For years, the demo tape that launched Prince’s storied career had been tucked away in an attic of the home of the music executive that first signed him.

Video above: Town made famous by 'Purple Rain' unveils a life-sized statue of Prince

Now, music enthusiasts and Prince fans worldwide have a chance to own the tape that landed the Minneapolis superstar his first record contract as it goes up for auction, according to Boston-based auction house RR Auction.

The demo, recorded in 1976 and still in its original custom packaging, is part of the Marvels of Modern Music auction that ends on Thursday.

It contains unreleased versions of the songs “Just As Long as We’re Together” and “My Love is Forever,” as well as the never-released “Jelly Jam.”

Prince was just 18 years old when he recorded the tracks – all written, sung, arranged and played by himself – at Sound 80 Studios in Minneapolis, RR Auction said in a news release.

“It is the original tape, so this is the birth of who became known as Prince,” Bobby Livingston, RR Auction’s executive vice president of public relations, told CNN.

“It’s incredible because it comes from the record executive whom it was sent to, so it has this unbroken chain of custody,” Livingston said.

The special artifact was discovered by Jeff Gold, a former Warner Bros. Records executive vice president and general manager who was friends with music industry executive Russ Thyret.

Thyret, who later served as the record company’s CEO and chairman, signed Prince to Warner Bros. on June 25, 1977, shortly after his 19th birthday.

Gold, who today runs an online business selling high-end collectibles and helps artists value their archives, said he received a call from Thyret’s widow, who lives in Los Angeles. Thyret died in 2021.

“(She said), ‘Russ saved a lot of stuff and it’s all up in the attic of our house – would you come take a look and help me figure out what to do with it, and buy anything you’re interested in?’” Gold told CNN.

He said he came across a couple of boxes containing tapes in the attic.

“When I saw (the demo tape), I knew exactly what it was,” Gold said. “I was very excited when I saw it, but guardedly so, because you never know if the tape’s going to be playable or if the tape has the wrong thing in the box – but happily, this one had the right thing.”

The demo tape up for auction comes with a plexiglass display case, a business card belonging to Thyrett, a CD transfer of the tape’s audio and a letter of provenance from Gold, according to RR Auction.

Several other Prince items are being auctioned, including the lace glove he wore on stage during the Purple Rain tour and a sealed first pressing of “The Black Album,” the auction house said.

Previously auctioned Prince items have sold for big price tags. The original lyrics of his song, “Nothing Compares 2 U,” sold for $150,000, according to Livingston.

DENVER, Colo. — Looking clean and pristine was once the standard of travel.

"These folks are the best. No matter who I get every time I have time when I'm in Denver, I always stop and get a shoe shine," said one pilot at the Denver airport.

It's what veteran pilots have always known.

"I know it doesn't look like it by looking at me, but I've been doing this for 27 and a half years," said another pilot.

However, time has shifted and fewer less travelers are gliding through the airport in tip-top shape. Jill Wright, the CEO of Executive Shine, has watched it happen the first time and that's why her business has stood the test of time.

"The world's changed a lot," Wright said. "We have a saying that we say is: 'what does love look like here, for the person in front of you right now,' and that's how our whole business runs."

You don't need your fanciest pair of shoes to stop by! Your leather sneakers or favorite boots will certainly suffice.

"Those are the trends that have shifted. It's gone from really stiff to really soft, and I think that's kind of symbolic for what's happening with people," Wright said.

To Wright and her team, a shiny pair of shoes is simply the cherry on top. This business, in the center of the Denver airport, is about connection.

"I mean it literally gives me life to have you guys come back and see us again. Just knowing that I touched your day in a special way," said Tara Soto, an employee at Executive Shine.

People share their stories as they sit down.

"These boots I actually got while I was in Germany visiting my grandma," one woman explained.

We've learned many airline staff won't go anywhere else in the country.

"The only place I've gotten my shoes shined is here," a pilot told us. "We all know when we buy our next set of shoes gotta go through Denver."

Wright says it is rare people are given the opportunity to share and the employees, sitting in front of them, really care.

"People still need to be seen and be appreciated for who they are," Wright said.

