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Building Back America's Trades Season 1 Episode 2

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00:00To do it, it was like, let me prove you wrong.
00:03I don't know any women in the trades.
00:05It's just like something that I would never have seen before.
00:09She Built the City is a non-profit.
00:11We consider ourselves a pipeline into the skilled trades.
00:13What if I just pick up this tool?
00:15What if I just get out of my comfort zone?
00:17Not only are they sitting amongst their peers,
00:19they're also sitting amongst their cheerleaders,
00:22their future co-workers.
00:44I've been practicing law for nearly 20 years now.
00:48My dad was a lawyer.
00:49I had a grandfather who was a lawyer.
00:50So I just did what was expected of me
00:54without really being very critical about it.
00:58It has provided me with a stable and comfortable life.
01:02But I don't really have a passion for it.
01:05I never really have.
01:08People who built things
01:09were always something that I was drawn to.
01:13Yeah, that six-inch rule is a good one for these boxes.
01:15So I typically go finger to thumb.
01:18It just gives you more to work with.
01:22It's a little nerve-wracking at first.
01:24Coming back to school in your mid-40s
01:27and thinking about making a career change.
01:31But I'll regret it my whole life
01:34if I just keep doing what I'm doing.
01:38Being an electrician is where I wanted to go.
01:41I would be at work right now,
01:43but, you know, I'm here learning my trade.
02:06I look at it both ways.
02:07Crisis and an opportunity.
02:09It's both.
02:10It's a crisis that we're seeing now,
02:12but it's an opportunity to grow the next generation.
02:16I believe that I can actually have a career in this field.
02:20I love, like, people, like,
02:22being skeptical of me
02:23and then just me just going in and just crushing it.
02:27It was expected, you know, sort of,
02:30okay, you go to high school, you go to college.
02:32It just seemed like a path
02:34in a way of least resistance.
02:48Making this move to change professions,
02:50it's a really big deal for me.
02:52I'm someone who tends to make a decision
02:55and just sort of sticks with it.
02:57You know, I live a comfortable life.
02:59Look, I'm sitting at a desk, you know,
03:03in my little sweater.
03:04I can leave work at the drop of a hat.
03:07Those things are going to change for me.
03:11I do civil litigation, primarily personal injury.
03:15I don't really enjoy it.
03:20I'm interested in electrical work as a career.
03:23I think it provides some intellectual stimulation
03:26as well as I get to be out working with my hands.
03:30The kind of thing I think I could do
03:31for, you know, another 10, 15 years.
03:36I have two boys and my wife,
03:38and they have all been really supportive of me.
03:43The big thing is just going to be figuring out the money.
03:47There's going to be this three- or four-year period
03:50working as an apprentice
03:51where we're going to lose
03:53this really significant portion of income.
03:56And then it sort of sky's the limit.
03:59People who are running their own outfits
04:01can do quite well for themselves financially.
04:03You've got to give the speech.
04:06You know, I just don't want to end up
04:09doing something that I'm not happy doing.
04:16Having my kids see a father
04:18who's struggling with us, you know,
04:20in middle age, and that that's okay.
04:24That you don't necessarily know
04:26what you're going to want to be
04:27when you're 18, 20, 25, whatever.
04:32And that you can make changes
04:34if you're unhappy.
04:44And there's a lot of pressure
04:45to be successful in families.
04:49Hanging on to all that need to have high status,
04:51like being a lawyer,
04:52just was just not serving him anymore.
04:55He just seemed really overwhelmed
04:57and just kind of checked out.
04:59I don't know, it sounds so refreshing
05:00honestly.
05:01It sounds fun, like a fun adventure
05:02to do with you.
05:03I'm excited.
05:04Yeah.
05:16All my life, I've been working jobs.
05:19Job after job after job.
05:21I don't really want to go to work.
05:25I don't.
05:27It's just the same thing every day.
05:29It's very repetitive.
05:31It's draining.
05:33There's no room for growth.
05:35And I prefer to have a job
05:38where I know that I can grow within the company.
05:41No one likes to be stuck anywhere.
05:45Being in the trades,
05:46I believe that I can actually have a career.
05:55When I was younger, I would always be outside with my dad.
