Trinity Sampson

BACK FOR A THIRD DEGREE

Photos & Story | Kira Crow

Getting a degree in a male-dominated workforce can be intimidating. Trinity Sampson, Abilene, has done this twice and is currently working on her third degree in a predominantly male workforce. Sampson graduated with her degree in auto mechanics in the summer of 2020, and then graduated in May of 2021 with a degree in collision repair and finishing. She is currently on her third degree, as she has returned this fall to pursue a criminal justice degree at Hutchinson Community College.

Trinity Sampson

Kira Crow

“I had always wanted to be in law enforcement since I was a little kid and then in high school I really loved the automotive industry inside of things.”

Since graduating, Sampson has used her degree to work in a body shop at a car dealership. She also uses her degree to fix up her and her friends’ cars. Occasionally, she visits the car shop in Hutchinson High School to work on cars there.

Is she intimidated by the maledominated workforce? Sampson said, “For sure. Primarily because many people were warning me a lot about, you know, customers coming in and they might not appreciate a female working on their car because they don’t think a female knows what they’re doing. But my teachers, especially in the collision field said that women doing auto body actually have almost like an eye for it, so it’s easier for them in some aspects especially when it comes to paint, to see imperfections and stuff like that.” According to the U.S. Department of Consumer Affairs, women make up only 9.7% of the total 1,342,000 employees in the automotive repair and maintenance industry. As for teachers that helped with her degree, Sampson said, “Brad Yoder and Todd McLean were definitely two that helped and I just like [not only] learning what to do, but also the encouragement aspect.”

Yoder has been teaching at HutchCC and Hutch High School for 22 years. He had Sampson in his classes from 2019-2022.

What stands out about her from other students? Yoder was quickly cut off by Sampson as she said, “Choose your words wisely.”

“What made her really good is she paid attention, listened, and did what she was supposed to do. She really did she did a good job of that. I mean, that’s obviously what we’re looking for from anybody, but she did a really good job at that. She paid attention to details and did what she was supposed to do,” Yoder said. “I could go on forever but [she] understood what finished was, so if she said she was done with something, most of the time she was. And that’s huge, that’s a big part of it.”

In the automotive classes, there are typically two girls per 16-18 person class. As for differences between males and females in his classes, Yoder said, “A lot of times girls pay attention to details more. So a lot of times overall girls are better on my side which is the refinishing/collision side. [Trinity] was pretty good at both. We’re obviously still in a male-dominated job, and especially with her she can keep up her end of the deal. That was not an issue.”

Sampson is a student who is known to be determined and hard-working by her teachers.“

She was a ton of fun having her in class. She helped out a lot, and I was able to put her in charge of stuff which helps me out so I can work with other people so as far as she went, she did a really good job,” Yoder said.

Trinity Sampson, Abilene, sands a spot on a car door that formerly had a dent in it. She worked at the car shop inside Hutchinson High School.

Kira Crow

He had some advice for any other women thinking about getting a degree in this industry.

Yoder said, “Just be willing to work hard. Be willing to get dirty, and once again I don’t really look at male or female, I’d say the same things for anybody, but pay attention to what you’re supposed to do and show up to work everyday. That’s huge. I don’t care who you are, if you do that, you’re gonna be successful.”

Sampson has returned this fall for her third degree at HutchCC.

“I really enjoy the environment around here and everyone seems to be really friendly. And it’s almost like an at-home feel. It’s not a crazy huge campus which is nice,” Sampson said.

As for what career path she wishes to pursue with a criminal justice degree, Sampson is unsure.

“I’m not entirely sure yet, I would like to go into law enforcement whether that be as a detective or just a police officer or patrol officer,” she said.

Sampson plans on pursuing one of these jobs full-time but will definitely still continue to work on car repairs as a hobby.

As for role models in her life, Sampson looks up to her brother.

“He was in and out of jail when I was a kid, and just growing up he was always in trouble but he finally found a job that he liked which was vocational,” Sampson said. “Seeing him turn his life around and be where he’s at now has been really encouraging.”

She has also had the idea of helping troubled youth by teaching them how to work on cars to give them an outlet.

“Getting out of trouble but finding something positive to put things into,” Sampson said about the idea that was inspired by her brother and his life growing up.

Sampson has advice for everyone else getting a degree and starting their lives after college.

“The one thing I’ve always like loved and reminded myself of is just to do things that you enjoy,” she said. “Don’t let other people persuade where you go in life, just as long as you love what you do then that’s all that matters.”

Kira Crow

Kira Crow

Autobody Instructor, and Sampson pose for a picture in the car shop at Hutchinson High School.

Kira Crow