"It goes deeper than the shine for me for sure," Soto explained.

Soto says shoes are a metaphor for how people judge themselves.

"When you look at your shoes, you come up and you're like, 'Oh, they look so good,' and there's a little bit of color off the tips of the toes or they are not in the best shape, ya know, sometimes that's how we as people look at each other or even ourselves," Soto said. "Just dirty, without purpose, trying to find your worth, trying to find your beauty that you have inside."

It's a journey she's personally experienced, working here for nearly a decade.

"Going through the transformation of cleaning them and conditioning them is really a personal transformation that we go through in life too," Soto said.

We all know the saying to walk in someone's shoes and in this case it's connecting sole to soul.

"Always put yourself in the shoes of someone else," Wright said.

With the tight job market right now, some employers are changing how they do background checks. In addition to the initial background check, they're adding what's called “continuous monitoring.”

These are regular checks of court records that happen after you've been hired.

“Employees, I think, are increasing their expectations for safety and security across the board. And, as a result of that, I think you see a lot of organizations that are trying to make sure that they're putting solutions in place to help support that,” said Tom Miller, CEO at ClearForce.

Tom Miller with ClearForce works with employers who say they're adding continuous monitoring as they work to do more second-chance hiring, That means hiring people with a criminal record.

This impacts an estimated 70 million Americans.

Miller says how long continuous monitoring lasts varies by company and industry.

“Most importantly, they want to be able to provide environments where they can pick up on indications that would be helpful to them to get assistance to individuals that need assistance, to be able to really save and retain employees,” said Miller.

However, some attorneys are questioning the need for additional monitoring.

Ariel Nelson with the National Consumer Law Center says she's concerned about the errors that can come up in background checks, like mismatched or incomplete records.

“Say you have hired someone that, you know, that they have a criminal record and you are an employer who is interested in second chances, and has looked at the data and thought this person could be a good employee then,” said Nelson.

“I don't know that someone whose performance has been good getting another using a continuous monitoring check, do you really want to fire someone if their performance has been exactly what you need?” Nelson said.

Research shows Black Americans are arrested more often and may face disparities in the criminal justice system.

“When we're relying on criminal records, we know who is going to impact the most, and I think it's really important that we don't separate the issues between these background checks and the problems with our criminal justice system when we look at these issues,” Nelson said.

Miller says companies should be focusing on eliminating bias and discrimination in any continuous monitoring program they put into place.

As the pandemic heads into yet another year, companies are still grappling with uncertainty in the workplace.

Many have attempted to reopen their offices, only to be stymied by new variants or outbreaks that necessitated yet another shutdown or a delayed re-opening.

So some businesses are removing the guesswork altogether by deciding to remain fully remote — permanently.

Here's what happened when these companies decided to pivot to remote work full-time.

Enabling employees to make major life changes

When David Cancel started sales and marketing software company Drift in 2015, he and his co-founder believed strongly in an in-person work culture.

"We were very strict about that. No one worked remotely. Everyone was in the office five days a week. All our rituals were in person, like our meetings, our kickoffs, our events... a very face-time-centric culture," said Cancel, who is also CEO.

But when the pandemic hit in March 2020, offices across the country -- including Drift's headquarters in Boston and three satellite offices -- closed, and work became entirely remote.

"It was a huge panic," said Cancel. "It wasn't that we didn't support work from home, we were against it. We didn't have any rituals, or setup or practice with doing anything remote."

At the start, adjusting the company's culture to a remote model was a challenge.

"The hardest part for me in this transition was I had a limiting belief that I couldn't hire the most senior people...without meeting them in person. But I was forced to do that [when the pandemic started] and once I saw it happen and see those people get integrated and be productive, then... I said 'Oh, we should do this forever,'" said Cancel.

In early 2021, the company announced that workers will work remotely full-time, and that office spaces will be used as "conversation spaces" for meetings, collaboration and events. "Those spaces are not to be used for primary work or set up for primary work."

The about-face on remote work came with benefits for both Cancel and his workers. It allowed him to move back to New York City, for example, and his employees have also been able to make major life moves.