05:59He's just taught me how to do a lot of things with my hands.
06:01So I think that's where it all started.
06:06I did see the trades as an opportunity in high school.
06:09I definitely wanted to take the class.
06:12But there were not a lot of women in the class.
06:15It's like when you don't see yourself represented in something,
06:18you're not going to want to do it.
06:20I know I love working with my hands.
06:22I was like, I know I can't get into construction because I'm a woman.
06:25Women can't do this.
06:27No one tells women that going into the trades is an option.
06:31It is an option.
06:32The biggest misconception that people have about women
06:35in the construction or DIY space is that we're not strong enough.
06:38Good morning.
06:39My name is Nora and I'm checking in as a blue-collar bestie.
06:42I'm a commercial industrial electrician.
06:45One day, I just picked up my phone and I, you know, pulled out TikTok.
06:49I was looking up women electricians, and I've seen so many.
06:55It's more than I even thought.
06:57I've seen women being plumbers.
07:00I've seen women actually being in the construction field.
07:03And then I've seen women electricians.
07:05I just fell in love with the fact that, like, I can really do something like this.
07:09If they can do it, I know I can do it.
07:11Because it just motivates you to do something even more when you see a lot of women in the trades.
07:20So imagine if you have a carpenter and you have an electrician,
07:23and then y'all just get it together and y'all make the Harris sisters.
07:26Y'all can make the business.
07:27Look at y'all.
07:28I am very family-oriented.
07:31If I can have all of them around, oh, they're going to be around.
07:35Okay.
07:35Do you have, like, a job lined up, or do you have to, like, wait?
07:40No jobs lined up.
07:41But, like, they do host a career fair for everyone in the program at the end of the nine weeks.
07:48I'm just looking forward to seeing everything, experiencing it all.
07:54Can't wait.
07:55I'm just really excited.
07:56I don't know if I can tell, but I'm really excited.
08:12The hospital I was born in is the little one over there with the black windows.
08:16I did a lot of the roof structure on the top of the hospital,
08:20the copper roofing that's on there,
08:21and then a lot of the stuff on the inside of that building.
08:26This is the first job I did when I was 19 years old.
08:30When my kids were born, now, you used to stare at the ceilings and look at the ceilings I built,
08:33and then I noticed when my grandkids were born, the same ceilings and stuff are still there.
08:38So I guess I did an okay job.
08:40It's still there.
08:42Building the hospital rooms that your kids are born in, that's kind of neat.
08:47One of those monument things that you're thinking about.
08:52What I thought was cool about construction when I started doing it is
08:55I can drive by and see that that building's there and how long it lasted,
08:58and I can show my daughters when they were little.
09:02Now I can show my great-grandkids.
09:05That's a prideful thing for folks that are in the industry.
09:09It's been neat to be able to live in my town, work in my town, raise my kids in my
09:14town,
09:14and give back to my town.
09:22Folks come to Flagstaff, and they do think Arizona is deserts and things like that,
09:26roadrunners all over.
09:28And when they come and see elk and deer and the big mountain and the beautiful trees,
09:32they go, wow, this is a great place I want to live here.
09:35That drives the cost of housing up.
09:38It's poverty with a view.
09:47Rent went from $1,200, now it's up to $2,200 for a single-bedroom apartment.
09:56That's astronomical.
09:59I have students that are actually driving two and a half hours from Page, Arizona
10:03to come and take classes in our construction program.
10:08I have students sleeping in my parking lot in their car
10:12to be able to make sure that they're at class the next day
10:15because the trip is so far.
10:18So we do see a lot of that.
10:22Pretty extraordinary young people.
10:29If it wasn't for the students, I probably still wouldn't be here.
10:32Building the skilled trades is a big motivation,
10:34but building character and students that have a value when they come out of my door,
10:39that can get a job, be productive in society, and build homes.
10:44It's a way of building our community.
10:46It's a way of getting somebody that wants to be here
10:49to be able to afford to live here.
10:51That's kind of my motivation.
10:56So the first thing you're going to want to do,
10:59just give it a little haircut,
11:01and then measure your 35 and a quarter.
11:03Okay?
11:06I've been teaching for 14 years here at Coconino Community College.
