March is Women in the Trades Month, and Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES is recognizing the skills and achievements of the young women enrolled in our Career & Technical Education programs.
Each Monday throughout the month, we’ll highlight a group of young women from each of our CTE centers!
Hobbies, Relatives Draw Female Students to Welding Program
This past fall, Lilly Carlson walked into the Welding/Metal Fabrication program at the LoGuidice Educational Center, expecting to see maybe one or two other girls in her junior class. After all, she thought, most welders seem to be men.
Instead, Carlson was surprised to learn she was one of eight young women enrolled in the Career & Technical Education program.
“I think it shows you that, really, anybody can do this work,” the Silver Creek student said of welding.
Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES is recognizing Women in the Trades Month by highlighting students at each of its CTE centers.
At LoGuidice, Carlson is joined by Madison Hall of Forestville, Mackenzie Lee and Michaela Lee of Lake Shore, Nadya Lebron and Evie Morrison of Brocton, Paige Perry of Dunkirk, and Lillian Teeter of Westfield.
“All these awesome girls are working hard and doing a great job,” Welding instructor Kevin Valentine said. “Just like a lot of things in this industry, it’s about leading by example. These girls are certainly leading the way in what they’re doing here.”
Carlson said she was drawn to welding by a relative in a similar trade.
“My uncle is a really successful construction worker,” she said. “He suggested this program to me because I like things that are hands-on and because I like math.”
Sisters Mackenzie and Michaela Lee were influenced by their father to get into welding. Both remember him working on vehicles in their garage when they were kids.
“Our dad would always weld his truck around me and my sister,” Michaela Lee said. “We really started to get interested in it by that point.”
Added Mackenzie Lee: “Our dad did this kind of thing for a long time, so we’ve always been around it.”
Mackenzie, who is considering a career as a diesel mechanic, believes more girls should get into the welding industry. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, just under 6% of welders in 2023 were female.
“I think more girls should consider this field,” she said. “It doesn’t need to be male-dominated. Girls can do it, too.”
Michaela Lee said she is looking into becoming a pipeline welder after high school.
Madison Hall has been around welding for years. Often taking part in demolition derbies where she enjoys “smashing up cars,” Hall said the trade skill has become more like a necessary hobby.
“Without it, you basically can’t have a car,” she said. “Everything surrounding derbies sort of revolves around welding, from safety to the different parts that make the car run.”
Like Hall, Nadya Lebron was no stranger to welding when she enrolled in the program.
“I have a couple of family members who were into welding, and I became interested in it just by watching them throughout my childhood,” Lebron said. “I realized that it was interesting and something cool that I wanted to do.”
Lebron has come to view her classmates as family. She, too, was surprised to find several other girls in the Welding/Metal Fabrication program when she arrived at LoGuidice this fall.
After high school, she plans to continue her education at a trade school to “gain more knowledge and practice welding before getting into the trade.”
Paige Perry is also considering a career in welding. Her childhood provided the groundwork for the trade, ultimately leading her to E2CCB.
“When I was younger, my father would teach me how to weld,” she said. “You can really make some cool things through welding.”
Lillian Teeter, who noted that she enjoys working with her hands, was drawn to the program after watching a presentation on welding earlier in her high school career.
She believes more women should consider getting into the welding trade.
“I think it’s important to have more representation and to show that we can do something that is considered male-dominated,” Teeter said.
Evie Morrison was first introduced to the profession by her grandfather, who did a bit of welding as a truck driver and farmer. This past summer, she was taught the trade while at her cousin’s farm.
“I had already been looking at welding, so it solidified the deal,” Morrison said of her summer experience drawing her to E2CCB. “I love the program and my teachers. They really make it fun.”
