Last week, the University of Wisconsin-Superior hosted 20 Girl Scouts to teach them about the transportation industry and encourage them to consider careers in the typically male-dominated field. The Duluth News Tribune wrote about the outing, saying the Girl Scouts observed first-hand about five types of transportation jobs, including CDL trucking jobs.
“There’s this perception that the transportation industry is for males,” said Cassie Roemhildt, research associate at UWS. “We want to teach young girls that that isn’t the case, so we got involved with the Girl Scouts.”
Ellen Voie founded the Women in Trucking Association in 2007 and currently serves as the organization’s president.
“There aren’t a lot of role models for young women looking into transportation,” Voie said. “There isn’t a truck driver Barbie yet, but I’m working on it.”
The article says the girls started their day with a conversation with Voie in her capacity as a female truck driver.
“We want to introduce these opportunities before girls make their career decisions,” Voie said. “Otherwise, women don’t tend to think of themselves in a truck.”
The Girl Scouts then toured a retired freighter to learn about the shipping industry and explored the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. They ended their day in the cab of a Halvor Lines semi-truck and learning about aerodynamics with paper airplanes.
By the time the day was ending, the girls were putting transportation into the context of their own lives.
“We’re Girl Scouts, we do Girl Scout cookies,” said Emily Schaefer, 11. “Wheat starts at the farm and travels all the way to the factory. I think that’s cool. If we didn’t get the wheat, we wouldn’t get the Girl Scout cookies.”
Check out other Fun Friday stories from Drive My Way here and here.
Photo courtesy Duluth News Tribune
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