"We've seen a lot of advantages to the team: people have moved to lower-cost places, closer to family -- and because of those moves, they've been able to get married earlier or make different life choices that they've been putting on hold for a long time."

The company decided that employees who relocate to lower-cost cities would not have their pay adjusted.

"We are location-agnostic when it comes to pay," Cancel said.

Also hybrid work, with workers spending some days in the office and some at home, wasn't an option.

"Inherently, we have a bias toward people who are around, whether we can detect it or not," said Cancel, who said he saw this firsthand at a previous company.

"People that were in the office with the managers....they got disproportionately favored for promotions and opportunities. I wanted to make sure we were equitable that no matter where you were...you would have equal opportunity to everything in the company."

Building a more diverse workforce

Davis Smith, CEO of outdoor gear and apparel company Cotopaxi, was also firmly against remote work before the pandemic.

But less than two months after employees started working from home in March 2020, he changed his mind.

"We started realizing, [remote work] is working. Our teams are functioning more efficiently than ever before," he said.

Video above: Know you’re not alone in feeling the fear of returning to work

The decision to go fully remote means Smith doesn't have to worry about the constant decision making that comes with reopening or closing the offices.

"It seems so distracting... we are just focused on building the business and great culture. We're not worried about having to make all those decisions. There's been a huge benefit in that -- just making that decision early," he said.

The company kept its Salt Lake City office, and Smith said some employees choose to go in every day. "It's a small percentage...those people wanted a place to go."

Smith said he rarely goes into the office these days, but finds that he's more deliberate with his relationships working remotely. "Every single day I have a goal to do one outreach to someone on our team -- I wasn't doing that before. I wasn't that intentional, I just thought: 'Oh I will will run into them in the office.'"

The company has tripled in size during the pandemic and being fully remote has allowed it to build a more diverse team.

"It's a lot easier to hire a diverse team when you aren't limited to a specific geography."

While successful so far, Smith said he still worries about the potential long-term implications of a remote working model.

"I've asked myself many times: At what point does this catch up to us? Because so many people are new and maybe they don't understand the culture as deeply. But our culture has changed and all those rituals and traditions, we had to wipe them clean and start over and we've created new [ones] that work for this new environment."

The company sends employees a weekly poll via Slack that asks about things like engagement, culture and other topics, including compensation and burnout, to help keep a pulse on employee sentiment and morale.

"There has been a lot of power in us saying early on we embrace this new way of working. This is the way of the future: we can either fight it or embrace it and figure it out faster than everyone else," said Smith.

Keeping workers happy

Pre-pandemic, most of the employees at online brokerage firm Robinhood were expected to be in the office every day.

But in December the company told employees it will become primarily remote, meaning there will be no location or regular in-office requirements for most workers. But it will keep its offices, including its headquarters in Menlo Park, California, open to employees.

The shift to remote work over the course of the pandemic has had a noticeable effect, said Cindy Owyoung, vice president of inclusion, equity and belonging at Robinhood.

"Over time, it became increasingly clear that our employees were happiest and did their best work when they had the flexibility to determine where and when they work best," Owyoung said in an email to CNN Business.

ATLANTA, Ga. — Just about every morning, Monicha Taylor hits the gym. She says it helps with productivity before logging on to work at her kitchen table.

“My favorite thing about it is the flexibility that you get,” Taylor said.

Her current public relations job makes it possible for her to work from home, but just like 25 million other Americans, she was unemployed the first few months of the pandemic.

“It was super frustrating, honestly, and scary," Taylor said. "I live alone and I have to take care of myself, so I just wasn't sure how I was going to come out of this or how I was going to stay afloat.”

Since graduating college in 2017, Taylor has been able to stay afloat thanks, in part, to freelance opportunities through Black Girl Group.

Founded by Stephanie Alston, Black Girl Group is a creative staffing platform that connects men and women of color to companies seeking more diverse creative talent.

“Let’s say they're looking for a graphic designer," Alston said. "They'll come to us and we will vet out the top three candidates for them and then we'll send those candidates over for them. They'll interview those candidates and if they decide to hire, then a relationship with them is made and then that person is able to move forward in that role.”

Alston says the idea came to her in a dream. Her goal is to diversify companies all over the U.S. by bringing people of color to the table.

