Stephanie Johnston, right, with a BLAZE student at graduation. Photo by Omar Waheed.
A group of Madison girls spent a week learning the trades with the Boys Girls Club of Dane County.
Earlier this month, a group of Madison girls took a tour of the trades at the BLAZE Girls Summer Camp with the Boys and Girls Club. Throughout the week they spent time engaging in hands-on activities and work on a project building two large sheds that will sit at the McKenzie Regional Workforce Center, 5215 Verona Rd., Fitchburg, which will now become a mainstay at the location. The program is part of a continued effort to bolster and diversify the trades, which BGCDC has done through its pre-apprenticeship program, but looked to start another to combat the notion that the work is only for men.
The group received certificates and graduated from the camp on July 19. Participants learned about architecture, design, land developments, real estate and the business side of construction. Hands-on activities included building free libraries across Dane County, a trip to Drexel Building Supply in Columbus to restock goods for the McKenzie Regional Workforce Center, building Bluetooth speakers out of wood and those sheds.
“The reason why I really wanted sheds, and I think it kind of came to light at our graduation, was that it’s on a bigger scale,” said Stephanie Johnston, assistant vice president of workforce development with the Boys and Girls Club. “The girls were envisioning what they could do. They’re like ‘If I can build something this size the possibilities are endless,’ or ‘I could build myself my own room,’ or ‘I could build myself like my own house.’”
Johnston said the sheds were a tipping point in the program where the girls really started to understand the big picture and put the skills they learned together to work.
At the graduation, all participants got a chance to share their experiences with their families and peers. A common topic between them was their initial nervousness, and later excitement, using a nail gun for the first time.
One of the main goals of the camp was to dispel notions that only men can work in the trades. Johnston, who worked 15 years in construction, recalled her own nervousness and fear to use tools back in high school.
“I would be in a class with all boys, and really my vision was to create this space where everybody is okay to be new. It’s okay to have never done it before and we’re all supporting each other and cheering each other on,” Johnston said. “That’s exactly what we did. We created this wonderful, safe place for all the girls to try something new.”
Johnston achieved the vision she imagined years ago. The work towards it has seen small steps in the Boys and Girls Club’s pre-apprenticeship program, but the BLAZE camp marked the first fully fledged venture to make space for girls to learn about the trades.
Multiple girls at the graduation expressed their own comfort and excitement to work in the trades.
Johnston notes girls taking pictures and sending them to their friends as they made rounds throughout the week. Friends would respond with curiosity and matched excitement.
“They had friends coming up like ‘Where are you? What are you doing?’ That’s so cool. That’s exactly what we want to do. If you show girls doing stuff like this, other girls will be interested in joining too,” Johnston said.
