Voices of the Voc: Bianca’s story

The smell of gas fills the air. Bright orange sparks fly off of a white wheel as it grinds the rust off a car. Gloucester High’s auto shop is busy with students skillfully repairing everything from brake lights to windshield wipers. They are all male except for one.

In the center of the shop, a bright orange ponytail peeks out from underneath a raised blue Cadillac convertible. In her element, Bianca Sarofeen has just finished the painstaking job of repairing the vehicle’s transmission. She wipes her greasy hands off on a cloth and slides out from underneath the car, placing her steel-toed workboots on the concrete auto shop floor.

For Bianca, a fascination with auto began the first moment she set eyes on a Hot Wheels toy of an old-fashioned car . “I think that’s where it sparked,” she said. “When I was young, I had a really big passion for older cars.”

Attending her first car show as an elementary schooler sealed the deal. “It was all the oldies, and I was younger, of course, but I was like, wow these are really cool,” Bianca said.

When she started Freshman year at Gloucester High, Bianca signed up to take Auto Tech to “give it a shot,” she said. But her experience in the shop got off to a rocky start.

“Freshman year, I was one of three girls,” she said. “Going on to Sophomore year I was the only girl, so I never really thought I was going to make it through.”

For the first two years, it was tough to persevere in an environment where she didn’t feel welcomed. “The hardest part was being the odd one out, and the boys thinking I wasn’t as good as them,” Sarofeen said. “They would think I wasn’t strong enough or smart enough to do the job, and would say, ‘hey can you go get this tool for me,’ instead of me getting to do the job.”

Female participation is  low for Career and Technical Education programs across the state. In 2023, 82% of all Massachusetts high schoolers enrolled in Architecture and Construction CTE programs (the cluster which includes the trades offered at Gloucester High: electrical, carpentry, automotive, and manufacturing), were male.

Gloucester High CTE director Brenda Waslick stresses the importance of growing female participation in these trades. There are benefits within these professions not offered within white collar jobs, she said.

“If you’re a woman in the construction trade and you’re an apprentice, your hours are very flexible,” Waslick said. “In the trades, they pay your insurance, and you get a pension, so they’re saving for the rest of your life when you retire.”

For Sarofeen, being the only girl was worth it in the end– in fact, it gave her her favorite part about auto. Although she was underestimated at first by her male classmates, she ended up being one of the most skilled in the shop.

“ Both of my teachers actually praised me at one point when I was working on a group job,” Sarofeen said. “It was a fairly simple brake job, and I was working on the front passenger side, I can remember. I finished almost an hour before the boys. I ended up having to help them, and they were like, ‘Wow, she got this done like it was nothing.’”

Through experiences like this, auto has given Sarofeen confidence she can apply in any situation.

“One of the most useful things I’ve learned has been how to speak up. When I was being pushed aside, I had to say, ‘Hey, I know how to do this too.’”

Her other favorite part of being in auto tech is the opportunity to use her skills to help others. For car troubles, Sarofeen’s friends and family know they don’t have to go to the mechanic. She’s able to provide anything from an oil change to a tire rotation, and enjoys it because she’s able to practice her skills outside the classroom.

For Sarofeen, the small choice to take auto tech at Gloucester High has changed the course of her future.  “Joining auto made me realize I could have a bright future following my dream of becoming a woman in the automotive field,” she said. After she graduates, she hopes to attend a trade school nearby.

Sarofeen encourages other girls entering Gloucester High to join auto. “Try it while you can because you may never have the chance again,” Sarofeen said. “Girls are just as hands-on [as boys].” She believes that girls who join can gain the same confidence she has– one that has made her “realize her full potential.”