{"id":2575,"date":"2012-07-24T09:31:34","date_gmt":"2012-07-24T17:31:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.arc-zone.com\/blog\/carmenelectrode\/?p=2575"},"modified":"2012-07-24T09:31:34","modified_gmt":"2012-07-24T17:31:34","slug":"ilana-poulin-following-in-her-stepfathers-footsteps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/07\/24\/ilana-poulin-following-in-her-stepfathers-footsteps\/","title":{"rendered":"Ilana Poulin: Following in her stepfather&#8217;s footsteps"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Thirty-four year old Ilana Poulin learned welding from her stepfather, a Pipefitter\/Welder who really wanted his daughter to weld. \u201cHe would take his lunch break to teach me welding, half an hour each day,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2611\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2611\" style=\"width: 252px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/07\/24\/ilana-poulin-following-in-her-stepfathers-footsteps\/tig-gtaw-welding-2\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2611\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2611 \" title=\"Ilana Poulin\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-content\/uploads\/TIG-GTAW-welding-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"252\" height=\"450\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2611\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ilana Poulin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It must have worked, because even when her job as an Apprentice Pipefitter\/Welder\/Advanced Valve Tech doesn\u2019t involve welding per se, \u00a0she goes to the hall when she\u2019s between jobs to practice or work on volunteer projects.<\/p>\n<p>She has had the opportunity to weld on a few jobs, TIG welding pipe hangers at a plant, welding on a plastic tank at another plant, and welding galvanized steel\u2014her least favorite job. \u201cThat was not fun,\u201d she says, adding that the smoke from welding galvanized can make a person sick.<\/p>\n<p>Ilana prefers TIG \/GTAW welding. \u201cI use TIG whenever I can,\u201d she says, \u201cIt\u2019s clean and there isn\u2019t much smoke and fumes to breathe in.\u201d One of her favorite projects to date: the \u201cshow pipe\u201d for the Career Fair Trailer. \u201cI also helped build the \u201cPipes and Chains\u201d logo for the Local, which is displayed on the Labor Day parade trailer.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2612\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2612\" style=\"width: 389px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/07\/24\/ilana-poulin-following-in-her-stepfathers-footsteps\/tig-gtaw-welding-3\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2612\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-2612 \" title=\"TIG GTAW Welding \" src=\"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-content\/uploads\/TIG-GTAW-welding-3.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"389\" height=\"521\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-content\/uploads\/TIG-GTAW-welding-3.jpeg 540w, https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-content\/uploads\/TIG-GTAW-welding-3-223x300.jpeg 223w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 389px) 100vw, 389px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2612\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ilana TIG Welding<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As a union pipefitter, and proud member of Local 25 out of Rock Island, Illinois just across the Mississippi river from Blue Grass, Iowa where Ilana lives, she says every now and then she runs into an ignorant man who thinks women don\u2019t belong on the job, so it\u2019s her biggest challenge: when she shows up at a new jobsite. \u201cThe guys either eyeball me, or they look disappointed because I\u2019m a girl.\u201d Ilana, as most women welders do, wins them over by working hard. \u201cI always prove to them that I am a trained professional who can do the work,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2610\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2610\" style=\"width: 425px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/2012\/07\/24\/ilana-poulin-following-in-her-stepfathers-footsteps\/pipes-and-chains-logo\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2610\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-2610 \" title=\"Pipes and Chains Logo\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pipes-and-chains-logo.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"425\" height=\"415\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pipes-and-chains-logo.jpeg 531w, https:\/\/blog.arc-zone.com\/carmenelectrode\/wp-content\/uploads\/Pipes-and-chains-logo-300x293.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 425px) 100vw, 425px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2610\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8220;Pipes and Chains&#8221; logo for the locals<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ilana has talked to high school girls interested in non-traditional careers and advises that the Union is the best path for success in the industry. \u201cWe are a brotherhood\/sisterhood who look out for each other,\u201d she says. Another benefit of working with the union is that there is always work as long as you\u2019re willing to travel\u2014and \u201cTraveling for work can be a blast!\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>She\u2019s honest with the girls, however, letting them know that while her job as a Pipefitter pays well, she\u2019s had to work hard for that. Aside from a 5-year apprenticeship and on-the-job-training, she takes classes at night. She tells them that she does get dirty at work, \u201cBut I can still still look pretty on the weekends or when I\u2019m off work,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n<p>Ilana says she would tell her 15-year-old self to be bold, don\u2019t be shy. Be confident, not scared. And above all, \u201cHave fun, but be good!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Pipes and Chains Logo courtesy of: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ualocal370.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">UALOCAL370<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Thirty-four year old Ilana Poulin learned welding from her stepfather, a Pipefitter\/Welder who really wanted [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-rosies","entry","fw-tab-6 fw-tabr-4"],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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