Celebrating Women’s History Month: Sheila Wright and Angela Cole
At Avangrid, Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace matters to us. During Women’s History Month, we honor women’s contributions to history, culture, and society. Throughout this month, we’re spotlighting some of the women on our team who make Avangrid and the world a better place. Meet Sheila Wright and Angela Cole, Gas Fitter Apprentices at NYSEG.
Sheila Wright
Angela Cole
Tell us about your life before Avangrid. What’s your career journey been like? Your education?
I became a NYSEG gas fitter apprentice at the age of 51. I have three terrific children and three wonderful grandchildren. I’ve always said that customer service is in my blood. My first work experience was typical service/retail type jobs, such as scooping ice cream, making pizzas and subs, cashiering, and the like. My favorite job as a young adult was working alone at a snack bar on the 10th hole of a golf course.
Tell us about your life before Avangrid. What’s your career journey been like? Your education?
Prior to working for NYSEG, I started out working in retail in my teens. Then, I worked in a call center for years while attending college. I collected $5 million in five years! After that I worked as a bookkeeper, doing bookkeeping for senior living facilities for many years while completing my bachelor’s degree in business. I first attended Broome Community College then finished my degree at Excelsior College.
I graduated from Johnson City High School and attended SUNY Binghamton. Years later, as a divorced single mother, who was working two jobs, a co-worker mentioned the NYSEG call center was hiring. I applied, interviewed, and was then told there was a hiring freeze, which at the time, I thought was just a nice way of saying I didn’t get the job. I was pleasantly surprised when NYSEG called me almost two years later and offered me the job, which I gladly accepted. Thus, my career at Avangrid began!
I spent 17 years in the customer relations center as a customer service representative, learning many facets of the energy industry to be able to assist customers by phone and email. I then became a field service representative (FSR) in the meter department, which consisted primarily of turning electric and natural gas services on and off for customers at their homes and businesses.
For five years, I enjoyed my FSR position immensely, but having a love for learning, I yearned for more. I wanted to dig deeper (no pun intended) into the natural gas side of the business and that’s when I decided to join Binghamton’s Gas Operations department as a gas fitter apprentice. The apprenticeship program consists of five levels of learning over the span of 36 months, 18 months of which I have completed thus far.
Now, your life at Avangrid: What are your main responsibilities in your role, and what is your favorite part of the work you do?
As a gas fitter apprentice, I assist the first-class fitters while learning a multitude of skills throughout my progression. While under supervision, my tasks can range from gathering supplies for our crew trucks, setting up the job site, fetching tools for the crew, hand digging to find a gas service, using a jackhammer, fixing leaks, installing new services, threading pipe, building meter sets, exchanging meters, relighting customers’ gas appliances, gathering and testing gas samples from regulator stations, locating sources of reported gas odors, just to name a few. As I progress through the program, I must qualify by passing dozens of both written and hands-on performance tests. A gas fitter must take over 70 written tests and perform the relevant hands-on performance tests at least every three years to maintain their qualifications. It’s a challenge but one that I am embracing. Fortunately, I have found my co-workers to be both helpful and respectful. Maybe some of my male coworkers were less than thrilled to see a woman apprentice walk into the office on that first day, let alone two of us joining the department around the same time, however, I like to think that regardless of gender, they would be wary of any new apprentice. As with any new job, it takes some time to get to know each others’ personalities and the dynamics of the department. I believe once it becomes evident that we’re not scared of hard work and prove our desire, ability, and willingness to learn the required skills, we earn our place.
Day to day, being a female can present some challenges, but that just means we might have to approach a task differently than our male counterparts do. I’m appreciative of the coworkers who cheer me on, offering insight, tips, and suggestions, guiding me for not only my own personal success, but in becoming a first-class fitter that one day, they can count on during difficult gas related situations and emergencies. I will have their back as they will have mine, when we work as a team to keep our community safe, protecting life and property. Problem solving and providing an essential service to our customers is my favorite part of the job.
What are your passions, hobbies, favorite pastimes?
My life’s greatest passion is my family. Loving, snuggling, spoiling and playing with my grand babies is a blessing unlike any other. I enjoy cooking, hosting big Sunday family dinners, baking for friends and family, campfires, cookouts, throwing darts, reading, deep conversations, and spontaneous road trips!
Who’s a woman who inspires you? Why?
Without a doubt, my mother, Grace, and my daughter, Leigh Ann, are the two women who inspire me the most. My Mom, for being the one consistent and loving force in life, who always worked hard to provide for us. The countless sacrifices she made went unrecognized and not fully appreciated until I became older. Fortunately, with age comes wisdom. My daughter, too, has inspired me in a way she is likely unaware of. Becoming her mom, forever changed me. In essence, it’s as if she and I grew up together; I was learning to be a parent, mistakes, and all, while shaping the life of a little girl who was growing up watching me more closely than I ever realized. Being her mom fueled me to work harder, to be better and to not settle for less than we, as a family, deserved. Today, I admire the woman she has become and watching her evolve into an amazing wife and mother, I’m simply proud to call her my daughter and my friend.
What advice would you give to a young woman looking to follow in your footsteps?
My advice to young women is to be aware that what YOU think matters most! If you think you can’t, you won’t. Others can believe in you (or not) but ultimately, you must believe in yourself. Be your own best friend. Give yourself those pep talks in the mirror! With hard work comes great reward. It is when we push ourselves beyond our comfort zone that we experience true personal growth. Approach life’s challenges as lessons, learn from them and then grow forward to get what it is that you want. You must want it, believe it is yours and then go for it!
Now, your life at Avangrid: What are your main responsibilities in your role, and what is your favorite part of the work you do?
I’ve been an apprentice for a year and a half but I’ve been with the company more than 10 years. Prior to becoming a gas fitter apprentice, I started in the NYSEG Call Center and then I worked as a meter reader collector. I really enjoy working with my colleagues, including Sheila. We both joined the team around the same time. Most of my colleagues are men and I think that they respect me because I get the job done. They don’t seem to treat me differently for being a woman.
What are your passions, hobbies, favorite pastimes?
In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my family, which includes my husband Tom and our son Damian, who recently graduated from college and lives with us. I enjoy spending time up at our family cabin in Upstate New York, taking walks with my dog, a 13-year-old Jack Russell named Spot, and fishing and hunting, and snowmobiling when we’re at the family cabin.
Who’s a woman who inspires you? Why?
There are a lot of women who inspire me across many different scopes of work. They range from firefighters, race car drivers, CEOs of companies, equipment operators, and the list goes on. My mom especially was an inspiration to me, and she taught me my work ethic. Among the women I admire, the qualities I admire most are they’re hardworking, determined, and knowledgeable.
What advice would you give to a young woman looking to follow in your footsteps?
If a young woman was looking to pursue a career here, I would explain to her what the job entails and tell her if this were something that she would like to do, to just go for it! There are a lot of women who work in male-dominated jobs. I enjoy seeing women working out there in the field because you didn’t see a lot of that back in the day, and it excites me to see more women get interested in this work. No matter what your strengths are, there can be an opportunity for you.