“Being in PR in the past and being the only Black woman in the room on several occasions, what I realize is that oftentimes either there was not enough representation at the table or there was representation where people were afraid to speak up because they were fearful that they would be retaliated against if they did speak up,” Alston said.

Bringing women of color into the workforce is critical right now. Demographics professor Rogelio Saenz at the University of Texas-San Antonio says Black and Latina women have been the most heavily impacted by job loss during the pandemic.

“Childcare disproportionately falls to women and then with women, they also had elder care as well,” Saenz said.

Saenz’ report shows the highest peak of unemployment happened in April. Latinos had the highest unemployment rate at nearly 19%, followed by Blacks at 16.4% and whites had the lowest at around 13%.

“With respect to who was able to work from home and there that was also a significant difference, that it tended to be much more likely to be people with higher levels of education and also more likely to be whites compared to African Americans and Latinos,” Saenz said.

“The Band-Aid that was often put on the struggles that women of color face in the workplace, it was ripped off,” Alston said.

Saenz says the lack of opportunity for higher education and well-paying jobs among women of color is an issue of sexism and systemic racism. Because of that, he says the types of jobs many women of color have are in the service or tourism industries, those heavily affected while we were in lockdown.

The need for diversity became essential and noticed after George Floyd was killed in late May of 2020. Alston says that's when companies started making commitments toward diversity.

“It is unfortunate that the death of George Floyd, you know, was one of those things that propelled us into that," Alston said. "But at the same time, we are now able to give more people opportunities to sit at the table who may have otherwise never had the opportunity before.”

Taylor says her long-term goal is to become an entrepreneur like Alston, propelling women of color into high-paying and meaningful jobs.

Starting a new job is nerve-wracking: You're trying to remember everyone's names and roles, and learn the culture, all the while trying to put your best foot forward.

And for new hires who are joining a company remotely during the pandemic, the onboarding process can be even more difficult.

Here's how to make a great first impression:

Prepare ahead of your first day

Preparation is key to starting a new job on the right foot.

"Get your office in order. Get everything you need that you can set up to where and how you are going to work: your desk, get a ring light if you feel you need it ... get your space ready so that when you start work you are ready to go," said Andrew McCaskill, LinkedIn career expert.

He also suggested reviewing the company's website, blog posts or social media pages to help become more familiar with the company and your new colleagues.

"Start to look around to see what you can learn about the organization ... get into the company news to figure out what's going on at work before you get to work," McCaskill said.

Ask for a buddy

Working remotely means you no longer have a seat mate that can help you learn how access your project files or fill you in on office norms.

To help answer any mundane questions that pop up as your learn the ropes, ask your boss to assign you a buddy.

"Ask your manager: 'Is there someone on the team that you can go to for small questions to help figure out how things work here?'" said Renata Dionello, chief people officer at ZipRecruiter. "That way, that person knows up front you might be asking them questions and make you more comfortable to ask questions and them more responsive when you come to them."

Build your network

Without coffee breaks, lunch dates and hallway run-ins, establishing a rapport with your new colleagues takes more effort when working remotely.

Ask your manager for recommendations of colleagues you should meet and also pay attention to names of people who are regularly in your meetings or included on team emails.

Once you have a list, start setting up introductory meetings.

Dionello suggested requesting 30-minute meetings with co-workers who you will be working with directly on a regular basis, and ask questions about their role, current projects and work preferences.

She also suggested setting up 15-minute intro meetings with people who aren't direct reports or on your team, but are included in emails, show up in meetings or are referenced occasionally.

These meetings shouldn't be entirely work focused. Ask questions that will help you get to know your teammates, but don't get too personal right away. Questions like: 'How long have you been at the company?' 'How did you get into this industry?' and 'How was your summer?' can help break the ice.

"Networking is a two-way street: if you need help ask for help, but also offer help," said McCaskill. "Share some of your own personal insights about you and your life and that makes it a little easier for other folks to do the same. Accept what people offer up initially, and make it very natural."

Scour the intranet

Some companies offer internal websites to employees that can be a treasure trove of information regarding resources, handbooks, benefits and announcements.

