Misty Smitherman is the Mansfield school district’s first female auto tech teacher.

From Amanda Rogers’ article on the Star-Telegram website:

When Misty Smitherman asked to work in an auto shop at Mansfield High School, the teacher called her mom.

“We don’t have jobs like that for girls,” her teacher said.

Twenty-five years later, Smitherman is the Mansfield school district’s first female auto tech teacher, and one of the few — if not the only — female auto tech teachers in the state of Texas.

“The kids are funny,” Smitherman, 41, said. “On the first day of class, I stand at the door, waiting for them. They walk down the hall, look at their schedules, then walk away. I say ‘What are you looking for?’ They say, ‘Auto tech.’ I say, ‘That’s me.’ They’re like, ‘A girl?’”

It doesn’t take long to make them believers.

“It’s pretty cool,” said Justin Stacks, a Legacy High sophomore. “Different people think women can’t do this. It just depends on how much you know. She knows a lot.”

Click HERE to read the entire article about the Mansfield High School automotive program on the Star-Telegram website.