My mom was supportive right away, but it took my dad some time
I always knew that I wanted to grow up and do something with my hands.
I thought I would work as a carpenter or a contractor, but I found a great opportunity that led me in a different direction.
When I was a senior in high school, I went to a job fair at the school. There were a couple of representatives from a technical school in the same city. The technical school had a lot of programs and I qualified for special grants and scholarships because I was a woman. I found out that they had a couple of different programs that I could attend for free if I could pass that aptitude test. I came home the same day and I told my mom that I was thinking about applying or the heating and air conditioning repair class. My mom was absolutely supportive and she thought it was a great idea. She was excited that I could attend the technical school and learn about heating and air conditioning repair absolutely for free. When my dad came home from work later that day, I excitedly shared the same news. My dad was less than enthusiastic. He really didn’t like the idea of me working in a male-dominated industry. I tried to tell my dad that this is the twenty-first century and that is an old way of thinking, but he was upset about my choice for a long time. It took months and months before my dad came around to the idea of me working in this competitive and male dominated industry.