s work on the “World Wide Web” publishing a school newsletter that Jessica entitled The Whole Shebang, which later became the conduit of her initial career in website design. Rosie also described Jessica’s positive outlook; her love of family, including her memories of her grandfather and the lessons he taught her; and, the fact that Jessica was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta. (For further information about support, research, and education, here is a link to the: OI Foundation )?

Rosie presented Jessica with the exciting news through the help of the members of 'N Sync that Kellogg's would be paying for her four year college education along with finding an aid, if needed, to continue to assist Jessica in navigating through buildings that at the time were not necessarily wheel-chair friendly. After having the distinct pleasure of speaking with Jessica in the present day, she shared that the lack of wheelchair accessibility in our country continues in many places, including Airports, an observation for which non-wheelchair users may be oblivious. (Jessica also shared that she hasn’t needed the use of an aid since high school).? Jessica’s segment on the Rosie O’Donnell show moved me and countless others as indicated by the comments on YouTube. One of the aspects that struck me profoundly was seeing the adults in their interviews sharing the impact that Jessica had on them in ways that mere words couldn’t fully describe.? After watching this snapshot of Jessica’s story, I felt compelled to reach out to Jessica, which would not have been as easy to do during that pre-social media era. My effort in reaching out merely consisted of a quick LinkedIn search and before I knew it, we had exchanged messages. My hope is that this article can meet Jessica’s desired outcome, which is to inspire, enlighten, and/or help at least one other person.?

I had the distinct pleasure of having this conversation with Jessica over video chat, and I deeply appreciate her willingness to share with me and indulge me in some questions that I had since viewing her SuperKid segment of the Rosie O’Donnell show that aired in the year 2000. (Including whether she had seen ‘N Sync and Justin Timberlake in concert over the years—to which the answer was yes-- a few times).??

Jessica realized that her TV debut was posted on YouTube in May of this year (2022), unbeknownst to her and outside of her ever thinking that anyone (and everyone) would be able to access this pre-social media event, twenty-two plus years later.??

When Jessica and I exchanged messages, I learned that she had been in Europe and was there for twelve days on a work trip.? About five months prior to that, she had traveled to New York on a work trip (around the time that this heartwarming twenty-two plus year-old TV segment landed on modern day YouTube, and she explained that not many people at work even knew she had been on the show).?

What Would you Tell Your Younger Self?

Jessica describes herself as a very shy, bashful kid growing up. She stated that she was pretty self-conscious, which influenced how she portrayed her abilities. She stated that she didn’t live up to her potential the way she could have, because of disabilities. She shared that she grew up in a small town in Ohio and because of her disability, missed a lot of school; and tutored at home quite a bit. She shared that between the ages of thirteen to seventeen, she missed a lot of activities. The impression that I had from the SuperKids segment is that others around her, including the adults in her life, viewed her as surpassing her potential, while she explained that she wishes she just reached outside the box a bit. She would tell her younger self (the one that Justin Timberlake was expressing the love of Kellog’s cereal to) “to be more comfortable with who you are, it could have worked out differently.” After our talk, I saw her Linkedin post that she wished she had this motto when she was younger: In this life, you should read everything you can read. Taste everything you can taste. Meet everyone you can meet. Travel everywhere you can travel. Learn everything you can learn. Experience everything you can experience. In speaking with her, it sounds like Jessica has been adhering to this motto from at least back in the year 2000 through today.?

Jessica shared that her disability probably contributed to her self-consciousness; and, that self-consciousness led to her not disclosing her disability on job applications. Jessica went on to say that it wasn’t until much later in her career that she started to disclose that she is 3 feet 3 inches tall. She remembers a time early on when she attended a job interview and the perceived shock that she saw displayed on the interviewer’s face about who showed up as their candidate; from that point on, Jessica started disclosing it on job applications.??

Fast forward to fifteen years later, Jessica now works for a global firm and proud of her disability and is proof that there are better opportunities in store, as her disclosure of disability doesn’t get in the way of her demonstrating her capability. As she states, “things can and do get better” and she expressed gratitude for everything that brought her to her current position working with an amazing group of people.?

Wisdom about Disclosure:

Jessica wisely shared that “Everyone is on their own journey, and no one should discredit what that journey should look like for someone else; if they are happy and content with that…there is no manual for disclosure [of a disability/condition/illness], or for life.” Speaking with Jessica about this aspect felt like permission was granted—whether it is the permission you grant yourself or from those you respect, that regardless of what challenge you or a family member may face—whether a physical or mental diagnosis or condition—you have every right to allow your journey and inner wisdom to guide and inform you about what is right for you, when it comes to disclosing to an employer or a loved one. Many workplaces nowadays have Affinity Employee Resource Groups that are dedicated to provide support, advocacy, and increasing awareness for those that are impacted by disabilities—visible or invisible.? Jessica participates in Abilities and Allies Group within her organization, where those discussions are often raised.?

What Misconceptions do People Hold About You?

When asked about misconceptions people may have about her, Jessica shared that people assume that she is quiet. If you ask her family members, they would probably describe her as loud and someone that shares her opinions freely. She admits that in settings outside of her family, she listens and absorbs a lot. She describes it as “check[ing] the temperature of her surroundings that consist of the people with whom she is with and the environment. Someone shared with her a couple of weeks ago that they didn’t seem to know her opinion about many things—yet she states she has a lot of opinions and freely shares them while also recognizing whether people are asking, as a deciding factor prior to her voicing them.?

