Riley Brown is taking the road less traveled in selecting her career path.
The 2024 Glen Lake graduate recently met with retired school counselor Ginna Woessner and Glen Lake Woman’s Club member, at Harbor Freight in Traverse City where she purchased almost $2,000 worth of tools with a scholarship awarded last spring.
Brown said her interest in being an automotive mechanic was natural.
“My step dad is a mechanic and my biological dad was an aircraft mechanic in the Coast Guard,” she said. “So, I’ve been in and around it since I was young.”
Brown said a tour to the Career Tech Center in Traverse City piqued her interest.
“The first year I was the only girl and I had some backlash from the guys,” Brown said. “Last year, there were three girls.”
In Northwestern Michigan College’s Early College program, she was also the only female. But it was a different story.
“The guys were much nicer,” she said.
Brown explained her favorite part of being a mechanic is problem-solving.
“It’s those lightbulb moments, when I figure out what’s wrong and what I need to do,” she said.
Brown plans to travel to southeast Michigan to find work.
Since 1980, the Woman’s Club has awarded over $347,000 to 257 students to assist them on their path of higher learning.
Funds for the college scholarships come from the profits from the annual Glen Lake Woman’s Club Art Fair, the only fundraiser for the group. The Art Fair is held on the third Wednesday of July each year.