11:11About 12 and a half years,
11:12I was the only faculty member at this campus.
11:18Okay?
11:18And so you've got this class you can do in fall.
11:21So it looks like you've got just about all your construction stuff done.
11:26A lot of the curriculum is designed and developed by myself.
11:29I taught every single class.
11:32Sometimes I was teaching 11 classes a semester.
11:35Pretty exciting, but it was a lot of work.
11:39That puts you to a grand total of 16 credits,
11:42and every one of these credits transfers to your degree.
11:4514 years ago, I had 45 students in my program.
11:49Helpful?
11:50I appreciate that.
11:51Are you right?
11:51Good.
11:52Now my student count is up to 80.
11:54I just wanted to look at it.
11:56Rising.
11:59It got to the point where I just couldn't do it by myself no more.
12:03But to find a shop class teacher in my neck of the woods has been tough.
12:10Find somebody that's working in the industry that could be making $120,000 a year being a construction worker has
12:19been difficult.
12:21My last hire, Tiffany, was almost a year and a half to find the right person to fit the job.
12:30Hey, do you need help?
12:32I could.
12:33Okay, let's do it.
12:34I got a wonderful team hired on now, and now I kind of just step back and let them take
12:40the ball,
12:40and I just help get them in the right directions.
12:46You're all in the back row, my goodness.
12:49I've got about 33, 34 years in the construction field.
12:53You're going to learn about safety.
12:54You're going to learn about tools.
12:56So what we're going to do is lots of hands-on.
12:59The last year and a half has gotten so big so quickly that we now have a full-time person
13:05dedicated to mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems.
13:09That's all Steve does is those three things.
13:11Sweet.
13:12There you go.
13:15Vance is now just doing carpentry.
13:18He has five classes a semester just on carpentry alone.
13:22Just like that.
13:24We are always going to need construction workers.
13:26There's over 50,000 jobs in Arizona alone unfilled.
13:30There's probably room for 150,000 trades workers in Arizona right now.
13:36And then we brought in Tiffany.
13:38She's our code specialist.
13:40She does everything with building code, blueprint reading.
13:43So who's excited about taking this class?
13:47He's lying and you're lying.
13:51I wanted to join the trades just because I like working with my hands and I like helping people.
13:55Maybe like one of these days be like you and like teach like the younger, younger generation, whatever.
14:00Because I know like being...
14:00Are you saying I'm old?
14:01Is that what you're saying?
14:03No.
14:03That's what he just said to me.
14:07I was designated with developing two drafting classes and I have to have them submitted by the end of the
14:14day, which generally takes six months and I have six hours.
14:21This is my first year of being a director, I can impact the city, I can impact our community, I
14:28can impact Northern Arizona, far more reaching than I could before.
14:38If I can take that same student that's in my doors in my classrooms with Vance, Tiffany and Steve and
14:45get every one of my students a job, then it's all worth it.
14:49And I will be better at delegating.
14:51But it's time for me to give the keys to Caroline.
14:54So just kind of what I've been hoping for all these years is that I could pass it down and
14:59just don't crash my car.
15:06I think we have an opportunity to do something this town has needed for 20 to 25 years.
15:14This is hopefully just a start of something bigger.
15:27This program has a lot to teach the community as a whole about collaboration.
15:33We all know that we need more houses.
15:35I think this is the place where we can bring all those pieces together.
15:38That's how we're trying to bridge the gap.
15:40We're going to work a little bit more on tools, so we're going to learn how to use nail guns.
15:44Okay, if you don't know him, that's Ken, the man.
15:47He runs this place.
15:48So you guys, most of you know me.
15:50You guys are going to be building Habitat for Humanity for starter homes.
15:53So I'm pretty excited to have you guys participate in that.
15:56And we have brought Eric Worthington here from Habitat for Humanity.
16:00So, Eric, go ahead.
16:03Hey guys, how's it going?
16:06This is a full room.
16:07I kind of like this.
16:08So my name's Eric.
16:09I'm the executive director.
16:10Eric brought me the idea a while back.
16:11How can we partner together and have you guys build our homes?
16:15He sees the need as well for housing, but he also sees that need for the workforce part of it.
16:20Without the workforce, houses aren't going anywhere.
