According to wbir.com, in East Tennessee three women are training at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in order to learn about the infrastructure that keeps lights on at home. More women are climbing power lines and finding work in a field that is highly dominated by men. Haley Comer, 21, is quoted in saying that, “They’re probably going to look and be like, ‘Dang, that’s a girl up there,’ It can be scary at times.” More and more women are entering the field an dhelping to break down barriers for other women to take part. An 18 year old, McKenna Champman is also in training to work on power lines and is quoted in saying that, “I’m helping people, keeping their lights on. It’s not just hospital lights, it’s all lights. Like, no one can live without electricity anymore.”
They may even fill in some vacancies after crews recently headed to Florida in order to help communities recovering from Hurricane Ian. Kayle Richmon, a third female student was quoted in saying that, “You can do anything if you set your mind to it.”
Darrel Evans trained the students, and he says that they are helping to fill a growing need in the area and is quoted in saying that, “You see how many thousands of linemen that are moving south. That’s why we need more linemen, It’s always been thought to have been a men’s industry, but it’s not. They’re proving. These young ladies have proven that they can do this job.”
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