Cynthia King doesn't break a sweat as she answers questions from an instructor about the heating and air conditioning system of a Jeep Wrangler.
"The expansion valve does what?" he asks.
"It transforms the high pressure, high temperature liquid to a low pressure, low temperature liquid," she responds.
Another correct answer from King. She is a student in CCBC's Automotive Technology Program and is just months away from finishing her course work.
Women like King are helping to increase the number of women in the automotive repair industry, but their numbers pale in comparison to men. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women made up only 1.4% of the industry in 1999. In 2022, it was 12%.