VO-TECH STUDENTS WIN AWARDS IN BREAKING TRADITIONAL JOB ROLES

Andrea Cardin, Kerri Uhlig and Todd Alexander plan to make their mark in careers traditionally filled by members of the opposite sex.

Once the word gets out that breaking tradition isn't only rewarding but has been done before, Cape Girardeau Area Vocational-Technical School counselor Dr. Dorothy Hardy believes more will follow the trio's path.

"If you've got an aptitude in something, you shouldn't worry about whether the field is dominated by male or female workers," Hardy said. "If it means getting a better job and improving your life, you should pursue it."

Therein lies the purpose of Project ENTER. The acronym stands for the education of nontraditional employment roles and is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. ENTER is housed at the Instructional Materials Laboratory at the University of Missouri at Columbia.

This year the state's public high schools, career centers, vocational-technical schools and community colleges nominated nearly 100 outstanding students for Breaking Tradition awards. Of those nominated, four were chosen as state winners and 30 as regional winners.

Cardin, Uhlig and Alexander were regional honorable mention honorees for the 1995 essay contest sponsored by Project Enter. Past Project Enter winners who attended Cape Vo-Tech include Ricky Garza and Jeffrey Ostendorf, both regional winners in 1994, and Amy E. O'Kelly as an honorable mention honoree in 1993.

O'Kelly was the school's only woman to enter the design draft program in 1993. She found part-time work with an engineering company. She also enrolled in computer-aided drafting at the vo-tech school.

Officials of Project Enter said by the next century 86 percent of all jobs will require education and training beyond high school, and most high paying jobs will need a foundation in math and science.

Thus, to compete in today's rapidly changing international economy, the U.S. job market will need people with greater technical, analytic and interpersonal skills.

Uhlig, a student at Jackson High, and Cardin, a senior at Cape Central, spend 2 1/2 hours a day studying design drafting at the Cape Vo-Tech School.

"My dad taught welding at this school for years, so I was always around the place," Cardin said. "I like to draw and design, so it was something I thought I would want to study."

Uhlig plans to enroll in Linn Technical College and earn an associate degree in architectural drafting and Design. "I think this field will not be such a male-dominated industry in the near future," Uhlig said.

"I do believe, however, that the working industry is more chauvinistic than I have experienced in the classroom," she said. "Several of the local architects in my area have given me awkward responses when I have mentioned my career goal."

Uhlig said if architects would let her and other nontraditional students prove themselves, they would take a different attitude.

Uhlig wrote about some of the things she went through in a class-dominated by male students for her essay.

Cardin got an idea what she might be up against when she considered applying for a design drafting job at the Missouri Dry Dock and Repair. "All of the other applicants were men a lot older than me," Cardin said. "I decided not to apply for it, but that didn't make me feel like I can't get a job in this field in the future."

Cardin plans to major in pre-medicine at Southeast Missouri State. However, she will continue to work on design drafting to have "something to fall back on."

Alexander is a practical nursing student at St. Francis Medical Center working in the processing and sterilization department. He also gained experience in the health profession as a Combat Medic for the U.S. Army. He plans to become a registered nurse anesthetist.

"I am one of only two males in a class of 25 students," Alexander said. "Do I mind? No. I find nontraditional defines a gamut of students in my class, which includes a single parent, a grandmother, a new parent and a 26-year-old veteran. We are all committed to becoming nurses."

Cardin and Uhlig are equally committed.

Jon Story, who teaches design drafting at Cape Vo-Tech, said the women he taught have a penchant for showing a keen eye for detail. "Having a sharp eye for detail is a must," he said. Other requisites include mathematics and drawing.

"It is very unusual to excel in both math and drawing," Story said. "I try to get the students to work harder on their weakness to have the best chance of getting hired."

Story said design drafting by computer is the way of the future. "Women seem to pick things up on a computer faster than some men," Story said. The reason computer drafting is so important is that it is much faster and more accurate.