In the past year, I’ve come to enjoy exploring welding and what the trades have to offer so much. It’s been really interesting studying how I could make a positive impact in fields that aren’t traditionally staffed by women. According to Iowa State University, only about five percent of welders in the field today are female. This statistic has driven me to be a part of increasing those numbers. Women in the trades offer countless things to every community, specifically through skilled work, representation, and mentorship for future generations. One of my biggest motivations for joining the trades is to use my skills and experience to open more doors for women in male-dominated fields. Every community needs welding to function. Ask anyone in construction, manufacturing, or transportation, and you’ll know how vital it is. Because of how important these jobs are, it’s no surprise that they take a lot of skill and experience. In recent decades massive skill gap has formed within the trades. The generation that dominates the career is quickly aging out of it, and a shortage of skilled workers has followed. I, along with my peers, aim to fight this shortage and continue to keep my local infrastructure strong and reliable for my community and future generations. One way to accomplish this is by encouraging other women to consider this as a career as well. Along with that, I believe it’s important to have proper representation in my field. As mentioned previously, five percent seems to be the magic number for female welders in comparison to male welders. While this number continues to grow, it’s not nearly what it could be. The main reason why I became interested in pursuing a career in welding was that my first teacher for welding was a woman. She has already accomplished so many incredible things in her life while in the trades, and she has inspired me to follow in her footsteps. I can only hope to lead a life as interesting and empowering as hers. Mentoring in the trades is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle. Most people I know who have pursued careers in this matter were inspired by someone in their life, leading them in that direction. As I mentioned before, my welding teacher was a big part of making me consider doing welding seriously as a career. My biggest inspiration, however, would have to be my grandfather by a long shot. He started welding when he was fourteen years old and has continued to do so his entire life, leading up to now. He is now seventy-two years old and still stacking dimes, which is a term that describes an excellent weld. My grandfather has mentored me through many aspects of my life. These range from teaching me about the mechanics and inner workings of tractors to his core values, like encouraging honest hard work. My grandpa’s welding and working in the trades made him a very well-rounded and intelligent person, and I aspire to be more like him. While every single class or workshop I have attended has been mainly male, I have never felt less of a person or like I didn’t belong. Welding has had such an amazing impact on me. By going into this career, hopefully, I can showcase those positives to other women and change the narrative. Being in this occupation would fulfill me and my city in so many different ways. Thanks to welding, my community is a safer, more inclusive, and connected place.

The first shop project I got to do with my dad was building a model of a one-room schoolhouse for my fourth-grade research project. I was eleven years old at the time, and it had been, by far, the coolest thing that I had ever made. It gave me so much pride to look at the final piece and know that I had made that with my own two hands. Working in the shop all these years has taught me many things, including patience, perseverance, and extreme attention to detail. After that small wooden model, you could not keep me out of the workshop. My dad and I have since then completed many endeavors. Along the way I learned the value of patience, though very difficult at times. If there is one guarantee when it comes to making new things or fixing old ones, it's that it's going to take a lot of time and attention to detail. It was one of the hardest things for me to adjust to. When making something, it's fundamentally impossible for everything to go perfectly. Pushing past that and taking the time to do things right and avoid sloppiness can be very tough. When you push yourself to do it right the first time, as I've learned, it is so much more rewarding. I am pursuing a career in welding technology to become a successful and reliable welder. Over the past year, I have come to enjoy welding more than anything, and I cannot wait to learn and grow in this career. As a female in this field, I have had to demonstrate a great deal of perseverance. I have experienced bias and sexism in the welding environment, and I expect that I will have to deal with it in the future as well. One thing that I will never do is let that get to me. Having such a thing affect me in any way does not benefit me, so I don't let it. This mentality has inspired me to create a safe space for women in this field, along with encouraging and mentoring them through their welding journey. Persevering through challenges like those mentioned above has taught me a lot about myself and the people that I am working with. I use that knowledge to help me to better my work and focus on what I can do to rise above it. According to Iowa State University, only about five percent of welders are women, and I aim to change that. I am motivated to become my best self as a welder, and encourage more women to join this male-dominated field. This career field will benefit from gaining the countless people who are interested but hesitate to follow through due to the fear of being treated differently or singled out. Along with patience and perseverance, I take a lot of pride in the quality of my work. Every project that I undertake, I strive for excellence, from the end goal to all of the little steps along the way. This goes hand in hand with my other prominent characteristics. I'm very thankful for all of the opportunities I've had over the years to build up and hone this aspect of my work ethic. To achieve success in this career, I will continue to exude patience, perseverance, and attention to detail.