Shonalee stands tall in a man’s world

Shonalee Johnson, an auto body repair specialist who hails from Duncans, Trelawny, says she has oftentimes been ridiculed for her work. But the 30-year-old, who professed to be a devout Christian woman, said she has learned how to use the discouragement as motivation in her bid to become the best in her field.

A university drop-out, Johnson spent some time working in the BPO sector before deciding to make the pivotal career shift. However, it took the intervention of a family friend, David Williams, who encouraged her to get a skill.

"I was thinking of going to college (Northern Caribbean University) to finish a degree in business administration, with an accounting emphasis that I started in 2009. I didn't complete the degree because in my second semester, I got an 'F' in managerial accounting, and my uncle, who was financing my tuition, was not happy with that grade and he told me that I would need to get student loan to finish my degree. I didn't take the student loan as going to university that time was not my choice. It was my uncle's choice," she said.

"At the time I was thinking of going back to complete the degree, David told me that it would be very competitive for me as I'd be competing with many high school and university graduates who may be more qualified than me, so he told me to do a skill first."

The William Knibb High School past student took her friend's advice and applied to the Jamaican German Automotive School, where she got accepted to do motor vehicle body repairs in January 2019.

A year later she landed her first job, however, the experience wasn't anything to savour.

"The garage I started out made it very hard for me. There were times I actually wanted to give up. I was once told that because I'm a woman, I'll always be at the bottom of the barrel when it comes on to this field, and I'll never be able to do what a man can," she said.

"I remember being paid only $5,000 per week in 2020 after all the hard work I'd put in for the week. There was an incident when a young man came and said he wanted to learn the trade (he had zero knowledge of it) and he was being paid twice the amount of what I was being paid," Johnson said.

The young woman, who was raised by her mother Antoinette Marsh, and her late grandfather, Herman Marsh, now operates from Prento Garage in Bridgeport, Portmore, St Catherine.

"The garage I'm at now they treat me really well. They allow me to be me. They don't make me feel like I'm working in what others call a man's world," she said.

"After working in the BPO sector for years. I noticed that's not where my passion is, so I kept searching for something that would be for me. For me, it's in the auto body field, where I do minor repairs, prepping and spraying. After facing many roadblocks/discrimination from co-workers, l now feel at home in my new environment. I want to make this a lifelong job and later own my own garage," she said.