The 16-year-old Howell High student honed her skills last month at MAGIC Camp, a week-long opportunity for girls held at Oakland Community College Orchard Ridge campus in Farmington Hills. Sponsored by OCC's Womencenter and Construction Management Program, and the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), Mentoring a Girl in Construction introduced 13 teens from throughout metropolitan Detroit to the world of construction.
"I'm really into interior design," said Carpenter. "This is really hands-on. I've learned a lot."
Providing oversight, Jacklynn Gray-Serrado has spent 26 years in the construction industry. She got into the business where many women start, as a flagger on a road construction project. "I had a baby, I needed a good job," she said. Her union card turned out to be the ticket to a career that has taken her onto bridges, underground and even inside a nuclear plant. The scariest thing she's ever done?
"I mixed a chemical called methacolate," she said, adding simply, "It blows up. In fact, they don't even use it any more."
A woman in a 'man's world'
While being a woman in what is largely a "man's world" comes with some challenges, Gary-Serrado believes construction is in her blood. "There's an independent spirit to construction workers. There's in a pride in what you're doing. You build something that lasts, and it's never the same."
Laura Kelly, who helped the girls build a small fountain, sees a lot of advantages to being a tradesperson. She's been a plumber for almost 20 years and got into the business because she enjoyed doing physical labor. While she found herself challenged by men on the job, Kelly has taken a matter-of-fact approach and says working conditions have improved over the years.
"I think I was the fifth or sixth female to go through the apprentice program," she recalled. "You just deal with it with age and experience. You learn how to demand respect."
"I make a good wage with a craft that I know. I can take care of my own house, and it's a trade that, even if I'm not working, I always have."
Like the other members of the National Association of Women in Construction who volunteered for the event, Kelly enjoys opening the minds of young women to a world they may not otherwise consider. "It's letting them know they can do whatever they want to do," she said. "At their ages, you don't give yourself that credit."
Interior design to construction management
Melanie Myers wishes a program like MAGIC had been available when she was growing up. Today, she coordinates OCC's Construction Management program and is a member of NAWIC, but it took a while to find her niche. She started out in interior design, a career that seemed to fit with her love of art. While pursuing a business management degree, she met a professor who opened a door.
"I remember him saying to me, 'Before the end of the year, I will have you in construction management.'," she said. He succeeded, and now Myers wants to open the same door for others, a little sooner. "This is my dream, to do this for girls. I never got those opportunities when I was in high school."
In her current position, she most enjoys helping people "define their own lives," especially those who have been displaced and may have been unemployed for some time. "I've seen people for hom this was their last stop."
Like others in the trades, Myers feels a sense of accomplishment when she drives past a project she helped build. Through MAGIC, she's had a hand in building something even more meaningful. The program, which debuted at last year's NAWIC national convention, fit perfectly with what Myers and Womencenter Director Arlene Frank had been talking about for some time.
"She and I have been trying to think of some kind of camp to encourage girls in non-traditional careers," said Frank. "We are the first in Michigan to do this."
For Meredy Brichford, the camp was a good fit. The Harrison High student got her first taste of the trades during a trip offered through First United Methodist Church.
"I went to Appalachia as a service project. We did a lot of construction there. We went to Kentucky and helped people with their houses," Brichford said, adding that she has thought about a career in engineering. Another future engineer, Farmington High student Laura Kincaide, learned about MAGIC from her mother, who works at OCC. And there's a practical side to learning skills like, say, how to wire a lamp.
"It's not like a light in my house will never go out," she said.
Other participants in the week-long camp were: Imani Abraham, Lathrup Village; Dar'Shea Allen, Detroit; Kelsey Erne, Warren; Samantha Macy, Novi; Tara O'Gara, Sterling Heights; Carrie Scott, Brighton; Diamond Shaw, Rochester Hills; Alexandria Steele, Livonia; Victoria Steele, Livonia; Cassie Sumara, Farmington Hills.
MAGIC was offered free to participants, thanks to donations from Clark Construction Company, Associated General Contractors Michigan, Aluminum Supply Co., Douglas Steel Fabricating Corporation, George McIntosh, Inc., Superior Electric, NAWIC and Oakland Community College.
--JH-G
National Association for Women in Construction Detroit
National Association for Women in Construction Lansing
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