There’s a petite, young woman currently planning a wedding and raising a young daughter in the Indianapolis area while simultaneously recruiting women into the sheet metal industry. Catie Rogers, an apprentice for the International Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation (SMART) Local No. 20, is due to graduate May 22. But just because she is graduating, it doesn’t mean her passion is fleeting — if anything, it’s just heating up.
Rogers is known to recruit around town at her favorite local spots when she witnesses women with a hard work ethic who have what it takes to be successful in the trades. Her passion to recruit began when she herself entered the trades in 2013 and had no women to confide in or look up to. It was then that Rogers recognized her calling — recruiting.