Former Ocosta resident, Kourtney Bainter, now 23, dropped out of school at age 13 to help her father lay asphalt, making it her profession for nine years as outdoor work became instilled in her.
“I was paving in the morning and bartending at night, and it was literally turning into 16-hour shifts” said Bainter, who by that time was 21. “And I had no money, because my truck kept eating it all— the gas tank. I just got to a point where I hit a wall and just broke down.”
At the advice of her cousins, Bainter pursued a spot at Tongue Point Job Corps, which recently named her the national winner of the third-annual Better Occupational Opportunities for Tradeswomen (BOOT) award.
The BOOT Award was established to recognize a female student or graduate who shows the strength, courage, aptitude and commitment to launch a career in a nontraditional field, and who will represent that trade in a way that encourages other young women to pursue a similar path.
There is only one such award in the country. Tita Montero, the community liaison for Tongue Point, said at least 60 percent of Job Corps’ 125 centers nationwide nominated one or more female students for the BOOT award.
Bainter, who’s completed Tongue Point’s carpentry program and is nearing completion in welding, is now trying to get a work-based learning assignment locally. She hopes to make money at it and buy another vehicle before moving to Portland for a paid five-year millwright apprenticeship at the Pacific Northwest Carpenters Institute in Portland.
“Eventually, I would love to move to Port Angeles (Wash.) and join the diving clinic, get my commercial dive license and attend Seattle’s underwater welding school and get certified in shallow water vessel welding,” said Bainter, adding that she can stand to make $30 to $40 an hour as a welder in a union.
Bainter said growing up in the Grays Harbor, Wash., area, she was four minutes away from Bottle Beach State Park. Combining her love of the water with welding, she said, is like seeing a cake and getting to eat it too.
While at Job Corps, Bainter was also able to finish her high school diploma.
“Job Corps, one of the best things about it, is that no matter where you come from, you’re going to leave here with a GED,” said Bainter, adding that Tongue Point’s high school coordinator, Lisa Clapp, held her hand through the entire process. “If you don’t walk in the doors with a high school diploma or a GED, they make sure you have one by the time you leave.”
She’s received certifications in forklifts and aerial lifts; CPR; and workplace, shooter, fire and other hazard safety. Bainter has also earned her 7018 and dual-shield welding certifications, which she said opens her up to all positions.
As technology doubles every 10 years, said Bainter, her education will never stop. “When I got yanked out of school, I thought that was it for school; I was so wrong.”
Article reprinted by permission
