Citadel Completions Avionics Technician Rachel Fast is looking to be a comforting voice for women entering a nontraditional career.

She will represent the aviation maintenance program at a Women in Nontraditional Careers Seminar hosted by Sowela Technical Community College from 5 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, September 17 in the Sycamore Student Center at the main campus. Guests will hear from women studying or working in fields considered nontraditional for women – a field in which less than 25 percent of individuals employed are women.

Dedria Walton, assistant director of recruitment and career services, Sowela, said this is a great opportunity for women interested in exploring new opportunities or skills to connect with “trailblazers” who have done so themselves.

Guests will have a chance to speak with women who have already undergone the shift of entering a nontraditional career in a space without fear or judgment.

54 percent of Sowela’s student body is female. Eight percent of those students at Sowela are enrolled in nontraditional career paths, she said. These include programs like aviation maintenance, process technology, drafting, chemical laboratory technology, CDL driving, vehicle maintenance and welding, to name a few.

A woman of any stage, any station, can jumpstart a career at Sowela. Walton said the seminar was created to inspire the daughter who just graduated high school and wants to quickly enter the career force, or the mother wanting to return to college after her kids left the nest.

“She’s been thinking about going to college to experience some type of career, not sure what, but doesn’t want the standard career,” she explained. “Here is something different.”

Fast graduated from the aviation maintenance program in the Fall of 2022. She believes this seminar will help other women considering nontraditional careers feel more confident and comfortable in their choices.

“When I was trying to decide if I was going into aviation maintenance or not, I didn’t know any women who were in it. I didn’t know who to talk to.”

She turned to the internet and connected with other women in aviation maintenance on Instagram. They encouraged and reassured her. She wants to provide this opportunity to others in person.

She knew she wanted to attend Sowela before she knew she wanted to work on planes.

“Something in Aviation just stuck out,” she recalled. “I just wanted to try it and see how it would go. I wasn’t one of those kids that grew up loving planes, I wish I could say that I was, but once I started it I really fell in love with it.”

The fast-paced environment is exciting, and each day she is faced with a new challenging puzzle that keeps her active, engaged and on her toes.

“Every plane that you’re on is different,” she said. “It’s constantly researching and using your hands.”

The biggest hurdle she cleared as a woman in a nontraditional career was simply getting through the door.

“My first day was the absolute hardest, it was just walking in and seeing everyone,” she said. “Everything they taught in the class, everything you learned, and everything that came after, was so much easier than just walking in that first day.”

The fear of judgment or pushback was “all in her head,” she said.

“People are a lot more receptive than I thought, way, way better at answering questions than I could ever imagine.”

Her most important pieces of advice are to trust intuition and remember preexisting knowledge is not needed to succeed.

“Your gut is not not wrong. Your intuition is not wrong. If you feel like this is something that you wanna try, you’re the only person you need to listen to.

“Everybody else is going to ask ‘Why?’ or ‘How?’ or ‘Do you really think you’re going to do that?’ but if you have that pull in your gut, you’re going to be fine.”

She has worked at Citadel for a year and a half now. In her experience, being a woman in a nontraditional field has its benefits. She can give a fresh perspective while on the job and is, she said with a smile, maybe a little more cautious.

Walton said Sowela’s offerings offer a smooth transition into the workforce because most nontraditional programs are hands-on, and because Sowela’s partners are always looking to hire women to fill these nontraditional careers.

“Our partners in industry just recognize what our graduates can bring to the various programs,” she said. “They know that graduates from Sowela will fulfill that obligation, and do well at it.”

The seminar speakers will “run the gambit,” she said.

In addition to Fast, those speaking will be Denise Dowling, Benoit Nissan; Chastity Ware-Greve, Citgo; MaHogney Lewis, Loves Travel Stop; Patricia Stroderd, Recon Group; Allison Bellue, Phillips 66; Sherry Duhon, LOTTE; and Taylor Winfrey, Examinetics Mobile Occupational Medicine and Iles Medical Testing.

Those interested in attending can register in person at the event or online at www.sowela.edu/seminar.

The seminar is free and open to the public.