Dallas College: Dallas College Celebrates Women In The Construction Industry

Press release from Dallas College:

March 2, 2022

(DALLAS) — To commemorate Women in Construction Week, March 6-12, Dallas College highlights five women who have built successful careers in the industry. Michele Clowe, Amber Anderson and Jennifer Kirkley are graduates of the Dallas College
Construction Management degree program.

Dallas College instructors Bonnie Masten and Mary Conger guide their students while challenging stereotypes in male-dominated fields. Conger is one of fewer than 20 women master plumbers in the state of Texas. Masten held two degrees in mechanical engineering when she became an HVAC contractor. Both teach adults as well as dual credit high school students. They are encouraged to see more women entering construction and the trades.

Every day is a little different for Michele Clowe, a project engineer for Gallagher Construction Services. She works on a job site, currently the new Kaufman County Justice Center. “It’s so cool to see a building appear on what was an empty piece of land. It’s a fun job, but it can be stressful; there are days when I leave the job site mentally exhausted,” Clowe said.

She was a concrete subcontractor when she decided to take a couple of construction classes. “I fell in love with the program,” she said. Clowe was able to immediately apply what she learned. “Opening up those connections and dialogue with my own team [at work] was super helpful.”

Plus, it was great for networking. Most of her classmates were working in the field. “Construction is a big industry, but when it comes to the DFW metroplex, it’s small, and those networking opportunities were appreciated,” she said.

This press release was produced by Dallas College. The views expressed here are the author’s own.