2 Mohon students repair a big rig

Women make up only about two percent of the approximately 300,000 diesel mechanics across the United States according to federal and state workforce numbers. Yet, on a recent afternoon at Capital Region BOCES, a trio of aspiring female diesel mechanics was hard at work on a big rig seeking to shatter glass ceilings.

Students Alyson Cable (center in photo) and Kylie Van Buren (to the right), both from Mohonasen, and Brianne Murray (partially obscured) of Scotia-Glenville, were working on the engine of a tractor-trailer donated several years ago to Capital Region BOCES by Price Chopper/Gollub Corp.

“When I tell my dad’s friends that I am going to BOCES for diesel, they say, ‘Really? That’s not a girl’s job.’ Well, I am making it one,” Cable said of her goal of becoming a diesel mechanic.

“I grew up around cars and my dad working on engines, so this is what I decided I want to do,” added Van Buren.

The trio is the latest in a steady stream – one to two females a year enter the 40-plus student program at BOCES – seeking to rewrite the “norm” when it comes to gender and jobs.

The diesel tech program, like every program at BOCES, benefits from strong industry partners that regularly donate equipment and advise faculty and administrators on the latest in technological advances in the industry. Just last year, Callanan Industries donated a cement truck to the program for students to work on.

For more on the diesel technology program, visit: https://www.capitalregionboces.org/career-technical-education/courses-programs/diesel-tech/