Lydia Waage is not your typical female in high school and her goals for the future aren’t either.
But that is OK with her. In fact, she absolutely loves it.
The Cobleskill-Richmondville junior is enrolled in the Heavy Equipment Repair and Operation program at Capital Region BOCES, and she hopes her studies at BOCES will put her in the fast lane for future success.
“I want to operate a dump truck when I graduate. I already know how to operate a stick shift, so I am one-third of the way there. Before I came to BOCES, I only knew how to drive a tractor, and I have already learned so much,” she said.
Waage’s pursuit of a career in the skilled trades evolved from her passion of working with her hands and from working with her father, who is an engineer. Her plans became further cemented after attending the 2024 Capital Region BOCES Women in Trades event.
“I was interested in the Heavy Equipment program before, but I had a lot of reservations about entering a male-dominated field. But after hearing [Class of 2024 graduate] Chloe Armstrong, who was one of the panelists last year, talk about her experience of making great friends with all the guys in her Welding and Metal Fabrication class, I left the event feeling a lot less anxious,” Waage said.
This year, Waage can have that same impact on another young female as she is part of the 2025 Women in the Trades event Capital Region BOCES will host on March 5.
The luncheon and panel discussion begins at 11:30 a.m. at the Career and Technical Education Center – Albany Campus, which is located at 925B Watervliet-Shaker Road in Albany.
During a break from learning about engine repair, Waage said BOCES has ignited her passion for learning—which is a good thing because her mother is a teacher in Cobleskill.
“I am actually learning something that I am going to use in the real world and, quite frankly, the more I learn, the more I realize there is so much more to know,” she said.
She added that she “loves all the opportunities BOCES offers and learning all of the new things.”
Waage said working with the males in her class has not been a problem.
“No one, in my class at least, seems overly concerned about my impending womanhood, and I’ve actually made a bunch of really good friends that I never would have made if I didn’t come to BOCES,” she said.
Capital Region BOCES Managing Program Coordinator-Business & Community Partnerships Nancy Liddle praised Waage.
“Lydia has the self-motivation and drive to make a difference. Her positive attitude and passion for learning new things is commendable,” said Liddle.
“She has an overall great attitude that will allow her to succeed in whatever she does.”
There are approximately 50 students currently enrolled in the Heavy Equipment Repair and Operation program on the Schoharie Campus. The program is expanding for the 2025-26 school year to the currently under construction CTE Extension Center that is being built near the Albany Career and Technical Education Center.