Since the sixth grade, St. Catharine’s Alanna Ransom had her sights set on a career in the trades.
An elementary school woodworking class opened her eyes to the many options as a skilled tradesperson.
From there, Ransom excelled at welding, drawn to the creative side of metal art and sculptures.
“I was taking the welding program here at Niagara which happened to have a machining class within the program. I fell in love almost instantly,” said Ransom, who will graduate with honours from the Mechanical Techniques-General Machining program during Niagara College’s Spring Convocation.
“It was everything I was looking for in a career and the professors and everyone made it very easy for me to get the chance to learn more about it.”
Ransom worked as a shop assistant during her studies where she relished at the chance to take a deep dive into the machines in the lab.
“It was amazing just being around the machines and tooling and figuring out what everything was used for.”
Ransom already has the career of her dreams lined up as an apprentice at DM Precision, a CNC Machine Shop in Dunnville. As an apprentice, Ransom creates the programs and the parts for new and innovative medical equipment, working on pieces from start to finish.
Alanna with fellow students and instructors in the lab.
Inspired by her grandmother who worked as a nurse, Ransom wanted to help, in her own way, to make a difference in the medical field.
Ransom credits her NC professor for helping her land her apprenticeship.
“Lisa Caruso is the professor who helped me get this dream job,” said Ransom, who explained that Caruso shared a list of local employers who have hired NC graduates. “I couldn’t imagine a better job!”
“I was happy to be a part of Alanna’s journey, and I’m looking forward to seeing where her career takes her,” said Caruso. “She’s a trailblazer and I’m confident she’ll go far and make a difference in whatever she does.”
Reflecting back on her time at the College in the School of Trades, Ransom says mistakes are learning lessons.
“My advice would be to not be discouraged by your mistakes, but take them as a learning experience… have confidence in what you’re doing. If you don’t have confidence, more will go wrong, and if something does go wrong like it inevitably will, take it, learn from it, and more forward.”
As a woman in trades, Ransom says that you’ll ultimately be judged by the quality of your work.
“Some people will accept you with open arms and others will be hesitant, but as long as you can do the work, they will accept you too.”
