Totally Trades Conference seeks to draw female students into new fields

FARMINGTON – Freshman girls from three local schools had the opportunity to explore careers in trades Thursday morning at New Venture’s 10th annual Totally Trades Conference.

This is the first year the conference has been hosted on the Mt. Blue campus, bringing in female students from Mt. Abram and Spruce Mountain to participate. The opportunity arose due to a school in Westbrook backing out of the event, leaving an open spot.

“Every year there is more interest from the female students to join our programs,” Foster Tech Center Director Melissa Williams said. “In the past girls would primarily only join the RN classes, or Early Education. But they are feeling more and more confident taking classes like composites, welding and forestry.”

The conference brought in professionals from 18 different careers to offer hands on learning and exploration in their field. The students had the opportunity to try things such as laying a brick wall, flying a drone, reporting the weather and throwing an axe. Channel 8 Meteorologist Mallory Brooke kicked off the conference as the keynote speaker.

“There are a lot of leaps and bounds you sometimes have to go through being a woman in a non-traditional role,” Brooke said. “But just remember why you started and who inspired you and keep putting one foot in front of the other. You can be a scientist and you can be a woman and you can be respected in this world.”

The girls were divided up into groups and sent off to the various workshops, all with a student ambassador leading the way.

“The student ambassadors have been real leaders throughout all of this. They even attended the Maine Youth Leadership Day in Bath to prepare for it. It’s been great seeing all the kids come together to do this. It’s a great mix of people.” Williams said.

Mt. Blue junior Courtney Grundy was one of the Student Ambassadors for the Forestry workshop. Grundy took her first Forestry class as a freshman at Mt. Blue and is now fully immersed in the program, with the goal of starting her own logging business.

“I love being outside and I love trees. Women can cut down a tree just as well as any man can. I also love being my own boss; that what I envision is what happens.” Grundy said.

The forestry workshop was led by “Timber” Tina Scheer, a professional lumberjill from the Great Maine Lumberjack Show. After telling the girls her story of growing up in Wisconsin with five siblings, going to log rolling camp at age seven and continuing to succeed in the world of logging sports- Scheer gave them each a chance to throw axes at a target.

“I never hold it against a man for me not being able to do it. I just had to learn to walk the walk,” Scheer said. “It doesn’t matter what you do, just do it well.”

Scheer went on to encourage the girls to find their interest and pursue it, even if it’s not a “traditional” role for women.

“A man once told me to get back in the kitchen. I didn’t get mad. I was just like ‘what am I gonna do in there? I have no idea how to cook!’” Scheer said.