I’m the first one from my family to study something after high school. My dad graduated high school, but I graduated high school and finished a program at college. I never expected to receive a scholarship for a construction program at Santa Fe. But when I did, I said, ‘Wow, okay. Now I know what I’m going to do.’ I always liked fixing things like DVD players, but my interest in it started with Habitat for Humanity. I helped build a house and put up cabinets through my mentor program at Eastside [High School]. I thought it was fun, and I was good at it. I plan to come back to SF to learn more because I want to be successful as a plumber. That’s my dream. I want to keep doing it because it’s something that people aren’t used to; seeing me as a woman doing this job gets people thinking. But if I can, other women can, too.
– Chacity Battles, Plumbing Certificate, ‘18