The future is as bright as the sparks flying inside the welding program at Capital Region BOCES Career & Technical Center.

Darielys Maya Galan is a first-year student in the welding program at the Albany campus. The 16-year-old is the only woman in her welding program. It's a reflection of the industry, as 94% of professional welders are men.

“I think it’s great to show that you can be different as a woman joining the field,” she said.

It’s a passion that stemmed from a love for creativity and art. She says it's a welcome challenge of skills other than the usual education she receives at her home school of Guilderland.

“I wanted to embrace my artistic abilities. I’ve painted, I’ve drawn, I wanted to get more into the physical side of things; the sculptural aspects,” she added.

And she’s not the only woman breaking barriers on campus. Over in the building trades, the Tribunella sisters, Isabel and Cora, are hard at work.

“We work together pretty well; we do a lot of things together,” says Isabel.

They already have their built-in best friend in the program, working alongside their identical twin. The girls are following in the footsteps of their older brother, who is a recent graduate of BOCES.

“I was never really one to like books and bookwork and all that. I wanted a trade to use my hands more,” said Isabel.

And while they may look alike, these girls have very different personalities. So it was shocking to their family when the pair went into the program together.

“I’m more of the makeup and the hair type of girl, but I don’t mind getting dirty. But I like my outfits and I like my style,” Cora said.

And while they have each other, the rest of their class and their instructors are all men. But Isabel says she still feels empowered.

“I think it’s really cool, as a girl, that I’m doing this. It’s some self confidence in a way,” she said.

Women only make up 10% of the construction workforce. Cora says it’s a statistic that needs to change.

"I think the reason there aren’t a lot of women in this industry is they see a male-dominated career path and they get scared, because they don’t want to be the one breaking that barrier,” Cora noted. “But slowly, if more and more women rise up, it’s not going to be that outlandish.”

And while these women will eventually search for jobs, filled by workers who don’t usually look like them, they’re not giving up on big dreams. Isabel wants to pursue a career in something similar to building trades, while Cora is still figuring it out.

However, Darielys says she definitely aspires to become a welder, but in the most unusual places.

“I look forward to pipe welding, maybe even underwater welding,” she said.

There’s a still a long way to go, but these young women are slowly breaking the molds.

"I would tell any young woman who's considering this program to go for it," said the young welder.