During Women in Construction Week, an annual event taking place each March, we shine a spotlight on the often-overlooked contributions of women in construction. This year, we're featuring Marley Sherbon, an apprentice equipment operator who is part of the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s on-the-job training program. Sherbon's entrance into the field of highway construction follows the path of her ancestors. She proudly represents the fourth generation to take on this labor-intensive trade.
Participating in Local 49's Pathways program during her senior year in high school, Sherbon chose a hands-on career over college. According to a publication by Minnesota DOT, she found herself drawn to the world of heavy machinery, inspired by the legacy of her family who worked with dirt as dozer and blade operators, and a stepdad who worked as a directional driller. Field trips in the program allowed her to test-drive skid steers and experience an excavator simulator, seeding the ground for her future endeavors.
After completing the program, Sherbon operated as a roller operator, a job that required her to hone her skills with slopes and GPS Trimble systems. Her second job involved setting up project sites to the completion of full highway stretches. Now part of Lunda Construction, Sherbon has embraced the role of a MnDOT trainee, where her days are filled with varying tasks from forklift operation to assisting as a crane oiler. "I'm fourth generation, some could say, but I grew into it not up with it," Marley Sherbon told Minnesota DOT.
Sherbon expressed a particular affinity for crane operation, not for the lucrative aspect but for the sense of control and responsibility the machinery demands. With aspirations of gaining her certifications, she is under the mentorship of Lisa Ziebell, a certified crane operator with Lunda, who shares a personal connection with Sherbon. "She’s taken me in as a daughter and teaches me a lot," Sherbon said, as per the Minnesota DOT.