16:23He brought me this idea of Habitat for Humanity starter homes.
16:27We could panelize them.
16:29You could build them in your shop.
16:30We could build our community this way.
16:32It's really exciting to me, and I hope it's exciting for the students.
16:36But that's what they've been tasked this year to do, is build two Habitat houses.
16:41And when I found myself working for Habitat, and my city told me that we had a housing emergency that
16:48we had to address,
16:49and we only were building one, maybe two homes a year, because you guys are helping me.
16:55This year, we're building 20 homes.
16:57Next year, we're building 20 more homes.
16:59And hopefully after that, we're building 20 homes every year or more for Clyde staff.
17:05I appreciate you jumping in there.
17:06Okay.
17:07Okay.
17:08Well, now we've got you guys all fired up.
17:11Yeah, you guys are building monuments, and we want to be able to train you in the right way.
17:14You guys have a good night.
17:17All right.
17:17Any questions on anything we've heard so far, and then we'll take a break?
17:21I'm just very, very nervously excited.
17:24We are, too.
17:25We have the Blitz build leaders come today, and on my white board, they put a big 7-5.
17:31You know, like, they've got 75 days left.
17:33Now you're scaring me.
17:34Now you're scaring me.
17:37Now you're scaring me.
17:37It's a great partnership with Habitat for Humanity.
17:40He pays for all the materials.
17:41I provide the work.
17:43We're building sustainable houses.
17:45Our students are learning.
17:47Somebody in our community is benefiting.
17:49They're able to stay here, work here, afford to live here.
17:51Kind of a everything in one.
17:54You couldn't ask for anything better.
17:57Okay, so there's something to learn about everything, right?
18:02Once you cut this, the ends of that are going to be razor sharp.
18:05So, when you cut it, get your face out of the way.
18:11I came out of high school not really knowing what I wanted to do.
18:15But I was always good at working with my hands, always good at working with wood.
18:20Love it.
18:21Real-world Flagstaff framing condition.
18:23Icy wood.
18:27I went to college basically because that was what was expected of me.
18:32So, I became a pre-med major.
18:36But yeah, in the end, I kind of came back to this first love into construction.
18:42I really like to solve problems and I really like making people happy.
18:46And there's a really profound sense of satisfaction there.
18:57When I came to work here, I really was excited to pass on my knowledge.
19:01I felt like that was where I was at in my career.
19:03I felt that was my value.
19:05The mentorship aspect of it has really grown with me.
19:12When I got into construction, I didn't know anything.
19:15But I got paired up with various employees.
19:17So, I could push up a room and I could carry boards.
19:19And I was mentored until I knew how to build a house.
19:24Now, we're in a position where no one has time to mentor.
19:27That to me defines the trade gap is an increase in demand and a decrease in supply.
19:34You're booked out two years.
19:36Where do you find the time to take on someone with no experience and get them where you need
19:41to be when they're actually going to slow you down in the beginning?
19:44Don't let your hand be any closer to the snout of this thing than the length of that nail.
19:50We're trying to be the ones to provide the mentorship.
19:53But in technical schools, you can only take a student so far.
19:58The industry does need to step up and provide some of this mentorship.
20:02The gap that we're trying to fill and the reason why we are so hands-on is that that little
20:07difference
20:08right there makes all the difference in the world in hiring sometimes.
20:12We're going to turn you loose with a saw and a nail gun.
20:15And you're going to actually start building things.
20:18One, two, three.
20:20Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
20:21In CTM 124, you're going to build a house.
20:26My carpenters actually get to build a real-world structure.
20:30They get to pound the nails.
20:31They get to make the mistakes in this safe environment.
20:34See that lip right there?
20:36This right there.
20:37These all got to flush out.
20:39That means over the course of a 30-year career, you're going to make a lot less mistakes.
20:49We're building, like, some type of rafter or something.
20:51I'm not 100% sure, but I'm building it right.
20:54So that's all that really matters to me.
20:56I got a big family.
20:57And when I was, like, 10, my dad would bring us to a job site.
21:00And I just grew up in it.
21:01So it's really fun.
21:02And I like the work.
21:03And, yeah, telling guys what to do is it's a blast.
21:06So, yeah.
21:07They good?
