Michelle Cline gets down and dirty with the big boys to make a living. The 35-year-old mother of three is a lube technician at Weld County Garage in Greeley.

“It’s kinda funny,” Cline said. “I married a mechanic. I learned real quickly, either learn about cars or I never saw him. After I rebuilt my first engine, that was it. I knew that was what I was going to do.”

Cline started taking automotive night classes at Aims Community College in Greeley. The ambitious female decided she wanted to finish the program as quickly as possible, so she added day classes as well.

“It was rough, but I did it,” she said.

Cline, who lives in Briggsdale, has been at her job for eight months. She went into it expecting the worst, she’s the only female in the garage. But she said she has been dealt the best.

“Men will be men,” Cline said. “You have to just deal with the way they talk and the way they act. You are one of the guys. You have to be one of the guys and that’s all there is to it.”

But being a female has its advantages. For Cline, patience is the best skill a woman can have to help her in a “man’s field.”

One of the difficult adjustments for Cline was balancing her two personas: a tough mechanic at work and a loving wife and mother after hours.

Still, she said she wouldn’t have it any other way.

Cline hopes to move up in the company, all the while learning as much as she can from the guys.

Construction Supervisor: “I had to be consciously assertive”

Stereotypical catcalls from manly construction workers is something foreign to Rebecca Rowley. The 26-year-old Greeley construction site supervisor for D&R Patio Homes says it just doesn’t happen.

“They are very respectful for the most part,” Rowley said. Although she has encountered the male macho attitude here and there, she says it isn’t like what’s portrayed in movies.

Rowley does all of the scheduling and marketing for the company and oversees some of the projects. She loves her job but never thought in a million years she would be doing what she’s doing.

Her take charge, take-no-crap attitude has served her well in her job.

“I’d be lying if I said I’ve never ran into sexism, but I don’t put up with it, so it isn’t there long,” Rowley said.
Her secret is catching it early and addressing the issue promptly.

“The other thing is to know when to just let things roll off your back,” she said.

She has been involved in her family’s construction business for years and enjoys being in a male-dominated field.
Adjusting to the environment was a little difficult in the beginning, but Rowley was up for the challenge.

“I had to be consciously assertive,” she said. “In the beginning it was challenging. It wasn’t hell, but like any job in the beginning, it was an adjustment.”

The skill that Rowley says has helped her the most is her ability to multi-task.

“I think women are natural multi-taskers,” she said. “We are in an age where roles of men and women are shifting so much. You can play with the boys and it’s not a dangerous situation.”

Police officer: “It took a more progressive department”

Autumn Dickerson promises to serve and protect. She is the only female officer on the Milliken Police Department squad, and she is proud to be there.

“I used to work at another department where being a female was an issue,” she said. “Not only was it an issue with other officers, but with citizens in general. They didn’t have respect for a female officer. I felt very quickly I was going nowhere. It took a more progressive department to not feel that way anymore.”

Dickerson, 30, of Loveland now finds there are benefits to being a female when it comes to her job, which she’s held for four years.

Her approach separates her from her male counterparts, she said.

“People react to me differently because I am not as threatening,” Dickerson said. “At times I can relate better to victims.”

Though being the only female isn’t difficult for Dickerson, going through the academy was a different story. She said she felt like she constantly had something to prove.

“I never wanted to cry or be girlie and look like I was weak,” she said.

Being a police officer wasn’t exactly always at the top of her list. Dickerson originally went to school to become a teacher, but decided she didn’t really like it. Her mind shifted to social work and progressed to law enforcement.

Even with a tough image, Dickerson has been characterized as a daddy’s girl. She attributes her confidence to succeed to her dad.

“My dad is my biggest fan.” she said.

profiles by Erin Frustaci