Kennedy King College’s Dawson Technical Institute (DTI) celebrated female inclusion in the trades with its annual Mentoring a Girl in Construction (MAGIC) event. Sixty four students from local Chicago Public Schools participated in a free, one-day, workshop designed to introduce school aged girls to exciting careers in construction. MAGIC offers young ladies the opportunity to learn about countless avenues of employment available to women in the construction industry and to engage them via hands on demonstrations. Students toured DTI and dialoged with a panel of industry professional women sharing their experiences about the construction trades and offered advice to help young women become more informed and successful with their respective career paths. Current female Dawson Tech students joined the conversation with the panelists centered around involvement, empowerment, and valuing women’s contribution to the workplace and the recognition of female worth in non-traditional jobs for women.
Students toured DTI’s Carpentry, Welding, Plumbing, Gas Utility and Overhead Electrical Line Worker labs, participated in hands on demonstrations and ate lunch with the female construction students and industry professionals. Schools participating in the event included Woodson Elementary School, Al Raby High School, and Christian Fenger High School. Volunteers from the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Kiewitt Construction, FH Paschen Construction, Antionette Mitchelle Consulting LLC, and Dawson Technical Institute worked in partnership to make this event a success.