Volunteer reinvents herself on construction site

Jane Bolton has a new start in life. The tools of change? A hammer, some sturdy work boots, and her trademark cow-girl construction hat.

At 50 years old, Bolton is entering her final year in the construction supervision program at Dunwoody Institute, and she can be found working on a Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity (TCHFH) build site nearly every day.

"I still can't figure out how I was led to Habitat," she said, "but I believe it was such a spiritual thing."

A few years ago, her life looked very different. Bolton was content in her role as a full-time mother and housewife when things began to unravel. Two of her three children had grown and left the house. Her marriage of 23 years fell apart. Soon after, her mom passed away.

"I've had to mix grieving my mother and grieving my life all together," she said.

When her marriage ended, Bolton found herself devastated and "floundering," with no idea of what to do with her life. "I didn't know who I was," she said, "and now I'm learning all this stuff and it's really been exciting. It's been a blessing in disguise."

Bolton said she was always interested in carpentry, and fondly recalls helping her father build a fence when she was five years old. "To take that onto a bigger scale of being able to build a house," she said, "the empowerment of that is just amazing."

She began investigating carpentry programs, and one day she heard about TCHFH. She attended a volunteer orientation and found out about the Plymouth build, which was "right in my backyard." She said it seemed like a sign, and the perfect opportunity to gain construction experience while going to school. She became a full-time volunteer and worked on the project from start to finish.

This summer Bolton has been working at the Van Cleeve site in Minneapolis, and most recently at the WomenBuild site in St. Paul. Five of her weeks at WomenBuild were spent teaching two students from the WomenVenture Jobs in the Trade program, a position that was a perfect fit for Bolton, who worked as a teacher before she married.

Bolton is the only woman in her class of 25 at Dunwoody. But she says construction is a great field for women, even in the face of an economic downturn. "For one thing, women are not infiltrating in droves like they are in other fields," she said. "And the people that will be retiring in the next ten years are going to leave a huge void."

She admits there is another reason she's choosing to pursue site supervision. At 50, though she is in fantastic shape, Bolton says she knows her body won't hold out that much longer. "When I'm [on a job site] I've got the adrenaline just flowing through me, but then I get in the car and I'm an old lady," she laughs.

Jane graduates from Dunwoody next spring and hopes to one day work for TCHFH. She has a special interest in learning about green (eco-friendly) building, and looks forward to one day participating in a Habitat Global Build.

She emphasizes what a life-changing experience it has been to work with Habitat and find her passion. "This path that I'm on - I'm not getting off," she said. "It just feels so right. I'm supposed to do this, and for somebody to be able to say in their lifetime that they know what they're supposed to do, I feel so blessed."

Contributed by Amy Furan