Brittany Winston comes off as a confident IBEW sister who isn’t going to let obstacles on the job intimidate her.

She laughs out loud when that description is mentioned, especially as it relates to her journey from a mailroom job at Ameren to a substation traveling operator for the company.

“Mentally, I would be intimidated all the time,” said Winston, a member of St. Louis Local 1439. “But you can’t show that. You must be completely and fully engulfed in your work, especially in a high-voltage job like this.”

Winston looks to be on her way to being a leader in her union after receiving the Founders Scholarship, which is awarded annually through a competitive process to members working on an associate, bachelor’s or postgraduate degree in an area of study that furthers the electrical industry. It is worth up to $24,000 over an eight-year period.

In addition to her responsibilities at Ameren and Local 1439, Winston is working toward bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communications at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, which she hopes to use to raise more awareness about opportunities for women in the utility industry.

“She doesn’t stop,” said Local 1439 Business Agent Eric Wilkinson, a close friend and mentor. “She wants to keep going. She’s going to keep doing things for her betterment.”

In turn, Winston, 36, hopes she’s serving as a role model and mentor herself. She’s usually the only woman of color on the job when she reports to work in the physically demanding role of substation operator, which hasn’t attracted many women in the past regardless of ethnic background.

She’s also active in the St. Louis chapter of the Electrical Workers Minority Caucus, which includes members of Locals 1, 1439 and 1455 and nearby Collinsville, Ill., Local 309.

“My biggest goal is to show women we can do this,” Winston said. “We can not only be mothers and daughters, but we can work and mend spaces.”

Count Local 1439 Business Manager Jeremy Pour among the impressed.

“Brittany is very self-motivated,” said Pour, who noted that only about 30 of Local 1439’s more than 800 active members are women. “She wants to excel, she wants to make herself better, so she’s not afraid of taking chances and getting what she wants.”

The fact she’s gotten this far is a testament to that drive.

Winston attended community college briefly before landing the mailroom job in 2008 at Ameren, the St. Louis-based energy giant that provides power across most of Missouri and southern Illinois.

She joined St. Louis Local 1455, which represents clerical and office staff at the company. Her grandfather had been a longtime member of the Machinists Union when he was employed by St. Louis-based McDonnell Douglas and later Boeing Co., and she appreciated union membership.

Later, moving to Ameren jobs in the call center, payments, construction hotline and investor services allowed her to see different parts of the operation, but she sensed there was an even better opportunity available.

So she applied for a spot in Ameren’s 12-month apprenticeship for power line workers in 2021. She was moved to a warehouse position while waiting for the acceptance letter.

Her IBEW membership was transferred to Local 1439, which represents Ameren’s linemen and other power line workers. She was accepted into the apprenticeship one year later.

“She is not afraid to use the resources available to her and not afraid to ask questions,” Wilkinson said.

Winston remembers being assigned to a coal plant during the evaluation period for her job while taking AC/DC classes two nights a week. There were about 10 people in her class, and Winston was the only woman. When it ended, she was one of only two of the original 10 who had successfully completed it, she said,

“I wish I would have done it sooner,” Winston said. “It was a great move for my career and financially. It challenged and mentally stimulated me. I got to know different people and see a blue-collar side of work.

“I was very surprised with myself,” she said. “When I stepped out and stopped limiting myself, I grasped onto the work pretty quickly. But I had a great group of people who helped and guided me. If I was thinking about something one way, they might encourage me to think about it another way.”

Serving as a substation traveling operator isn’t as physically demanding as being a lineman, but it’s not for the faint-hearted. Employees like Winston often use a pole that extends to 45 feet to safely disconnect and connect high-voltage equipment. They often are sent into dark underground locations to inspect switches.

Whether above or below ground, work areas sometimes are not easily accessible in areas with aging infrastructure. Safety is always a priority.

Substation operator is swing-shift work at Ameren and most utilities. Winston is thankful for internet classes that allow her to continue work toward her degrees at Missouri-St. Louis.

“It takes the right person to accept the demands of that job,” Pour said.

Winston was especially busy after a tornado struck north St. Louis and nearby areas last May. But even in normal times, she can travel from in and around St. Louis more than 100 miles into southeast Missouri, where Ameren also provides service.

“It’s very stressful at times,” she said. “If my job is not done correctly or I am operating with the wrong piece of equipment, I can drop customers or prevent someone else from doing their jobs correctly.

“But I love it,” she added. “Every day is something different.”

Pour, a 25-year IBEW member and business manager since 2019, noted that Winston is the first Local 1439 member to win the Founders Scholarship.

“It’s a big achievement for her and a big achievement for our local,” he said. “She is a trailblazer.”

Wilkinson, for one, believes Winston can become a leader in the IBEW if she chooses.

“She’s a people person,” he said. “With the skills that she has, and wanting to know and learn even more, if she sticks with the IBEW, she can go anywhere.”

Winston attended the EWMC Conference in St. Louis in 2022 and was inspired by the stories she heard from IBEW sisters. She isn’t ruling out pursuing a leadership role in the future.

But for now, her immediate goal is to buy a house for her and the woman she calls her hero and biggest supporter: her mother, Tracy Oary, who suffered a serious brain injury in 2018 but continues to progress and is now doing well.

She also wants to continue working with at-risk youth, including young people of color who have not been exposed to a career in the trades or the utility industry.

“The IBEW for me is essential because of what is says: brotherhood,” Winston said. “It’s a group of people that has taken me and won’t allow me to fail. Even when I feel weak, my groundmen and union lift me up. We’re not going to let each other fail.”

The IBEW has awarded the Founders Scholarship annually since 1966. It is open to members from all branches who have been in good standing for four years or a charter member of a local union. It is for members only. Children, spouses and dependents are not eligible.

More information is available at ibew.org/foundersscholarship. A notice will be posted at ibew.org when applications are next open.