April Welsh was born into, what many would consider, a less than typical family. April and her brother were raised by a stay-at-home dad and working mom. April’s mom was the region’s first Swanson Corporation female route driver. April gives a lot of credit to her unique family life and mom, as a strong female role model, for the career path she ultimately chose.
April mentions her dad being an awesome stay at home dad. She explains that if she wasn’t with her father, her older brother would take her to the fire department where he volunteered. The guys at the fire department worked on cars, and when they had to go on calls, they’d leave her behind, and she continued tinkering with them while she waited.
In high school, April thought she’d like to be an athletic trainer. She liked seeing the body move and how it worked. Over time, after hanging out with her brother and his friends, participating in their car hobbies, she decided to go a different route. She opted to try a semester at lowa Western Community College.
She loved IWCC and learning about automotive technology. During her time there, her big brother was deployed. He had a truck that needed the transfer case replaced. While he was gone, she fixed the truck at school and surprised him when he returned. “He wanted to be a gear head,” April stated, “so he loved having a sister that could help when he got in over his head.”
One semester she was able to go on a tour with the school to the Certified Transmission facility. They discussed the job opportunities available there and April began to think that could be where she’d apply after graduation.
Unfortunately, April began having issues with her hips just before graduating. She was paying the price for years of volleyball during school, she was forced to have 2 surgeries. The last 6 months of school she was on crutches. There was no way she could get a job in automotive and be able to work while she was healing.
At this point April decided she would have to go into pest control. Her parents had a dog called a “bed bug dog.” These dogs are trained to detect bed bugs (something I’d never heard of), and the bed bug dog training looked fun! She decided to temporarily go to work for a local company.
April had to go through the same type of canine training program as police and guard dogs. She was paired with a pup named Austin. She shared the story of their first call together. “The dog is trained to sit when they find bed bugs. At one home, the minute the homeowner opened the door, Austin sat down. I thought, ‘Oh no, my dog is broken! It turned out to be the worst infestation I’d ever seen. The bugs were in the carpet of the entry and even the ceiling. Austin was spot on!”
For most people, this career might have been short lived. April stayed in this job longer than she initially planned because she wanted to keep Austin when she left. When April told me she had to take bed bugs home and feed them because she used them to keep Austin’s bed bug senses sharp, I was blown away. We all know what bed bugs eat! She definitely loves Austin! As they say, there is no love, like puppy love!
Shortly after Austin was able to retire, April saw that Certified Transmission was hiring. She applied in July of 2021. She didn’t have any in-shop experience, but she passed the mechanical aptitude tests and physical fitness exam, making it to the next level of the interview. The offer to join Certified’s builder training program came quicker than she had expected.
After being hired, she found out other departments were fighting over her. Solenoid testing and the dyno team both wanted April for their areas. She was surprised and honored to have more than one opportunity at the company. However, becoming a builder was a perfect fit. She is currently the only female builder at Certified Transmission.
April describes her job as mentally and physically challenging, but in a good way. She builds the 6F35, 6F50’s and other 6 speeds in that same family. “The most stressful part of the job,” she explains, “is waiting to see if you get called by the dyno department for an issue on one of your units.”
When she first started rebuilding, her goal was to rebuild 1,000 transmissions without a builder error/mistake. On March 13, 2024 she hit her goal. Wow, 1,000 transmissions without one mistake. That is fantastic quality!
April said, “Each core I get to build tells a story and I try to guess where they’re from. Sometimes they are covered in red dirt, which I know must have been driven in another state because Nebraska doesn’t have any red dirt.” She laughingly added, “One time I found a lizard, which definitely did not come from Nebraska.”
April Welsh adds that her job allows her to give back. She understands every transmission she builds is going to go into a car that might be for a mom that is transporting kids, or someone who depends on the vehicle for work and can’t afford to have their transportation down. She is blown away when she thinks about the fact that she has rebuilt over 1000 transmissions that are on the road today. It is certainly something to be proud of!
If you are a woman in the industry and you’d like to join April and other women supporting women in automotive, reach out to me to find out about joining AWiA. If you have an amazing woman builder, or transmission technician at your shop that has a special story, please feel free to contact me as well. Our e-mail is Tiffany@AmazingWiA.com. Remember, the right man for the job just might be a woman!
