Sam (far left) is joined by two fellow Auto Technology students as they work on a van.

“All my life I’ve heard ‘You can’t do that – you’re a girl,’ and all my life I’ve proved them wrong.”

Samantha Barbarito has a strong aura of confidence about her. As she prepares to graduate from Northlands Job Corps Academy in Vermont after completing her study of Auto Technology, she took a moment to look back at her time at the school.

Sam (as she’s called by friends) says being a female in what some people might consider a typically male trade doesn’t phase her. “At first some of the guys gave me a hard time, but then they saw what I can do.”

Sam says she wasn’t always so confident. “I’ve opened up a lot since coming to Northlands. I arrived not knowing how to change a tire. Now I can conduct cylinder leakage tests, do an alignment and so much more.”

She says she wanted to work on cars ever since she was young. “It has always interested me to see how things work. I used to take apart my PlayStation 2 and put it back together.”

Sam’s goal once she completes the program at Northlands on May 25^th is to get a temporary auto-repair job before she begins further study at the New England Institute of Technology in Warwick, Rhode Island. She says she’s ready thanks to her training at Northlands. “My instructor here is awesome and we have the latest technology.”

Sam has bigger goals for the future. “Ultimately, I want to own my own shop,” she says. “I’m not sure how long it will take, but whatever it takes, I’ll do it. I’m very motivated. If there’s something I want I’m going to get it, no matter what.”