TEMPLE, Texas — As we celebrate Women's History Month, five girls in Temple are making some history of their own.
Priscilla Bailon, Angela De La Fuente, Yeraldine Garcia, Nyla Medina and Aliza Mojica qualified for the auto tech state competition. Temple High School has sent students in the past, but this is the first time this many girls will participate.
"My freshman year we had no girls," Angela De La Fuente told 25 News. "This year we have five girls all together and we're all qualifying for state. It's an amazing opportunity for us."
De La Fuente is currently a junior and has been in this program since her freshman year. This is her second time qualifying for state, proving girls can go head-to-head with the boys in this male-dominated field.
"I was told sometimes that this was a man's job and I shouldn't be in here," she said. "But my teachers are very supportive and everybody together now, we all do good together."
Aliza Mojica is another student heading to state. She became interested in auto tech, working with her brother-in-law and grandfather at his shop. Now she hopes to be the first female in her family to open her own shop someday.
"I want to go to college to be able to go to a higher level in automotives," she said. "I want to influence other females that this is something we can do, there's nothing that can stop us."
The program has seen an increasing number of girls showing interest recently and teacher Josh Koontz said it brings a whole new perspective to their classes.
"Watching them work is quite different than watching the guys work," Koontz said. "They just do things different they're a little bit more precise. Women get their fine motor skills way before guys do. That's proven and it shows."
This year's state competition will begin on March 31.
