Women in Tech Fields prevails despite weather

Despite some schools canceling the trip to Montana State University-Northern's Women in Technical Fields workshop Wednesday morning, Fort Benton and Havre High School girls braved the sub-zero temperatures and spent the day getting hands-on experience in the trades.

Fort Benton and Havre High School brought sophomores, juniors and seniors for the workshop.

The girls arrived at 8:30 a.m. and were welcomed at Hensler Auditorium, where a light breakfast was provided.

A 9 a.m., the girls began making their rounds to different student and teacher presenters.

The girls watched as students in the automotive field worked on cars in the Farm Mechanics Building and tried their hands at some welding in the Welding Lab of the Metal Technologies Building.

Emma Faus Ralston, an Montana State University-Northern student in the Diesel Tech program, showed the girls different parts of a diesel engine. Ralston demonstrated how to check oil and explained how an engine functions.

Professor Trygve "Spike" Magelssen of the electrical department took the girls on a tour of the different labs on campus. Once they returned to his room, he demonstrated how different tools help measure voltage and indicate which wires are "hot" with an electrical current and which ones are cold.

"I believe that it's instrumental in helping young women expand their opportunities," he said. "That they can look into something other than the conventional business careers or law or something like that. That they can actually look into something that has a practical, societal use."

Magelssen added that some of the women who have come through the electrical program have been some of the best students.

"The sky is no longer the limit. That ceiling's been broken. We're out in space," Maglssen said.

Professor Loren Schlotfeldt talked about the plumbing program to four girls and said being a plumber doesn't mean you have to be strong. He said the tools and equipment that plumbers use today have made things simpler.

After the discussion, Schlotfeldt took the girls back to the workshop, where they made marshmallow shooters. He showed the girls two different types of designs. One was made using pieces of polyvilyl chloride pipe and the other was made from soldering pieces of copper tubes together.

At the same time he was showing the girls how to make the marshmallow shooters, he explained the various properties of using the two different types of materials in plumbing.

Schlotfeldt said the PVC pipes are what newer houses use and they have the ability to expand with the water pressure and re-form to their original dimensions. He added that the copper pipes are what older houses have installed and work great, but are prone to freezing and bursting or turning green due to oxidation.

The girls then split up to the four different stations and began to make their own marshmallow shooters.

"This is a great way to promote the Northern programs," Scholtfeldt said. "The women graduates from this program are sought-after and have a captive audience."

He added that he has worked with women as plumbers and electricians and has noticed that the women are very detail-oriented. Scholtfeldt said it is that attention to detail that makes a significant difference in the quality of the work.

The opportunities for women in plumbing are abundant, Schlotfeldt added. He said he was recently contacted by a company in Alaska looking for women plumbers and that the starting wage was $100,000 per year.

Professor Brianna Bernhardt spoke to five girls about Agricultural Operations Technology. For their project, Bernhardt had the girls make mini-greenhouses in which they planted herbs like cilantro and parley.

She also discussed the best ways to water plants and whether cold or warm water made a difference.

"If your plant is absolutely dying, use warm water," she said. "Otherwise, it usually doesn't matter."

Bernhardt added that seed quality matters and people should always take a look at the seeds before planting them.

She said if they're using a lamp as a light source, they should not use an LED light.

She later praised the workshop.

"I think this is a really good idea because we don't have a lot of women in technical fields," Bernhardt said.

She added that women should not feel limited by their gender.

After the girls had visited all the programs, they returned to Hensler Auditorium for lunch. While they were eating, Northern faculty members made presentations on different aspects of campus life such as financial aid, student life and the career center.

"I think it's a good way for girls to see what other options they have," Fort Benton High School Counselor Kelly Rominger said.

Fort Benton junior Nicole Axtman said she thought the workshop was fun and she liked making the marshmallow shooters and welding.

Aspen Giese, a sophomore at Fort Benton, said her favorite part of the workshop was "definitely the plumbing, because we got to make the marshmallow shooters."

She added that she was interested in going into the plumbing field after hearing about it.

Havre High School Counselor Julie Monson said she really likes the workshop, but wishes that more of her students would sign up to attend.

"I just think it gives girls ... a chance to do some hands on things, come check out the college and see if it's something you might actually want to do or like to do," she added.

Havre High sophomore Hailey McKenzie said she thought the workshop was informative and a good opportunity to go and tour the programs.

Sophomore Josie Arganeright said the workshops were all fun and she really liked the welding lab.

Sophomore Hadley Cook said it was interesting.

"I've never seen something like those fields," she added. "I've never seen, like, diesel or electricity, but they were quite interesting."