In light of Women's History Month, we talked with with a senior at Great Falls High School, Brooklynn Newsom, who is paving the way for women in a male-dominated industry.
“I learn something new every day. No matter how much I think I know, I always am learning something [new],” Newsom said, who is also president for the state with Skills USA.
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Oftentimes, women can be intimidated by stepping into a career field or hobby where they are the minority, but young women like Brooklynn feel high school is the perfect opportunity to try all sorts of new things.
“Not only in jobs, like auto and things like that, but also within the organization I’m in, it's also very male dominated,” Newsom added. “One of my goals as president and a woman in general is really to expand our horizons, to show girls that it's normal and even celebrated for us to experience new things like being in auto and welding and [that] these are great career paths. Even my teacher said before that sometimes women are the best mechanics in the shop because, well, their hands are smaller, and they are more detailed about things.”
Women’s History Month is also a time to reflect on other women in your life and celebrate the growth and opportunities available to you.
“Being able to celebrate this is really important to me because being a woman in a setting where it's male dominated, and I’m the only girl in my auto shop class, [it] is important to celebrate the fact that people are going out there and trying new things,” Newsom said. “They're not letting people who may say that ‘they're not good at it’ or ‘they may never be good at it,’ they're not letting those people take advantage of them; they are really taking a step in the direction of empowering themselves and their children to come.”
Being the only girl in her auto shop class this year, Brooklynn has reflected on the women who came before her who have inspired her to work hard and step out of her comfort zone.
“That’s a really big part of a car, it like helps regulate the flow of gas and stuff like that,” Newsom said while explaining the purpose of a carburetor in the high school’s auto shop classroom.
Brooklynn's message to all women is to not be afraid to try new things.
“Just because you may not be [doing] something that is stereotypical for girls to like to do doesn't mean that you should be scared join it.”