21:08All right.
21:10Double checking.
21:10Double checking everything.
21:14This is my first year working on this Habitat project.
21:17And I think it's really helped me out.
21:18It's not just the students.
21:20All right.
21:20How are we going to do this?
21:21We're accomplishing something here.
21:24We are really trying to change the construction industry.
21:27That's kind of what motivates me.
21:29I'm not really motivated to teach people how to put walls together.
21:32I'm motivated to teach people to go out and change the world.
21:37I mean, that's literally what we're trying to do here.
21:50I am working on a demand package.
21:53It's sort of summarizing my client's claim and going through the medical records and synthesizing
21:59it into a package for the insurance company.
22:06sort of the dread involved in, like, coming here and sitting down at this laptop and, like, you know,
22:13summarizing medical records and over and over and over again.
22:16And it's given me more confidence to continue to proceed down this path.
22:23Walking away from something that's a safe career into something that's quite a bit more unknown makes me very anxious.
22:32But when I'm actually in there doing the work, the best part of my day is actually when I get
22:38to go to class.
22:40I go and I work with my hands and I see the work I did and I have some sense
22:45of pride in that.
22:46The change is going to be good for me.
22:49A lawyerly answer for you.
23:00Learn the tray.
23:01Become a good electrician.
23:03That's what I want to do in the short term.
23:06That's my focus.
23:08I think in the long term, I think I don't know.
23:13I'm trying to be okay with that.
23:17But I think in the short term, learn the tray as best I can.
23:21You know, explore the world a little more.
23:33So when you think about a person who's making a change,
23:37there's a lot that goes into making that decision.
23:40Give me two claps.
23:42All right, everybody's good?
23:44This is our last session.
23:46Raise your hand if you have a dream.
23:49Oh, I didn't see every hand go up.
23:51I guess one of my dreams, I guess, would be to have my own business.
23:56Okay, so you also use the word, I guess, or the term, I guess.
23:59Because?
23:59So you're not sure.
24:01I'm sure, but I'm not sure.
24:03Like, I do want my own business.
24:05Mm-hmm.
24:05But, like, do I want...
24:10I don't know.
24:11Like, I don't know how to...
24:12Tell me.
24:13Like, I want to be an electrician.
24:15That is my goal.
24:16You want to be an electrician.
24:17That's something that...
24:18That is solid.
24:18Yes, that's what I want to do.
24:20Okay.
24:21Dreams are kind of not always feasible.
24:25I guess that's really what it is.
24:26Like, yes, I want this.
24:28Like, I have a dream.
24:29This is what I want to do.
24:30But it's like, sometimes you just have those, like, you know, barriers.
24:35Like, you know, blockages, like...
24:36So what do we do with barriers?
24:37I mean, you gotta knock them down.
24:39You gotta, like, you know what I'm saying?
24:40You can't just, like, let it, like, define you.
24:41You can't let it control your life.
24:43You gotta overcome it.
24:45Right.
24:45But it's just...
24:46I don't know.
24:47I think it's just, like, sometimes, like, a mental thing.
24:49So we gotta get that out of here.
24:50Yeah.
24:50At some point in her life or someone's life, you had a really cool idea to you.
24:57Like, it was a great idea.
24:58And someone blew that candle out.
25:02Right?
25:02And so that's the emotion that you have to learn to get over.
25:05Everyone should have a dream.
25:07Because on the other side of every goal, it's something...
25:10It should be something bigger.
25:12That bigger thing is a dream.
25:15That's all it is.
25:16But I can't help you with what your dreams are if you can't identify them.
25:22So with your dream, you don't need everyone to believe in your dream.
25:27It's yours.
25:28And so that's the only person you really need to consult.
25:31The reason we're here and the reason she built this city exists is to knock down the barriers society already
25:38places there.
25:38So now we can't ourselves add additional barriers.
25:43Right?
25:43Dreams are big.
25:44Go for it.
25:45Because if you just strive to get to that, you'll get to some amazing places.
25:50All right.
25:51Give it up.
25:52All right.
25:52So I was just wondering if, you know, I do want you, you know, you understand about mentoring.
25:59Yes.
25:59But I do, I would like, you know, if you did actually mentor me.
26:03Okay.
