INDIANAPOLIS — Air conditioning is essential during the hottest months, but have you ever thought about the people who keep it running?
So how many of those people are women? The answer is just 2%, but one Ivy Tech student is looking to change that.
On National HVAC Technician Day, WRTV's Naja Woods puts the spotlight on one technician.
Allisyn Caudle is an Ivy Tech student in her mid-30s who is breaking down barriers to pursue a new career in heating, ventilation and air conditioning.
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“I'm like, I can do this,” she said, proudly talking about being able to fix her own air conditioning system in her home.
But that wasn't the case just a few years ago.
“I had a degree in baking and pastry making and was good at everything I did in the kitchen, but there were a lot of jobs I didn't want to do,” Caudle said. “I realized I needed to make more money.”
After working as a baker for nearly 20 years, Caudle was looking for a more stable career.
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She traded the cakes for capacitors and got a job at Kroger in the facilities maintenance department.
“When I got this job, I was like, 'OK, I'm going to learn the job,'” she explained. “It was so different from what I was used to, I found myself not understanding things and not being able to keep it up.”
That passion to learn more fueled Cordle’s drive to enroll in Ivy Tech’s HVAC program part-time while juggling a full-time job and a blended family with five children.
“She's a student who asks questions. She's a student who is confident and willing to say, 'I might not know how to do it, but I want to learn,'” said Jerry Alderman, program director for the college's HVAC department.
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Ivy Tech's hands-on, hands-on learning environment helped Caudle gain the skills he needed to succeed in both residential and commercial HVAC.
“Without air conditioning and heating in the winter, culture cannot exist, so it is essential to a civilized society,” he explained. “There are 150 job openings, and I have only taken on a total of 60 new students.”
For Caudle, it's not just about bridging that gap, it's also about breaking down stereotypes in a male-dominated field.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 2% of workers in the industry are women, but that number isn't holding the 37-year-old back.
“Once you understand it, women can do it just as well. It's not hard, it's just like any other job,” Caudle says. “I like to do things differently and shock people with, 'You're doing this?' and 'Yes!'”
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Caudle hopes her confidence in making a difference and breaking into a field where many of her peers don't look like her will inspire the next generation of girls, especially those from her own family.
“I have one daughter and two younger daughters and I want them to grow up to be strong women and if that's what they want to do, that's great. I'll help them wherever they want to go,” she said.
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Ivy Tech's program was recently the recipient of a Lowe's Foundation Gable Grant, which aims to prepare Indiana residents for the burgeoning HVAC industry by providing students with state-of-the-art equipment, enhanced training programs and expanded learning opportunities.
For more information on our HVAC programs, click here.
