The sky is the limit for a young woman entering today's job world.
The first Women in Non-traditional Professions workshop was held April 11 at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus, showcasing careers that many young women may not have considered.
"We've invited girls from the six school districts, grades ninth through 12th, and from the Career and Technical Center and (Father) Geibel High school," Yasmin Brown said. "We want to introduce them to non-traditional professions and jobs that women don't normally do."
The six school districts invited to attend were Albert Gallatin, Brownsville, Connellsville Area, Frazier, Laurel Highlands and Uniontown Area.
Brown, the assistant coordinator of grants and contract management at Penn State Fayette, organized the event and was pleased with the response.
"Due to the seating capacity, which is about 220 here in Swimmers Hall, we offered it to the first 20 girls from each school," he said, adding that the hall was indeed full. "People are already asking me when we are doing this again."
The students heard a series of eight presentations. Careers in fields such as civil and systems engineering, financial consulting, in-depth medical studies, and early management opportunities were reviewed.
Speaker Denice Robinson, vice president of investments at the Janney, Montgomery and Scott investment firm, spoke of being assertive when entering the working world.
"A lot of opportunities will present themselves to you, and you have to ask," she said. "Don't wait for them to come to you. You have to be willing to learn and willing to take on responsibility."
Other speakers included Renata S. Engel, Lindsay Mansberry, Deborah Fox, Michelle Kuma, Heather Jewell, Gina Russell and Nancy Priselac.
"I came because I wanted to see different kinds of professional opportunities," said Whitney Williams, a student from Laurel Highlands. "You usually only hear about teaching or being a secretary or a bank teller."
Williams found the presentation given by Engel fascinating.
"I am really interested in what Dr. Engel was talking about," Williams said of her talk on internal engineering. "I'd like to talk to her about it more."
Many of the presenters were available after the talks.
Krystal Hall, Britney Malone and Kayla Burnsworth, all of Connellsville, already are studying what may be considered non-traditional job fields.
"We came to learn about different things offered," Hall said, adding that she and Malone are enrolled at the Career and Technical Center in carpentry, and Burnsworth is enrolled at CTC for auto repair.
"Our guidance counselor told us about it, and it sounded like a good opportunity to find out the jobs and careers that you normally don't hear about," said Carol Fritz, of Albert Gallatin.
The options presented at the workshop opened up many young minds to different courses and career choices
"Our goal here is to help all young women," Robinson said. "You must put time and effort into your choices. The only limit is yourself."