26:03Or like, you know, have connections, you know.
26:06Okay.
26:06And see if you can potentially get me in contact with someone that, you know, would help me get into
26:11the electrical field.
26:13Okay.
26:13So when she came up later and asked for me to mentor her, that showed me that she, there's a
26:20dream there.
26:21She's afraid to expose it because she's just not sure just yet.
26:25Or she has the ability to dream.
26:27She just needs guidance.
26:28Right?
26:29And so that's all I need.
26:31You take the first step.
26:32I'll help you take the rest.
26:33And so I'll get you in so that we can get you, get you with someone.
26:37It's going to be cool to see what she ends up doing, but it just showed me that she's determined.
26:41And yeah, she's, she's great at picking mentors.
26:46That's what she's great at.
26:57This is the Northern Arizona Habitat for Humanity Starter Home project.
27:03The schedule is getting tight.
27:05Like we had about a month buffer and I'd say by now we've lost three weeks of that.
27:12We had two big snowstorms come in over the last two weeks and it shuts everything down.
27:19The main deadline we're hitting is that blitz build group who comes June 1st.
27:24We'll have about 170 volunteers.
27:28They're going to be doing a lot and if we can't get the houses to where they need them, then
27:35we'll miss that opportunity.
27:38Just the overall success is dependent on that.
27:41This is the foundation.
27:44So it's 24 feet by 16 feet.
27:48And it's lofted so there's stairs that go up and then you got a bedroom, sleeping area on top.
27:54Small space, but good for someone starting out.
27:58The Habitat for Humanity Starter Home concept is a very small design.
28:03It's meant for a starting family, a single parent.
28:07They've deposited $1,000 down payment.
28:10Every one of their mortgage payments from there on out goes into a savings account.
28:15They can earn up to $10,000 a year in equity.
28:19It's hard to save that kind of money.
28:23That's what makes this program awesome.
28:25They can save it.
28:26They can turn it back into a down payment for another home.
28:31We built the very first one in the nation here in Flagstaff.
28:35If we could start it here, how will the domino effect work across the nation?
28:41Ten units by June 1st.
28:44Looking out here, it seems like an impossible endeavor.
28:59So we've got these RF4 panels.
29:03We have all of those for two houses.
29:05It's a lot like being a contractor, right?
29:07So what's my work plan?
29:10We're building these Habitat houses, right?
29:12We're going to be doing panels.
29:14And it's kind of time is of the essence because we need to do two by June.
29:17So we're kind of on a clock.
29:19It's like tick, tick, tick, right?
29:21It's been a journey from construction to teaching.
29:26My wonderful drawing skills.
29:28These aren't my employees.
29:30These aren't people that I'm paying.
29:32But the fact is we do have a project to complete.
29:36It's got a due date.
29:37There are people that are already assigned to these houses.
29:40They are expecting to have something to live in.
29:44There is a conflict there taking people to know nothing and saying, hey, I have to teach you.
29:49But at the same time, you have to deliver a product.
29:52Be careful when you look at these.
29:54I think it was hard for them to understand in the beginning because there was nothing to look at.
29:57It was just a set of plans.
29:58Now we have all these panels all over the place.
30:01They're like, oh, hey, this is the floor for a house.
30:04And I'm going to drive by this thing sometimes and look and say, I did that.
30:09And I think it really motivates them.
30:16I think it's kind of going as expected, more or less.
30:19But that doesn't mean we don't feel pressure.
30:21Absolutely feeling pressure.
30:22But I think that's probably because we're that invested in it, you know?
30:25I think they're doing pretty good for a bunch of fresh people and just learning.
30:30It is sometimes.
30:31It's you want to jump in.
30:32But that probably comes from working in industry, you know?
30:34It's like you're used to that.
30:35It's like, man, we just got to get this done.
30:37That's not my life anymore.
30:38Now I'm watching.
30:41It's a tough transition.
30:43That's the only way to learn.
30:44They got to make the mistakes to be able to be better.
30:46Bend a few nails, bend a few more, make 17 cuts wrong.
30:51Vance and I were having this conversation about the Habitat Start Home Project.
30:55We're taking these fresh students that's never done anything.
30:59We get them for 48 hours a semester.