"Making use of the tools the company has is really important," said Paul Wolfe, senior vice president of human resources at job website Indeed.

Employee resource groups, such as those established for women, parents, people of color, or LGBTQ employees, can also be a good way to make connections, noted McCaskill.

"If there is an opportunity where there is already a group or community built into your organization, getting involved and getting access to that community will help grease the wheels of you getting to know more people faster," said McCaskill.

Learn your manager's style

Some managers want frequent progress updates, while others are a little more hands off. Learning how your manager prefers to communicate — whether it's emails, instant messaging, weekly meetings or shared documents — and how often, is important to your success.

"Ask them how do they like to work best and share with them what works best for you," said McCaskill.

Get feedback regularly

Set up frequent one-on-one meetings with your manager during your first few weeks on the job that are feedback-focused, suggested Dionello.

"It's fine to say to the manager...'For the first two months, I would really love frequent feedback on whether I am focusing on the right things, am I approaching things the right way, is my style fitting with the style of the team and company?' You can have that conversation up front," Dionello said.

The "stop, start and continue" framework can help get the conversation going, said Wolfe. That means asking your manager: Is there anything you should stop doing, what should you start doing and what should you continue to do?

Be patient

Onboarding can be difficult in a remote setting, so try and give yourself a little breathing room.

"You have to pace yourself and be patient," said Wolfe. "You aren't going to come out of the gate and fix everything right away. Come up with a plan with your leaders about how you prioritize things."

COLORADO SPRINGS, Co. — The pandemic flipped almost everything on its head; is time now to do the same for higher education?

"If you had a good GPA, you're going to go to college, right? And that is a good choice for a lot of people, but there are plenty of people where that's not necessarily a good choice," said Tatiana Bailey, the executive director of the University of Colorado Colorado Springs economic forum.

She’s noticed what’s called “the skills gap” – basically more tradesmen are retiring than starting work, and it has been growing since the pandemic.

According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the three fastest-growing jobs right now are wind turbine technicians, nurse practitioners, and solar panel installers--all jobs with skills that can be gained through trade school, not a typical four-year college degree.

"Computer systems, administrators, as an example, you don't need a computer science degree for that. You can do a six to 12-month certification to be that IT person," she said.

While a college graduate technically makes more over time, with a trade education, you can spend less time in school and more time working on a career, many with median salaries between $50,000 and $100,000 a year.

Another plus: many trade jobs are considered “essential” and can weather a recession.

"Since COVID, we've grown about 20% and we still have more job opportunities than students," said Scott Shaw, the president and CEO of Lincoln Tech, which has campuses nationwide.

He says most of their students are in their mid to late twenties, looking to make a career change or follow a passion not offered by a traditional college.

As infrastructure has taken center stage with President Biden’s $1.5 trillion bill, more skilled workers are going to be needed. Shaw hopes more attention is put on vocational programs.

"We should be trying to figure out what is the best next step for these individuals to get skills, to get into the workforce so that they can increase their productivity, increase their self-esteem work towards something better," he said.

Working towards something better that's not necessarily getting a four-year degree.

Before Clarissa Rankin goes out on a job, a few things need to be in order. First up, a morning meditation.

"Dealing in transportation, you have to be calm to be a great driver," she says.

Then she heads to the yard to hitch up Sparkle, her 2019 Freightliner Cascadia. Sparkle's a big girl: With a full load, the truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds.

In the back of the spacious cab, Rankin has set up what she calls her "mommy getaway apartment:" a twin bed, a stash of food, some decor, cleaning supplies, and a few wig stands. She occasionally likes to switch up her style on long hauls — maybe long and wavy one day, and bright green or deep, curly red the next.

Once she wrangles Sparkle, she picks up her trailer and sorts out her first load. Rankin, 34, owns her own Charlotte-based trucking business, and typically travels within a 250-mile radius to Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina and the like. Wherever she goes, she brings her nearly 1 million followers on TikTok with her, sharing the ups and downs of the job, giving motivational pep talks, and taking questions from fans.

"How in the world did you get into trucking?" is one she gets a lot. But there's another, better question she likes to answer:

"How can I get started, too?"

