Washington County woman finds drive in autobody repair

Since she was a little girl growing up in Cambridge, NY, Mya Julius has loved cars. Her grandfather had a lot of older cars and tractors, and would always talk about fixing them up.

Two years ago, the 19-year-old woman looked into Hudson Valley Community College’s Automotive Technical Services-Autobody Repair Degree. It is an associate degree program, where she is learning everything from auto-body repair to detailing.

Like many other industries, the automotive industry is currently seeing a labor shortage, yet it is still dominated by men. Women make up just a quarter of the auto manufacturing industry.

Young women like Julius may be the answer to the automotive labor shortage, and HVCC welcomes them into this discipline.

When it comes to working on cars, Julius never thinks of gender. Some companies aren’t thinking of gender either. Julius, though still in school, already has a job.

Learn about where she’s working now and what her grandfather thinks of her chosen profession by watching the video of Elaine Houston’s story.