31:02Deadline's coming.
31:03And we were getting a little nervous about, are we going to make our deadline with these new students?
31:09We're feeling the pressure a little bit.
31:11But one of the plans to take that pressure off is to have a volunteer day
31:16where I open up our shop and we have our students teach community members on how to build their house.
31:27Madly finished.
31:30Hopefully I got it right.
31:34Well, in theory, I've got all these stud and plate lengths all measured out.
31:39Nobody will have to do a whole lot of thinking.
31:41All I got to do is read the paper and cut.
31:45Like I said, we've got to move the tables.
31:47We've got to break apart our lumber.
31:49And by the way, this is my first time doing one of these events, so bear with me.
31:55I'm nervous.
31:57If we've done a good enough job here at CCC,
32:00that student can teach somebody else how to frame something,
32:03then we've done our job.
32:11I seriously was sick to my stomach this morning just because I don't want, you know,
32:17Habitat or the college to, you know, basically get a black eye off having to poorly renovate.
32:26We have the classic teacher way, so we've double-checked all our measurements,
32:30and we either have a long board or a short board or boards out of board or something like that.
32:35We can use this one, cut this down.
32:37Yeah, 14, one and a half.
32:3914, one and a half?
32:40Yeah.
32:42Unless that thing's wrong.
32:45So you got an extra inch and a half somewhere.
32:48A little under five-eighths?
32:50Five-eighths.
32:51168 and five-eighths?
32:53Square to short?
32:56Well, that's a problem because, like I say, our overall measurement is way off.
33:02So which stub is wrong? The overall or the stud?
33:06The overall size.
33:09The stud is correct according to this template.
33:14That's it right there.
33:17That is the problem.
33:20The template is incorrect.
33:22It's my fault.
33:24So the template's wrong.
33:25And I'll apologize profusely to everybody and I'll figure out what we're going to do about it.
33:33So my apologies, I screwed up the template.
33:36And so it's making all these stud legs wrong.
33:38And we've been fighting it all day without knowing the cause.
33:41Now we know the cause and it's because I transposed a couple numbers when I was laying out the template.
33:47My feeling is let's eat and then actually let's clean up.
33:51We'll just get the walls into the buildings.
33:54And at least seeing what it's like to be in the real world of construction, some of my students.
33:58Because it does happen in the field.
34:00We get one wrong measurement and it messes up the whole thing.
34:03So it's how we react to that that makes a difference when we're out there in the real world.
34:07You know, you've got to be so.
34:11I tell my students all the time, you know, be a lifelong learner and you're always going to have a
34:14job.
34:15If we look at it, the purpose of the day was for the students to kind of spread their wings
34:20and fly a little bit.
34:21I'm happy.
34:23Felt like everybody demonstrated that they learned something, you know, which is all I can ask.
34:27We're not making journeyman carpenters here.
34:29We're just trying to get them a leg up in the employment, you know.
34:33You have to be able to pass your skills on.
34:34It's not enough to be good.
34:36You have to be able to mentor.
34:38That's just all there is to it.
34:41At the end of the day, I mean, my allegiance is to be students.
34:45Making habitat houses just happens to be a happy byproduct of it.
34:51You make a mistake, you got to own up to it.
34:53And it's not comfortable, but I think it was a very valuable lesson.
35:00These guys are teaching me just as much as I'm teaching them.
35:11My time at She Built The City has been life changing.
35:15The doors they opened for us in just nine weeks.
35:17I mean, they're priceless.
35:19What I love about She Built The City is that we started them in a pre-apprenticeship program, but we
35:23don't let them go.
35:24And let's continue to not only build structures, but the world around us.
35:29This community is something you can lean on long term.
35:41From a very young age, my dad would take me out to the job sites.
35:44I would be sitting on top of these speaking records with my little notebook and just kind of, like, telling
35:52people what to do, even if it was very wrong.
35:55My mother used to sell food in those neighborhoods where my dad was working.
36:01She would be like, Diana, like, you should be in here.
36:03Like, this is easier for you.
36:04But I would rather be out with my dad grabbing the hammers.
36:10Once I hit my teenage years, I kind of became his secretary due to the English.
