Totally Trades conference held April 28

By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
    PRESQUE ISLE – Aroostook County girls heard the message loud and clear – a job worth doing can be done by both men and women. That was the sentiment at the seventh annual Totally Trades conference held April 28 at Northern Maine Community College.
    “We want to give girls a hands-on workshop experience to spark their interest and raise awareness about a career field that they may not have previously considered, as well as provide female role modes … women who can lead by example, having already succeeded in pursuing work that traditionally is viewed as ‘man’s work,’” said Suzanne Senechal-Jandreau, conference planner and regional manager of the central Aroostook office of Women, Work and Community (WWC), a statewide organization committed to improving the economic lives of Maine women and their families.
    About 100 girls in grades 8-12 attended the daylong event. Formerly known as the Tools ‘n Trades (TNT) conference, this year’s Totally Trades featured 11 workshops; each girl participated in two.
    Topics included bridge construction, carpentry, green energy/electrical, heavy equipment operation, forensic science, GIS, becoming a Maine guide, computer aided drafting, emergency medical technician, cable technician and martial arts.
    “There’s always the staples like heavy equipment operation and carpentry, which are very popular and the girls love, but we try to mix it up a little bit,” said Senechal-Jandreau. “Everything went very smoothly, and the girls seemed to be engaged and did well in the workshops.”
    This was the first time Amy Grivois, a senior at Presque Isle High School, attended the conference.
    “I wanted to try something new and learn something different than what I want to study in college,” she said. “I want to study psychology, so this was completely different. In the morning session I participated in the martial arts workshop. I had never done anything like that before. It was fun; I liked it.”
    PIHS sophomore Hilary Albert, who said she’s interested in becoming either a teacher or an architect, was looking forward to the computer aided drafting workshop.
    “This is a really good opportunity for girls,” she said. “Girls need to see more options; they’re kind of confined and think they can only do certain things like be a nurse or a teacher. This opens their minds to different aspects of jobs they don’t usually think they’ll fit into.”
    Elizabeth Day, a sophomore at Fort Fairfield Middle/High School, said she, too, was interested in exploring other career paths.
    “I’m interested in seeing different things that I can do,” she said. “I’m not really sure what I want to do right now, so it’s really nice to explore different careers that most women might not think they can be in.
    “While things are better now than before,” said Day, “I believe there’s a still a little bit of stereotyping when it comes to ‘man’s work’ or ‘woman’s work.’ If I can help make a difference by attending this workshop, that’s great.”
    Earlier in the morning, Day made a toolbox in the carpentry workshop.
    East Grand High School sophomores Billie Ann Hanington and Mikayla Lowell feel women and men should be equal when it comes to their chosen profession.
    “I wanted to try something new,” said Hanington, who aspires to be a nurse. “I also want to do diesel mechanics. I’m going to be taking an auto mechanics course at our school, and I took part in the EMT workshop today, so I’m getting some insight into both of those fields.
    “If a woman wants to be a nurse or sit behind a computer that’s great, but they can do so much more,” she said, “pretty much anything a guy can do.”
    Lowell agreed.
    “Women can do just as well as men can,” she said. “I think I’m going into cosmetology, but it’s good to see what else is out there. This has been a fun time. I would definitely come again.”
    Funding for the activity is made possible through monies and in-kind services provided by the Maine Department of Transportation, Maine Department of Education, Northern Maine Development Commission, K-PEL Industrial Services, Sarah LeClaire – Attorney at Law, Cassidy Orthodontics, McCain Foods USA, MMG Insurance, Sargent & Tweedie Transportation, Inc., Soderberg Construction, S.W. Collins, Tempo Employment Services, Cary Medical Center, Gallagher’s Insurance, Lane Construction Corp., Time Warner Cable of Maine, NMCC, Women Unlimited and Rathbun Lumber.
    In addition to participating in two workshop sessions, the students were treated to a luncheon and a group discussion about why the Totally Trades conference occurs and how they can benefit from it. A large group activity introducing general engineering principles capped off the day.