May 3, 2007 By Frances Borsodi Zajac 7 min read

Take an auditorium filled with high school girls, present some non-traditional career ideas and you just might open up a world of possibilities for these students – such as becoming an engineer, scientist, plant manager, coal miner or surgeon. “We want to educate you,’ Yasmin Brown, assistant coordinator of grants and contract management at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, told students attending the recent Women in Non-Traditional Professions Workshop, funded by Penn State Economic and Work Force Development Initiative Fund. “Hopefully, this will motivate you and spark an interest and, hopefully, you’ll have some fun.’

More than 200 girls from Albert Gallatin, Brownsville Area, Connellsville Area, Laurel Highlands, Uniontown Area, Frazier, Connellsville Career and Technical Center, Fayette County Area Vocational-Technical School and Geibel Catholic recently attended the first-ever event in Penn State Fayette’s Williams Building to learn about non-traditional careers, which the U.S. Department of Labor defines as being comprised of less than 25 percent of one gender.

Influenced by a Pennsylvania Career and Technical Education Conference she attended last year at Seven Springs Resort in Champion, Brown initiated the workshop for Fayette County.

“I thought it would be neat to let girls know there are good jobs in the area but you need skills for those jobs because this is a technological age we are in,’ Brown explained.

Kathy Shirey, assistant regional director of the state’s Western Regional Office of the Bureau of Workforce, who attended the conference, said, “I think this is fabulous – really terrific because we’re pushing all students to see what skills are needed. Most jobs need additional skills after high school. We think this is a terrific way to open eyes – there are terrific jobs available in the commonwealth.’

She added, “If they don’t start looking, they don’t understand the value of what they’re learning and, most importantly, that they need to stay in school.’

In his welcome to the girls, Dr. Emmanuel Osagie, chancellor at Penn State Fayette, said, “The world is realizing that women are making a difference.’

The idea of the workshop appealed to guidance counselors and students alike.

Andrea Barchetti, guidance counselor at Laurel Highlands, said, “We’re interested in getting more students involved in these positions – engineering and science fields. I think students don’t know what’s available to them. It’s connecting the academic with the real world and that’s what we’re trying to do at Laurel Highlands.’

Laurel Highlands senior Megan Prah, who said she and her friends had not previously considered these jobs, remarked, “I’m really excited that they care to teach us about non-traditional roles.’

The program featured a variety of working women, including Dr. Renata S. Engel, associate dean of undergraduate studies, Penn State University, University Park; Lindsay Mansberry, systems engineer, Advanced Acoustic Concepts, Lemont Furnace; Deborah Fox, plant manager, BAE Systems, located near the Eberly Campus; Michelle Kuma, principal software engineer/project manager, Trident Systems, Uniontown; Denice Robinson, vice president/investments at Parker Hunter, a Division of Janney, Montgomery, Scott, LCC in Uniontown; Heather Jewell, manager of planning and administration, NuRelm, Uniontown; Gina Russell, senior civil engineer supervisor, state Department of Transportation; and Dr. Nancy Priselac, director for internal training and external support for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Education.

They served as role models for the students as they discussed their jobs and how they got there. They even noted their own trepidations when deciding on a career.

“It wasn’t that long ago that I was scared to death about what do I want to do,’ said Mansberry, a graduate of Albert Gallatin High School and Penn State.

But she noted, “If you are thinking of a non-traditional role, go for it. It’s challenging and rewarding.’

Engel, a Geibel graduate, started the presentations by asking the students to consider a trip to an amusement park: the rides, talking on cell phone to meet with friends, taking a photo with a digital camera, eating French fries at a stand, washing their hands in the restrooms, and noticing a hybrid car in the parking lot on their way home.

“What do all these things have in common? Engineers worked on all these things,’ she said, noting that starting salaries for engineers are just under $60,000.

“…Engineers make new products and bring new things to life in ways we enjoy them, and it’s exciting,’ Engel said.

Fox first earned a degree in linguistics before switching to a career in manufacturing.

Fox said, “Look for something you enjoy and believe in and be willing to work for it and you’ll have a long and successful career.’

Kuma, said, “You’re in charge of your own destiny. … Explore what you want to do, talk to people. Choose a career path. You might start as a clerk and end up president of a company.’

For fun, Dave Meredith, program chairman for Building Environmental Systems Technology at Penn State Fayette, narrated a fashion show on what people in non-traditional careers wear on the job.

Participants in the 2007 Girrl Power Program served as models with each career having a real-life role model for the career highlighted. Violet Kern modeled the wardrobe of a coalminer. While Meredith used a generic role model, he later pointed to Professor Nancy Corset, who is a Penn State faculty member in mining. Hayley Marauga modeled the clothing of a firefighter and Maria Sharp of a hazardous materials team member. Hilary Griffith, a Penn State Fayette cheerleader, served as the real-life role model for both these positions. She is a nationally certified member of the Fayette County Emergency Management squad.

Elizabeth Cooper dressed as a hockey goalie, with Erin Whitten, first U.S.-born woman to play professional hockey, as the role model. Franchesca Legros dressed as a lumberjill, based on Alyssa Jones, a national champion professional, with a chain saw. Racecar driver Danica Patrick served as the role model for an outfit modeled by Zoey DelPinto, and Rachael Fawley was model for a surgeon’s scrubs inspired by Dr. Rosemary Duda, associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and an alumna of Penn State Fayette. Julianne Buckel modeled The Nittany Lion mascot, which “whips over 100,000 spectators to the edge of insanity,’ Meredith smiled.

Two role models actually modeled their own outfits – Megan Muldowney of Monroeville, a Penn State grad, and Stephanie Page of Pittsburgh’s South Hills, a University of Pittsburgh graduate, who are both industrial engineers for U.S. Steel’s Irvin Works. They showed off the “greens’ they wear at work in the mill.

“I think it’s great we’re getting it out there to girls in high school,’ said Page. “I think it’s important to let them know about engineering.’

Muldowney said, “I’m very impressed with the turnout. Hopefully, things here today will spark an interest that was not here before.’

Meredith also introduced Connellsville native Florence Reynolds, who trained B-29 pilots in navigation skills during World War II. Commenting on how far things have progressed, Reynolds noted, “I can remember when I was in high school and I wanted to take drafting, I was told if I didn’t withdraw that I would be expelled.’

The workshop also included lunch and a career fair for the students, who seemed to enjoy the day.

Krystal Hall of Dunbar, a sophomore at Connellsville Career and Technical Center, is already studying carpentry – a non-traditional career for women.

“I want to see what careers are there,’ Hall said. “There are a lot of different jobs I never heard about that make a lot of money.’

Allison Glad of New Salem, a sophomore at Brownsville Area Senior High School, said, “I think it’s very good – very informative’ and noted of the presented careers, “It’s something I never looked into before and I might want to explore more.’