Career Evolution

As far as her career evolution, Jessica initially wanted to be a website designer in 2000. Her journey over the next fifteen years propelled her to the field of adult learning—a field necessary to teach people how to do the web design she loves, and she describes her career as a true source of happiness. Jessica explained that providing people the opportunity to learn and develop skills provides them with the means of knowledge and training to advance careers and allows them to engage more fully with their jobs.?

Jessica stated that what led her to the Global firm where she currently works is her deftness in thinking outside of the box and the opportunity arriving at the right time and at the right place. In fact, Jessica received a promotion one year ago for which she set her sights and worked heavily to obtain.

Jessica thought in the year 2000 that she didn’t necessarily need a degree for web design, but the fact that she was awarded the funds for a four-year college degree opened a lot of doors for her and she went on to obtain her Masters in Adult Education.?

Her creation of the Whole Shebang newsletter from high school, turned into a web design business that she continued to work in for twenty-one years.? She then created a blog in her mid-20s that highlighted recipes and crafts that were fully accessible (although at the time, she didn’t mention the accessibility aspect in her post, which was in the pre-Pinterest era). The creations that she was writing about were ones she was doing herself.?

Positive Outlook:?

There have certainly been changes since her TV debut. Jessica shared that she is physically stronger now and reported that it hasn’t been since the age of seventeen when she last broke a bone.?

One thing that didn’t seem to change since the start of the Millennium, was her positive outlook. Jessica shared that she has always been positive and can see the brighter side of things stating “I’m able to brush things off 90% of the time. Life is what it is. I don’t know how to live it any other way. The world is getting better.” Jessica shared her observations after returning from her recent international travel that included that she was “impressed with accessibility in Europe.” She was able to be taken right into a restaurant and went through security in airports easily over there. “Things are what they are, and often not worth the emotional stress of raising an issue. I said it on Rosie and now, that someone has it worse than me.”?

For many, the Pandemic prompted a new virtual reality. Another aspect that hasn’t changed much for Jessica, is her remote work experience. For Jessica, she shared that she attended college virtually, and worked from home when she was doing freelance web design; attended graduate school virtually and then taught web design virtually. Her current work role is virtual. Jessica’s home office is modified for her needs making it an ideal workspace for her, including external keyboards, a stair lift, and ramps leading to the outside. Home is safe for her, yet it is important to her to step outside of her comfort zone.? Her first work trip in May to New York City allowed her to enjoy the welcoming nature of meeting people face to face, which she notices is different than on camera. The quick NYC work trip prepared her for her subsequent work trip to Europe where she met an entirely different work team, which certainly demonstrates Jessica stepping outside of her comfort zone.?

What matters??

What matters to Jessica is that we check in on people. “’Hi, how are you?’, is how I start my meetings. We work so much, the laptop is on for the majority of the day, it’s nice to check in with people to learn about them, to understand them [which] makes it easier to work with them and to interact.”

Jessica reflected that her family has always been there and attributes her relationship with them for getting through tough times. Her sister is not too far in Chicago and her parents remain in Ohio. She is now Aunt Jess to her eight year-old twin nieces who were born prematurely allowing her to hold them initially because they were small enough, and now they are twice her size. ‘Aunt Jess’ loves spending time with them, and she is grateful to be close with her sister,?

What drains you?

Jessica shared that negativity is draining and that she tries to “avoid being around people that constantly complain; those where nothing is ever good enough.”?

Self-Advocacy:

Professionally, Jessica shared that she stood up for herself in her previous job, when she thought she deserved more and started asking others about opportunities outside of her work scope. As a result, she landed a position with her current company and realized without seeking out more, she wouldn’t be where she is today; working with such amazing people.?

The first time Jessica recalls standing up for herself was when she was thirteen years old. She explained that because she had a disability, the public school system thought she should be in a special needs class, rather than in a mainstream classroom education setting. “They assumed that my mind matched my physical appearance, and someone from the state would come to evaluate me for about seven to eight years in a row.? It was the same woman each time year after year, and when I was thirteen, she continued to ask me how to spell three letter words like cat and dog. I ended up spelling them in French [since I was taking French at the time] and I excused myself, explaining to her that I needed to work on my algebra homework and I asked her not to waste my time anymore. The woman left, never saying a word, and she never came back.”?

What does Jessica want to be remembered for?

Jessica wants to be remembered for speaking out for things that are not right. She shared that she is “finally doing that.” (Although, I would say that she has been doing that since at least the age of thirteen as previously referenced). Jessica wants to make it better for someone that comes after her. Jessica shared that she was the only person in her town that went through what she did by the time she was in high school and explained that the school made modifications due to her that were helpful to those that came after her.?

She would like to see more people like her in the workplace. She values pushing oneself to do better and to be better.?

Jessica shared that she would very much like to thank Rosie O’Donnell for the doors that opened as a result of being on her show. I would very much like to thank Jessica for her generous spirit of spending the hour with me and enabling this article to be written.?

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