Skip to Content

VWW's office remains closed as staff primarily work remotely. Please contact us in advance if you need to visit our Winooski office; our team is available via phone or email.

VWW Celebrates 25 Years of Women Can Do

by Jillian Scannell

 

Over the past 25 years, Vermont Works for Women (VWW) has reached thousands of high school girls and gender-expansive students at our one-day career exploration conference, Women Can Do.  

At Women Can Do students spend the day exploring STEM and trades careers through hands-on activities like welding, operating heavy machinery, coding on a computer, and much more! 

This year, 300+ high school girls and gender-expansive students joined VWW and over 100 Vermont employers and partners for a chilly but empowering day at Vermont State University Randolph.  

You Can’t Be What You Can’t See

Vermont Works for Women supports young women and gender-expansive individuals as they recognize their potential, take risks, connect with each other, and pursue new possibilities.  

At VWW we believe “You can’t be what you can’t see” and that is why it is so important for young women to see themselves represented in all the promising careers exhibited at Women Can Do.  We encourage businesses and organizations to send women and gender-expansive employees to lead the hands-on activities each exhibitor offers. In a post-conference survey, we asked students to identify what makes the culture of Women Can Do supportive. Overwhelmingly, students shared that talking with women and learning new skills directly from them was very impactful. One student shared, “Having women running stations and hearing their stories is super empowering. I felt comfortable getting out of my comfort zone and felt super confident and capable.”  

Hands-on Exploration

The Indoor and Outdoor Action Expos are the places for students to gain a real sense of various careers in STEM and trades fields by getting their hands dirty, using tools and equipment, and talking with industry professionals. 

Student holds a chainsaw at Women Can Do 2024Student tries welding at Women Can Do 2024

 

 

 

Although we had blustery October weather to contend with, it didn’t stop the students from trying all the activities in the Outdoor Action Expo. As some folks suited up for a ride on the fire ladder, others donned safety gear to try their hand at welding. Students spent their time learning new skills like how to climb trees as an arborist, start up a chainsaw for trail work, operate heavy machinery, fly airplanes, and most importantly, they learned how fun and rewarding a job in a nontraditional career can be! 

Student solders metal at Women Can Do Indoor Action ExpoStudents practice intubating a patient using a medical dummy at Women Can Do

 

 

 

The Indoor Action Expo brought the same thrills and learning experiences as outside. Students practiced skills in everything from crime scene investigation to food science and chemistry to game programming and 3D printing. In addition to exploring the various activities, students were able to talk with professionals, learning about their journey from initial interest to their current roles.

Resource Hall

In the Resource Hall, students learned about unique career paths, important social issues, and community resources that exist to help them succeed in Vermont. 30+ businesses and nonprofits provided insight, guidance, and resources to help them get connected to all that our state has to offer.  

Student talks with exhibitor in the Resource Hall at Women Can Do. Vermont Community Broadband representatives talk to students at Women Can Do

 

 

 

 

 

Student Feedback

At the end of the conference, we asked students to share about their experience at Women Can Do. Here’s some of what they had to say:  

  • “I have more career options than I thought I did.” 
  • “I can do whatever I put my mind to.” 
  • “I am more capable than I thought.” 
  • “I can do things that make me slightly uncomfortable (like drawing blood) and I can be successful in whatever I do.” 
  • “I loved how friendly and welcoming and encouraging all the people at booths were. They all gave me the opportunity to do each activity.” 
  • “Being encouraged to try everything and anything felt good and made me feel less nervous.”

A tech center student shows a high school student how to use a table saw at Women Can Do 2024Participant learning how to operate heavy machinery at Women Can Do 2024

 

 

 

 

If you missed Women Can Do this year and would like to be involved next year, email our team at womencando@vtworksforwomen.org. If you’d like to learn more about VWW’s programs and career exploration opportunities, please reach out to Megg Roberge Dulude at mdulude@vtworksforwomen.org 

A special thank you to our 2024 Women Can Do supporters for helping to inspire Vermont’s next-generation workforce. 

VISIONARIES
INNOVATORS

COLLABORATORS

BUILDERS

DESIGNERS

 

  • Posted in Women can do
  • Comments Off on VWW Celebrates 25 Years of Women Can Do