Two summers ago, after I had just turned 19, I got a job working at the General Motors assembly plant. I was hired as a student for the summer to work on the line 40 hours a week, 8 hours a day. I wasn’t too excited per say but I was feeling grateful because this was a great opportunity to make great money and pay for my university funds.
In the beginning, I was nervous and terrified. I had no idea what to expect. My previous job experiences consisted of ski coaching, retail and serving at a restaurant. What was I about to get myself into? What if it was too hard for me? What if I couldn’t physically do what was asked of me? I wasn’t a “strong” girl, and I certainly didn’t look like it. I thought that I’d never be able to last. Most of all, I was insecure about being a young female working with a majority of older men.
My first day on the job was terrifying. I was one of the only young girls in my group of students. People were staring at me from the moment I stepped out of my car and walked through the gates. I felt like a fish out of water.
After hours of sitting and waiting to be given a job, I was brought to my permanent location in front end sheet metal. I was taught how to assemble the right hand fender of the truck. Done correctly and efficiently, it would take five minutes and 37 seconds to assemble one fender from start to finish. The first one I did on my own took much longer than that.
You aren’t required to understand what you’re doing or why you’re doing it. You just have to know how to do the job safely and properly. It was a lot at first. My hand would get tired, I’d drop bolts and pieces, I’d be too slow, and I’d forget little steps as I went along. The fact that everyone around me had at least five years of experience in the plant only reminded me how much younger I was from them. But I held my own and, eventually, I got really good at the job. A week went by and I was moved to a different shift, with all new people. Little did I know, I was the most experienced person on this shift and was therefore responsible for training the new employees. Here I was, a 19-year-old university student, training both men and women in their 40’s and 50’s, with some even older than that.
I quickly learned most of the jobs in my area. I got really good at doing a fender that I had an extra minute and 37 seconds, sometimes more, to do anything I wanted really… relax, go on my phone, eat, do another job or talk to people.
I also learned a lot about myself that summer that I never would’ve had I quit when things got tough during that first week of my training. Not only could I do the physical labour, but I excelled at it. I quickly learned a lot about the engineering and maintenance side to the production of vehicles that I would otherwise never have been exposed to. I made deep connections with people from all walks of life with whom I still keep in contact with.Within the plant I created a little family for the summer; I had a work mom, a work grandpa, a work grandma and even a work aunt. I shared laughs and cries with these extraordinary people while growing as a young woman in just two months. I developed greater resilience, leadership qualities, hard work ethic, and most importantly, confidence.
Fast forward to this past summer, and I had the pleasure of working at General Motors again, this time as part of production management. I was no longer a line worker; instead, I’d be managing a group of 20 to 30 line workers. I would be responsible for job efficiency, quality and worker safety. When I was asked to interview for the job I thought it was some sort of joke. They wanted me? A 20-year-old student with no real life management experience to be the boss? People were supposed to listen and take orders from me?
Once again, I freaked out. This was a whole new ball game, and I was terrified. During my first week I called my mom and said, “I can’t do this, I have no idea what I’m doing.” Despite these feelings, I continued with my position. I showed up with a positive mindset and a willingness to learn as much as I could in the next four months. My mentor and boss was a 65-year-old man who became my best friend for the summer. He taught me many important life lessons and we made a great team, working together to run the Stamping plant of GM.
Photo by Alex Amendola
With the unfortunate news of GM closing its doors in Oshawa, I have been able to look back on my experience and truly appreciate all of the wonderful people I met and the connections I made. In those four months I learned how to be an effective leader, despite my gender and age. I was able to mitigate conflict while gaining the respect of those who were older than me and had tons more life experience. After all, I was young enough to be the granddaughter of these people. My point is, no matter who you are and what experiences you have, with some determination and the right mindset, you can truly do anything. I hope the many people I worked with at GM were able to learn something from me as well. I am so thankful for the lessons, experiences and friendships gained.