"Before being introduced to the electrical field as a freshman in high school, I was just a young girl who didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I assumed I'd follow the crowd: graduate high school, struggle through college, hopefully get a good job that allowed me to pay off the student debt and start a family.

I'm so glad I learned about the IBEW instead. Today, I'm a fifth-year apprentice at Local 90. My husband is a Local 90 journeyman and everything we have as adults has come from our IBEW paychecks. We bought a house at 24 and 26, and our two kids are growing up watching both of their parents work hard and earn an honest living with the training and support of our local.

I became aware of the IBEW through my high school electrical shop teacher, who was a member of the local. From the first day, he taught us about the importance of a career versus a job, about paying attention to things like health benefits and retirement plans. But the best thing he showed us was the value of having a brotherhood and sisterhood through the IBEW.

As a woman in the industry, it's not always easy. There just aren't enough women in our trade, and little things can still be a struggle, from finding work clothes that fit right to figuring out what to do when there's nowhere to use the bathroom — it happens more often than you'd think. But the sisters and brothers of the IBEW make it work and support one another in so many ways.

That's why I use Instagram (check it out at @genny_from_electrical) to connect with other IBEW women, but also to show young girls that someone like them can make a real career in the trades. Young people are on social media all the time, and meeting them where they are and showing them the opportunities that are out there with the IBEW is so important.

IBEW membership means everything to my family, and I want to share those opportunities with everyone I can."