Olivia Gonzalez-Britt is ABC 10News' newest multimedia journalist and producer.
SAN DIEGO — Ernestina Guerrero, Maria Diaz-Gomez and Noelya Collon are gearing up for SDG&E ’s Lineworker & Gas Rodeo . It's a competition that puts safety and skill in the spotlight, while giving crews a chance to show what they’re made of.
And this year, that means history. For the first time in SDG&E’s 144 years, an all-women crew is stepping into the arena. Their team name? The Steel Sisters.Noelya is leading the team, and she’s no stranger to making history herself. She’s SDG&E’s first woman welder.'When I first joined as a laborer and I found that there was no woman that had completed welding school, I was surprised, but I also knew immediately it was what I was gonna go for,' Noelya says. 'It's what kept me motivated.”Her journey to that welder’s torch wasn’t easy. And building her team was a dream years in the making.Their supervisor John Mendoza says the field is still male-dominated, only about one in every twenty workers are women.But watching the Steel Sisters in action…he sees change sparking.'It's great that it's evolving. It really is,' John says. 'I have two daughters myself, and I would encourage them to become welders. In fact, that's the plan.”For Noelia, representation is everything.'There are women who want to work this job and it can be really intimidating, especially when you don't have other women on the field and you don't see yourself represented,' Noelya says. 'Of course I questioned if I was even capable of being a welder since there was no welder on the field yet.”And yet, here they are.“If the boys can do it, we can do it,' Ernestina says with a smile on her face. And while Saturday’s competition won’t bring a trophy or cash to the winners. They’re after something else:“High fives, pride, congrats and pride,' Noelya says.And that unmistakable feeling of knowing they’ve already won.
SDG&E Lineworker & Gas Rodeo Compete Crew Rodeo Women
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Popular gas station chain to open first-ever locations in new statesWatch Mississippi's first Buc-ee's materialize, from groundbreaking in September 2023 to opening coming in spring 2025.
Read more »
Trump’s EPA Plans to Ditch Emission Limits on Power PlantsThere would be no greenhouse gas caps on coal and gas-fired power plants.
Read more »
tBTC Becomes First to Power Gas Fees and Collateral on MezoCrypto Blog
Read more »
SoCal Gas begins work to restore natural gas services to residents in Rancho Palos VerdesSoCal Gas is beginning work to restore natural gas to homes in the Rancho Palos Verdes area, after residents have been without services since last summer.
Read more »
Single platinum atoms spotted in 2D lattice for first time unlock smarter gas sensorsResearchers in Austria have embedded single platinum atoms in a 2D material and pinpointed their positions with atomic precision.
Read more »
California moves to become first in nation to ban natural gas furnaces and heaters by 2030California is committing to a plan to phase out gas-fueled furnaces and water heaters in homes, a move environmentalists are betting will provide a template for other states.
Read more »