It's a promising gig — if you're ready to work hard

A growing number of women are entering the world of trucking at a time when demand for drivers is at a critical high. Many of them, like Rankin, are using their influence to educate other women and lay the groundwork for change in a crucial and often misunderstood industry.

They're also sharing an important message: Trucking is for everyone.

Women made up more than 10% of over-the-road truck drivers in 2019, according to a Women in Trucking survey. That's a sizable increase over a reported 7.8% in 2018. Factor in different kinds of drivers and other non-executive transportation industry positions like technicians, driver managers and dispatchers, and the proportion of women rises to 43.4%.

This influx has been attributed to the work of inclusive industry groups like Women in Trucking, which spotlights women across the industry and recently partnered with the Girl Scouts of America to introduce a transportation badge.

It's also the result of women becoming keen to all the profession has to offer.

Rankin went into trucking after her first son was born with a heart defect. She was pursuing a criminal justice degree, but knew the money wasn't there.

"The bills were piling up, and I needed more income," she says. "Getting into trucking was a big gut decision."

Related video: How much is a mother's work worth?

Trucking is a tough business, and it requires plenty of training, education and hands-on experience to do well. Rankin says it's not unusual for a driver to make about $60,000 their first year. Her second year on the job, she passed six figures.

She now operates independently under a mega-carrier, and every evening she's able to come home and kiss her husband and two sons goodnight. Sometimes, for a change, she'll take a long-haul job to the northeast or down to Miami Beach.

Success stories show other women they can belong, too

The independence, the security, the income: There are a lot of benefits to being a truck driver. And for the social media-savvy, there's also the possibility of remarkable popularity. Truckers like Asmin de Loa, Shanya Urquidi and the women profiled here have five-to-six-figure followings on TikTok and other platforms.

While these influencers fit a tried-and-true social media formula — conventionally attractive feminine women doing non-conventionally attractive, non-feminine things — their work and their advocacy create a meaningful impact.

Tierra Allen knew she wanted to get into trucking since she was a teenager, and enrolled in truck driving school at 18. Now 26, Allen travels all over the lower 48, logging 700 to 800 miles a day over 11 hours. She's known as the Sassy Trucker on social media, and like others in this burgeoning transportation sisterhood, she loves to poke holes in dusty trucking stereotypes.

Allen's TikTok is filled with videos of her working on her truck, or sharing tips on how to dress and eat healthy on the road. She says it's important for her mental health to stay nourished and take care of her appearance on long hauls. By sharing that side of herself, she's showing other women that you don't need to look or act a certain way to be a good truck driver.

"I like to show that you can still be feminine in a male-dominated field, and a lot of people like to see that," she says.

There are drawbacks to that, too. Rankin and Allen both say they get unwanted comments from men while on the job. Oftentimes, people don't believe they're really drivers. Rankin says a man even told her he wouldn't hire her as a driver, hypothetically, because of the way she dressed.

"I would say it takes a thick skin to work in the trucking industry, because we go through a lot," Young says. "But I want to motivate others and hopefully see more women get out of the road and start driving."

While it's a challenge, trucking influencers often use these difficult moments to speak on grander goals: Self-empowerment, confidence, resilience, and the courage to break into roles that aren't always welcoming to women.

More women means more solutions for trucking challenges

The trucking industry is in a tough spot right now. Carriers were already being squeezed by a driver shortage before the pandemic, and everything that's happened since has just made it worse. The U.S. was in need of about 60,000 drivers in 2019, according to the American Trucking Associations.

It's just one of the reasons companies and industry groups are trying to recruit more and more women and other underrepresented groups into the trucking fold.

But an increase in women means more for the industry than just warm bodies behind a wheel. If the female trucking influencers of social media are any indication, women could also be the key to solving age-old problems weighing the industry down, like driver health and retention.

Candace Rivers' involvement with trucking began, fittingly, on Interstate 20 not far from her hometown of Oxford, Alabama. Rivers, 37, is a fitness instructor and studio owner, but felt a sudden, spiritual call to extend her work to truckers.

Related video: How the pandemic is motivating more female entrepreneurs to take care of business

She started researching health issues facing truckers, and was floored by what she found.

