Guest Column: How will you wield your wand?
by State Senator Jessica Castleberry
I have a magic wand. Anyone who has visited my office can find out a lot about me- places I’ve visited, friends and family closest to me, phrases I find inspirational, fairly typical office embellishments. However, one item that may seem unusual is a sparkly, delicately ribboned, pink magic wand.
Fifteen years ago, I was freshly divorced, with three children under the age of four and $3 in my checking account. At 24, I was alone, my first business was closed, my credit score was toast, and I was working five twelve-hour shifts a week as a patient care tech, living paycheck to paycheck and struggling to make ends meet.
I visited an office in Rapid City that offered credit counseling and other helpful services- debt consolidation, budgeting, a plan to help people in my situation to get on track.
I sat down in the dark, paneled office to visit with a credit counselor. I told her of my recent divorce, the big-on-dream-short-on-cashflow business closure, the damage done to my credit score, how I was working overtime and walking the three miles roundtrip to work every day trying to better my situation. I told her I was determined to work hard for a better life for myself and my kids. I told her I wanted to obtain a business degree to become a business manager and one day own a business of my own again.
She sat and stared at me for a long time in silence. What she said next, I will never forget.
“You will never accomplish any of that. No one will ever allow someone like you to manage their business.” Then she pointed to a wand she had hanging above her desk. “Do you see that?” she asked. I nodded, fighting back angry tears. She continued, “That is in my office so I can remind people to be realistic.”
Anyone who knows me well knows that telling me I’m incapable of doing something is the best way to ensure I do it. So, I worked for the next four years to advance my education and experience. In March of this year, I celebrated the 11th anniversary of my own small business in Rapid City, which grew from a small in-home operation to three commercial locations. Along the way, I was awarded the SD CEO Young Enterprising Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2016, the Small Business Administration’s South Dakota Woman-Owned Small Business of the Year Award in 2018, and have become a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses alumni. Heck, with the sincerest gratitude to my friends in neighbors in District 35, I even became a South Dakota State Senator along the way.
I am passionate about trying to help everyone, whether it’s the generational ag producer or the single parent trying to obtain a technical college degree. This is why I work to help small businesses, why I’m dedicated to addressing taxation, why I support workforce development, why I support alternative education pathways. This is why I will always do my best to help the struggling dreamers in South Dakota. I see you because I am you.
Sitting in that dark-paneled cube in 2006, I vowed that one day when I had my own office, I too would have a magic wand on my wall. Not to point out to others how they were insufficient, incapable, or “less than.” But to use my wand to encourage others that through diligence, grit, and hard work, we can all pursue a better life. That’s how I wield my wand; how will you wield yours?
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Senator Jessica Castleberry is a member of the South Dakota Senate Transportation Committee and a small business owner from Rapid City.
You are a living testimony that we should not let anyone let us shake our confidence nor steal our joy. God bless. I am proud to call you a friend.
An amazing story of an amazing woman. I got to know Senator Castleberry on a trip we took with other state legislators to North Dakota. My two words to describe Sen Castleberry are—smart and kind. You are an inspiration to others.
Awesome testimony and an awesome message from Senator Castleberry. Governor Noem chose well in appointing her to the Senate and District 35 agreed overwhelmingly at the ballot box.
Wield on, Senator!!!
Great words. Inspirational. Everything we’d expect of Senator Jessica.
Jess, on my office wall is the letter from my bank turning down the loan to start my business. I framed it. Proving them wrong is motivating
Great story with an awesome message. You continue to impress Senator Castleberry.
Self congratulatory.
Words coming from a jealous soul.
On March 4,2020, Senator Castleberry falsely claimed she was repeatedly pulled over by police just because she was a blonde girl driving a convertible in high school. How can anyone trust a politician who throws police under the bus?
What an embarrassing,self serving hack.
LCJ- I normally don’t respond to any of these, particularly to those who post comments without their name, or don’t address concerns with me directly. As you’ve made a similar comment before I will address it as you are accusing me of lying about my personal experiences. You have never reached out to me to discuss concerns or seek clarification of specific instances, one of which included ending up in court with a police officer at the age of 16 (with the ruling in my favor). On my lunch break from school, I was driving to see my mom at work. The officer accused me of drinking (not a chance), he said that I was lying about where I was going (what teenager in their right mind would have lunch with their mom, right?), and that I rolled a stop sign (also, not true). I fought it and the courts agreed. This is only one example. The point of my comment on March 4th, 2020 was to address that no one lobbying for that specific bill could answer how it would be enforced, placing our police officers in a position where they had to be suppositional. I feel it is unfair to ask the police to enforce new laws without clear guidance, particularly when those laws are aimed at removing freedoms (also stated that day). I mentioned certain stipulations also I didn’t agree with, such as children unrelated not being allowed to ride in a car together until a certain point would be very difficult to enforce. Would my three teenagers be pulled over because there was more than one teen in the car? Would they be forced to show identification? If they had different last names (which they don’t) would they be forced to carry birth certificate papers to prove relation? The reality is there are bad actors, but the overwhelming majority of our law enforcement are the bravest people. Laws should be formulated to protect not only citizens but police officers as well, and I’m not in favor of laws that continue to take away our freedoms, and contribute to the dumbing down and lack of accountability for society. I support our law enforcement, always have, and always will. You may not agree with me, but I am not a liar, and at the end of the day, I am not afraid to put my name on my words and own them. If you’d ever care to speak with me directly you can reach out to me anytime at [email protected]
I am glad you made a success out of a difficult situation. I have long said people have the ability to achieve what they want if they are willing to work for it. I got my degree in a non-trad setting after seeing what I wanted and learning what I needed to get there. My wife also got the education she needed while being a mother of three children and working full time (neither of us had as many roadblocks as you did because we had the support of each other). Your testimony is proof where there’s a will there’s a way. Thank you for sharing. And if you are reading her story, take encouragement from it.