Nor Cal Carpenters Training
Hometown
San Francisco
Years of Experience
10
People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.
Ayanna Bell –
“The driving force behind what I do is to build people up. To show kindness and compassion. My life has not always been easy and I have found that a kind word does wonders. My family was a huge support system in the triumphs of my life. The apprentices truly mean everything to me because I see myself in them. I wanted to give back and make sure that they know that they are seen and not only needed but wanted. I wanted to become that person that they could turn to and someone that understood. That is something I needed as an apprentice. If you want change sometimes you have to become that change.
I came from City Build and I initially went in just to try it out, while going through I fell in love with the craft and became a carpenter apprentice out of Local 22. I loved coming home dirty and exhausted but proud of my work. I learned a lot from the carpenters on the job, little tricks and skills to make me more efficient. It was an honest days work for an honest days pay!
I love being a woman in construction, I really am proud that I have been successful without sacrificing my spirit. I have truly been myself. I’m hardworking but silly and that has been embraced by my fellow carpenter brothers and sisters and it’s a great feeling. I’d be remiss if I said it was always easy but what being a carpenter and now coordinator has taught me is my capability and so much more and I’m just getting started. Something money cannot buy. The best part of my job is encouraging the apprentices to know that they are capable of so much and that they are an asset to the job sites! To any woman who wants to get into construction, my advice would be “DO IT” you are so much more than you think. You don’t have to be perfect, you don’t have to have huge muscles, all you have to have is heart.”