Long haul truck drivers are twice as likely to smoke or be obese compared to other U.S. workers, according to research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. They report more instances of potentially life-shortening conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure, and are at constant risk of fatigue and chronic injury. Rivers explains they are also at high risk of blood clots from sitting for long hours, and that can lead to stroke or aneurysms.

Any of these risks could easily take drivers out of work and off the road — bad for the driver, bad for the industry.

"It broke my heart," she says. "So many drivers are sacrificing their life and their bodies for their families and to get people what they need."

Now, Rivers runs Fit's Possible Trucking, a fitness company that helps truckers stay active and eat healthy on the road. Several companies have expressed interest in integrating her programs into their health initiatives, and she plans on getting her own truck and setting up wellness events across the country.

To do that, Rivers is currently in training to get her commercial driver's license. She says one reason women may not consider trucking as a career option is because they don't know how many opportunities there are.

"There are so many local jobs for CDL holders that make a lot of money, and women can drive just as well as men," she says. "This industry is built for more than just the people they think it's built for."

She's sharing her CDL journey, as well as wellness and fitness advice, with her large social media followings. Like other trucking influencers, she knows sometimes all people need is a little inspiration, "somebody that's speaking life into you," as she says, to pursue something new, something a little scary — something that could change their lives for the better.

The key is showing people that they can do it, whether they wear old baseball caps or mink eyelashes. And if the road is opened to them, a new generation of truckers could come rolling in, with fresh ideas and fresh solutions in tow.

Several weeks after world health officials declared the coronavirus a pandemic, 40-year-old Sheri McCaskill decided to apply to a master's program in public health.

The decision, McCaskill said, stemmed partly from the sudden heightened awareness about the importance of public health as the virus spread in the U.S.

"I started to see a lot more happening in the public health realm through news, media and it was everywhere, everything we were hearing," McCaskill told CNN. "I think that kind of helped me to make my decision."

Fields focusing on health sciences have all seen a jump in interest since the pandemic's start. Medical schools reported historic high application numbers late last year. Nursing school applications also saw increases, a spokesman for the American Association of Colleges of Nursing told CNN.

But it's been the soaring interest in public health programs — which before the pandemic saw a dip in applications — that is particularly encouraging to some officials, who say the field, long underfunded and understaffed, is critical in helping tackle not just this virus, but other emergencies plaguing U.S. communities.

"Gun control is a public health intervention. Adequate housing and education are public health interventions," Cheryl Healton, dean of the NYU School of Global Public Health, told CNN. "Anti-racism activities are a public health intervention."

But even as more applicants are trickling into public health, some experts worry that won't necessarily translate to more graduates eyeing the positions that are in desperate need of officers — including in U.S. health departments.

"The work of state and local health departments is hard. It's grueling work. It's extremely rewarding work but at the same time it doesn't pay very well, it's not competitive with the private sector," said Lori Tremmel Freeman, CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO).

"So it's good news and it's bad news," Freeman said.

"Good news that we're able to get more and more people interested in public health," she added. "Bad news that we're not able to attract them to the areas we need them — in federal, state, local, governmental public health."

What is public health?

The COVID-19 pandemic proved why preparedness and prevention are critical.

And public health is just that.

Local health officers' responsibilities can include anything from making sure people get their annual flu shots to conducting restaurant inspections, educating the public about substance abuse, healthy diets or running STD prevention campaigns.

"Public health ultimately is about the conditions that create health for people," said Sandro Galea, dean of the Boston University School of Public Health. "They are the characteristics of where we live or work or where we play."

But most of us had little to no interaction with public health professionals before the pandemic. Since then, epidemiologists and infectious disease experts — like Dr. Anthony Fauci — have taken center stage, appearing daily on the news with insight and advice.

And that helped thrust the field into the spotlight. During last year's application cycle, public health program applications jumped by 23%, with the biggest increase coming after March 2020, said Laura Magaña, the President and CEO of the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH).

In the 2021 cycle, applications have so far increased by about 39% since the same time last year.

"It is a clear effect of the pandemic," Magaña said. "Public health became really visible and people understand its importance."

