"Cornell's apprenticeship program for electricians has been a great avenue for women and minorities to enter the skilled trades."

So says Kathy Luz Herrera, electrician for the Planning, Design and Construction (PDC) Electric Shop, who was one of the first women to enter the apprenticeship program in 1988 and has been working at Cornell ever since.

A two-term local legislator and a senior in the Employee Degree Program in the ILR School, Herrera attributes her career growth and success to the support and mentoring of Jake Benninger, superintendent of the Electric Shop, and David Richardson, electrician and recruiter for PDC.

"From the beginning, when I was one of the only women electricians, Jake reached out in social settings as well as at work to make me feel included. He also has the ability to figure out what special abilities each person brings to the team and sets them up for success," she says.

For his support of women and minorities in the Electric Shop, Benninger was recognized at the 14th annual Constance E. Cook and Alice H. Cook Recognition Awards in April 2007. He had been nominated by eight former and current apprentices -- Kate Boucakis, Cathy Carlson, Libby Foust, Kathy Luz Herrera, Heather Mulks, David Richardson, K.C. Rose and Jessie Wells -- who in the nomination letter said that Benninger has gone "to great lengths to ensure that qualified women ... get a shot at our dreams, not only as construction workers but also as respected leaders in our trade."

The shop's training director and an instructor in the union training program since 1975, Benninger notes that "Cornell's values of learning and respect really help our apprentices."

After first passing a rigorous selection process, participants in the Cornell apprenticeship program must take five hours of union training each week for five years, in addition to homework and their 40-hour-a-week Cornell apprenticeship job. "Cornell's program is very challenging," Benninger says, "and we attract people who want to be challenged."

Herrera says that Richardson also has been instrumental in recruiting and mentoring women and minorities in the skilled trades: "He actively encourages people to join the apprenticeship program and has served as a mentor to all of us."

As part of an ongoing effort to create a pipeline of individuals interested in becoming apprentices, Richardson helped spearhead the first annual Preconstruction Preparedness Program in March 2007, targeting students interested in working in the trades unions, and the Careers in Construction Program, a career fair for high schools and alternative schools.

Herrera mentions three women in particular who have benefited from guidance by Benninger and Richardson: Mulks, the first woman to receive the title of "foreperson," who is leading a major project in retrofitting lighting on campus to make it more energy-efficient; Boucakis, a Cornell graduate who was one of the top-ranking apprentices; and Wells, who completed the apprenticeship selection process and is now an instructor herself.