36:16So I had to learn how to do invoices, and I had to learn how to bid on projects, and
36:20I had to learn how to answer calls for him.
36:22And he's not tech savvy, so I was doing all his emails for him.
36:27I think I've always been my father's son, but I was never my mother's daughter.
36:37This is my mom. She has butterflies because that's the only thing she asked me to have on her tombstone,
36:42butterflies.
36:44My mother passed away from metastasized breast cancer in 2013.
36:50It was, I think, very rough on me at that age.
36:54I was taking care of my siblings, and at the age of 16, I met Hector.
36:59And at 17, I became pregnant, and they were okay with it, and she was happy.
37:06She passed away two weeks before I turned 18.
37:13Love you.
37:17It molded me in a very different way.
37:23All my friends were going to college, doing their thing, and I was home taking care of a 15-year
37:29-old.
37:29An 11-year-old and an infant while also navigating through my father's feelings and dealing with their businesses at
37:36the same time.
37:38I was only 18.
37:41Becoming this cultural housewife that I never envisioned myself doing.
37:49I tell Kevin and Brian all the time, like, my mom had y'all, but you're mine.
37:57So, in July of 2022, I was diagnosed with granulitis mastitis.
38:05Basically, you'll develop all these wounds around your breast.
38:09This entire situation is triggering because of my mother.
38:14It was hard because all my symptoms pointed to cancer.
38:23I really need it.
38:24She built this city.
38:25In that moment in life, I had hit that big rock bottom where I just didn't know what I was
38:29doing with my life anymore.
38:30You know, I was doing things for everybody else.
38:34For so many years, I had never done anything for me.
38:37Now I'm doing things for me, and now I have boundaries, and now I get to get paid for my
38:44work.
38:47My five-year goal is I want to become a general contractor.
38:51I want to get as many licenses as I can out there.
38:54I'm missing the door handle here, and that's part of the checklist.
38:59In my community, we're not seeing past administrative rules.
39:05As a GC, you're not just on the admin side of things.
39:08You're also out there making sure that everything is done correctly.
39:18I want to start a business that will be left on for my children.
39:23But I can't do that, you know, continuing to do everything for everybody around me.
39:32Caroline.
39:34Can I highlight?
39:37Not today.
39:39So I am studying for my GC exam.
39:45The GC exam is the general contractor's exam.
39:49So this is just the residential aspect of everything.
39:52I haven't even started to study for a commercial.
39:55Yes, women, it's very hard to take care of ourselves
39:57because we're expected to take care of everybody else around us.
40:07Go clean your room.
40:09Go clean your room.
40:10Oh.
40:24I see the difference, you know, because never thinking
40:28and ladies can't do the same job for men, you know?
40:32What was the people that made you to work with them?
40:37Well, trying to give them an opportunity
40:39so that they can do the same thing as one.
40:41For years or the time that I passed through the program?
40:45No, the time that you passed through the program.
40:46So now that I went through the program, it made him change his mind.
40:49Yeah, right now I'm working together and I'm learning something different
40:54between me and her, you know?
40:57So, yeah.
40:58My dad's sense of change is exciting
41:01because it just means a new direction for us, for the company.
41:05It means that, you know, eventually we can have more women on our cruise.
41:09The change came from us being close the way we are.
41:12And I think that when someone cares and loves you, you evolve.
41:17And, you know, you're open and more susceptible for changes.
41:22So, yeah, it's been nice.
41:35I'm very good at making invoices and things like that,
41:39but that's not where my passion really lies.
41:42My passion is more going out bidding and doing the work.
41:46I think before it was more of a,
41:49it's our business and this is why you should be doing it.
41:53But now I'm doing it because I want to, not because I'm expected to.
41:57And I think that's the huge difference.
42:11Some of these units, upstairs units, are ready to go too.
42:23I think you have to be competitive to be successful.
42:26There's always somebody better.
42:27So, if you're better, then get out of the way because I'm coming.
42:31That's the way you got to look at it.
42:32We have employers out there.
42:34They are prepared to hire.
42:36They're not promising us a job, but it's an opportunity.
42:41You can't keep doing it the same way that we've always done it.
42:45You got to think outside the box and make it better.
42:48Now, we were going to back the end of the building
42:48I know..
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