Erie 1 BOCES Celebrates Girls in the Trades Day

Being a woman in the trades is really empowering. It's really awesome to learn about.

Alexis Hubbard, Akron junior and Welding student

Erie 1 BOCES was proud to participate in the 4th Annual Girls in the Trades Day on Wednesday, March 4, 2026, giving more than 30 of our Career and Technical Education (CTE) students a glimpse into their potential future as part of Women in Construction Week. 

“Being a woman in the trades is really empowering. I feel like it should be normalized,” said Alexis Hubbard, an Akron junior and Welding student. “I think it’s really cool to do, to step outside of my comfort zone. I just think it’s really awesome to learn about.”

The day started with a tour of John W. Danforth Company's pipe and sheet metal shops, seeing the trades in action and learning about the variety of career paths in the construction industry. 

“I’m really appreciative that I have the opportunity to be able to do this,” said Riley Balling, a Kenmore West junior and Auto Technician Training student. “I’ve been doing this kind of work since I was a little girl with my dad, so it plays a big role in my life. I’m very, very happy that I have this opportunity.”

"I'm somebody who likes to be doing things all the time, anything, using my brain, using my hands," said West Seneca East junior Angel DiRisio, a Welding student. "I don't know if this will be just one step in my life or if I'll do it forever, but it's vindicating to know it'll be a good step regardless of what I do."

Then, they participated in a female-led Women in Construction discussion, hearing about the experiences and insights of the panelists.

“At every meeting, there are more women in the room, and there are fewer and fewer times when I’m the only woman there,” said Jaclyn Atkinson, Human Resources Manager at Buffalo Construction Consultants. “That’s been really reassuring. These hands-on experiences and the opportunity to talk with professionals who are living it day to day are a huge piece of making that come together.”

“It feels really important,” said Ash Richart, a Tonawanda junior and Welding student. “They were talking about earlier, eighteen years ago, women made up only about 9% of the trades. Now it’s 15%. It might not seem like a big jump to some people, but it really is, especially considering the circumstances of the world right now.”

Finally, they got a tour of the Erie 1 BOCES Instructional Services Expansion site, learning how Buffalo Construction Consultants is turning a former bank into a state-of-the-art education campus.

“I like to do things that I can go around and see my work,” said Ava Zastrow, a Tonawanda junior and Welding student. “People who work on this building can pass it every day and say they worked so hard on that. 

“It’s cool that I’m kind of being an example, especially for all these young girls coming through,” said Paulina Mazurek, a Project Manager at Buffalo Construction Consultants. Mazurek is also an Erie 1 BOCES alum, taking Building Trades at the Harkness Center under Mr. Chris Burgio. “To be able to show them real success and say, ‘Hey, you can do this. There’s nothing stopping you.’”

The day’s events were a full-circle moment for Mazurek, who got the chance to speak to students who were once standing in her shoes.

“Honestly, that means everything. I remember when I was in Building Trades, presentations were almost always led by men,” said Mazurek. “I knew going into it that women would be few and far between. To be able to show the girls and say, ‘I do this every day. You can do it, too.’ It means the world."

“I can credit BOCES for a lot of my success,” she added. “It’s awesome. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”