ELKHORN, Wis. — An area woman hopes her new children's book encourages the next generation of girls that women can build. Sheri McQuality is a project manager at Mortenson, a construction engineering company, and, more recently, a children's author.
She wrote the book called, “My Mom's a Builder. Can I Build Too?”
"This is the Johnson Controls building in Glendale, Wisconsin, that I just finished working on," said Sheri, pointing to a page in her new book.
For Sheri, the dream of working in construction started when she was in third grade.
"I would draw huge houses with fancy inground pools, that sort of thing," said Sheri.
That dream became a reality because her Dad pushed her to do it.
"When I first got into construction about 30 years ago, there was only two of us in our office. And now you walk in and there are women everywhere,” said Sheri.
Although Sheri is seeing more women, women make up only about 10 percent of the construction sector workforce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Less than 5 percent of those women work on construction sites.
"This is a building that I helped demolish," said Sheri, pointing to another page in the book.
When Sheri set out to write a children's book, she wanted the book to fund a new dream—helping young women pursue a job in construction.
Watch: Elkhorn woman creates book, scholarship to inspire women in construction
“I didn't just want to write a story. I wanted to give back,” said Sheri.
She has set up the Girls Can Build scholarship. A portion of the book proceeds fund that scholarship. The first scholarship is available at the Delevan-Darien High School, and she is working with other area districts to create more.
She created it there first because it is where her biggest inspiration went to school—her father.
“I just want to be there to support other women that want to get involved in construction and help support their education,” said Sheri.
If you are interested in the book you can find out more about it here.
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