The pandemic, Magaña said, in combination with a younger generation passionate about issues like social justice and climate change — both of which have been at the forefront of global conversations in the past year — likely led to the jump in applicants.

How public health can help communities

Catherine Allende, who was recently accepted into Harvard University's School of Public Health for a Masters in Epidemiology said it was the health disparities that exist in the U.S. — and watching how they were exacerbated by the pandemic — that pushed her to apply.

Racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S. were hit hardest by the virus, reporting higher rates of hospitalization for COVID-19 and seeking emergency care more when compared to White people, recent studies showed. The findings highlighted the "need to address health inequities in our country," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said last month.

Allende, 24, has experienced those disparities first hand. Her parents, who are both from Peru, speak limited English. And language was "an unfortunate barrier to health in this country," Allende said, as the family battled her father's tuberculosis and her mother's breast cancer diagnoses.

Once she graduates from her public health program, Allende said she wants to home in on public health for vulnerable communities in the U.S.

"In all aspects of my life, I feel like it all comes down to preventing disease," she said. "But because of the pandemic, I thought this was the best moment to apply."

Local health officers will be key in helping address health disparities, Freeman said.

"Much of the work and the importance of public health on the ground is considering how to create (healthy) conditions," Freeman said. "Removing the fear of violence, kids being able to go outside and play ... having a livable wage, so you can afford food for your family... and you have access to groceries."

"That is the true work of prevention in public health," she added. "And that's what we're working toward."

A particularly important trend

With the rise in applicants to public health programs, officials report there's been an increase in applications from students of color — including Black, Hispanic and Latino Americans.

"That, for us, is just amazing," Magaña said. "What we all want is to have a workforce that represents the geographic and the demographic representation of your community."

And today, the public health workforce severely lacks representation. Less than 10% of local health departments' top executives are people of color, according to 2019 data from NACCHO.

"We have a tremendous gap in terms of diversity in these positions," Freeman said.

The impact can be devastating. For example, as the country races to vaccinate as many Americans as possible against COVID-19, that lack of diversity often meant there were no trusted messengers to reach different communities and help build vaccine confidence and address hesitancy.

"That's why it's important that ... our leadership and our health departments really truly represent the communities that they work to keep safe and healthy," Freeman said.

Allende, who works in a cancer research and treatment institution, was tasked with calling community members of color to educate them on the vaccine. She says that as a Spanish-speaking employee, she often receives feedback from residents who express relief at being able to receive that information from her on the phone, rather than from social media or other large outlets.

"Representation matters," she said.

"Our country... has had some unfortunate medical mistrust due to historical events," Allende added. "Having that representation of diverse public health professionals, I feel, will definitely make an impact on creating a healthier country."

Hope for a turning point

The surging student interest comes at a particularly challenging time for the public health field.

Local and state health officials were often under attack as the pandemic unfolded, targeted over mask orders or restrictions that aimed to curb the spread of the virus. Some, exhausted or in other cases fearful for their lives, opted to leave their posts. Others were fired.

"State and local health officers (are) trying to stem the tide of a massive epidemic in an environment in which they themselves have been politicized," NYU's Healton said.

Many are burned out.

"We have to find a way to replace the exodus that has occurred," Freeman said.

Health agencies — both public and private — remain the top employer for graduates of these programs, Magaña said. But demand from the private sector is rapidly growing — including from pharmaceutical and insurance companies, health consults and large corporations, which are now seeking more public health expertise to create new programs or applications, Magaña said.

Some experts are optimistic the newfound visibility could be a turning point for the country's long underfunded and neglected public health infrastructure and could also translate to a broader understanding of what public health is among the general population.

"What this turning point could do is greatly strengthen the system on a global scale and reduce the probability that this will happen," Healton said. "This (the pandemic) should not have happened. It could have been stopped."

In March, American Public Health Association Executive Director Georges C. Benjamin applauded the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act, which funnels several billion into sustaining and expanding the public health workforce, calling the move a "temporary sigh of relief."

"The Covid moment has shown us that, if it's shown us nothing else, that we have had a long-standing underinvestment in creating enough people for public health," said Boston University's Galea.

And that's what experts hope can change now.