Bella Rogers (Class of 2015) inspiring young women into a trade

Apprentice carpenter Bella Rogers wants to inspire other young women into a trade. Bella turned down offers to study fine art at both ANU Art School and Melbourne’s RMIT earlier this year to join her uncle’s business, Gumley Building, as a first-year apprentice carpenter. She spends her days working on new home construction as well as renovations and extensions to homes across Canberra. The parts of the job Bella loves most are being outside everyday, being active and being able to create something.  I asked her about how she felt about the attention she was getting and she said: “If it encourages more girls to consider doing something different and follow suit then great, but if not, I hope it opens their eyes to other jobs they haven’t previously considered.”  Bella also offers some advice to other females in male dominated vocations: “Don’t lose your feminine touch it is the thing that makes you different and probably your greatest asset.  We are so hard on ourselves and this translates to being perfectionists, particularly in building, and this is a trait people look for.”  Read more in the Canberra Times article here and her collegian profile here.