“Make It Happen!” An Interview with Past QBP Scholarship Recipient, Jen Dorius
BV:What is your name? Where are you from? What pronouns do you prefer?
JD: I’m Jen Dorius from Heber City, Utah and I’m just a plain old she 🙂
BV: When did you attend UBI during your QBP Scholarship? And how many years did you apply before receiving the scholarship?
JD: I attended in February of 2018, which was, sooooo fortunately, the first year I applied.
BV: What impacted you most about your experience with your classmates?
JD: So many things about my experience were eye-opening. But perhaps mostly I just was impressed with the fierceness that women are filled with, to be a part of this exciting industry that can be, at times, unfriendly and uninviting.
JD: I’m Jen Dorius from Heber City, Utah and I’m just a plain old she 🙂
BV: When did you attend UBI during your QBP Scholarship? And how many years did you apply before receiving the scholarship?
JD: I attended in February of 2018, which was, sooooo fortunately, the first year I applied.
BV: What impacted you most about your experience with your classmates?
JD: So many things about my experience were eye-opening. But perhaps mostly I just was impressed with the fierceness that women are filled with, to be a part of this exciting industry that can be, at times, unfriendly and uninviting.
“BV: What is the most helpful tip or trick that you learned during your time at UBI?
JD: Oh man, impossible to say. Everything was new to me, so everything was mind-blowing :)”
JD: Oh man, impossible to say. Everything was new to me, so everything was mind-blowing :)”
BV: What job did you have prior to the scholarship class, and did you change jobs or responsbilities after the scholarship?
JD: I have kept the same job that I came into the program with. I work at my local bike shop. I was working only the front, retail end of the shop before the course. I had hoped to become more of a full-time mechanic after completing my training, but at this time in my life I can’t put in the full-time hours that I feel like would really cement my skills. My new knowledge has definitely changed my role at the shop, however. I am better able to diagnose problems when someone walks in and definitely am able to carry on a more intelligent, knowledgeable conversation with anyone and address their concerns in a more helpful way. I now do basic repairs if needed and jump in to help with bike builds or tunes when things are busy.
BV: Did your goals change because of your experience?
JD: I think this experience taught me that as a human being, I am capable of doing whatever I decide to do. So many of the women I met were just awesome mechanics. Those skills are not exclusive to men in our industry. One of my goals, as I continue to learn and increase my mechanic skills, is to be valued as a bike mechanic because I am skilled and knowledgeable, not because I am a woman. It would be fantastic to never feel patronized as a woman in a bike shop or in the cycling community.
One of my goals going into the experience was to become a voice for women in my cycling community, and I’ve definitely been successful in that way. Women in my community heard about my experience and they come in the shop and seek me out to talk about how my wrenching is going. It’s great. My experience has empowered them as well. I’ve tried to share my new skills with anyone interested and have spent hours in other womens’ driveways in the evenings helping them understand how their bikes work, and easy things they can do roadside and trailside to make basic repairs. I have run women-specific clinics at the shop and my physical presence in the shop makes other women feel more invited and included in our community cycling culture.
JD: I have kept the same job that I came into the program with. I work at my local bike shop. I was working only the front, retail end of the shop before the course. I had hoped to become more of a full-time mechanic after completing my training, but at this time in my life I can’t put in the full-time hours that I feel like would really cement my skills. My new knowledge has definitely changed my role at the shop, however. I am better able to diagnose problems when someone walks in and definitely am able to carry on a more intelligent, knowledgeable conversation with anyone and address their concerns in a more helpful way. I now do basic repairs if needed and jump in to help with bike builds or tunes when things are busy.
BV: Did your goals change because of your experience?
JD: I think this experience taught me that as a human being, I am capable of doing whatever I decide to do. So many of the women I met were just awesome mechanics. Those skills are not exclusive to men in our industry. One of my goals, as I continue to learn and increase my mechanic skills, is to be valued as a bike mechanic because I am skilled and knowledgeable, not because I am a woman. It would be fantastic to never feel patronized as a woman in a bike shop or in the cycling community.
One of my goals going into the experience was to become a voice for women in my cycling community, and I’ve definitely been successful in that way. Women in my community heard about my experience and they come in the shop and seek me out to talk about how my wrenching is going. It’s great. My experience has empowered them as well. I’ve tried to share my new skills with anyone interested and have spent hours in other womens’ driveways in the evenings helping them understand how their bikes work, and easy things they can do roadside and trailside to make basic repairs. I have run women-specific clinics at the shop and my physical presence in the shop makes other women feel more invited and included in our community cycling culture.
“Women in my community heard about my experience and they come in the shop
and seek me out… My experience has empowered them as well.”
and seek me out… My experience has empowered them as well.”
BV: What is one piece of advice you could give to the hopeful folks hoping to apply for this year’s scholarship?
JD: Wow, I know the stars must have aligned to allow me to have opportunity when I did. I definitely feel so fortunate to have been selected among so many inspiring gals. My two weeks at UBI were definitely among the coolest experiences of my life. Make it happen! Do whatever you can to get there. And in the meantime, while you wait and continue trying… learn as much as possible NOW, before you get there! It was a LOT of information in a short amount of time, and was a little overwhelming going in with so little knowledge as I had. I heard much for the first time at UBI. I wish I had had a bit more wrenching experience going into it so that it would have cemented the info, rather than having it been my first exposure to it.
BV: Any last thoughts or words of wisdom?
JD: This experience was so valuable to me and I am so completely grateful to B and everyone at UBI and QBP who made it such a magical, life-changing experience.
JD: Wow, I know the stars must have aligned to allow me to have opportunity when I did. I definitely feel so fortunate to have been selected among so many inspiring gals. My two weeks at UBI were definitely among the coolest experiences of my life. Make it happen! Do whatever you can to get there. And in the meantime, while you wait and continue trying… learn as much as possible NOW, before you get there! It was a LOT of information in a short amount of time, and was a little overwhelming going in with so little knowledge as I had. I heard much for the first time at UBI. I wish I had had a bit more wrenching experience going into it so that it would have cemented the info, rather than having it been my first exposure to it.
BV: Any last thoughts or words of wisdom?
JD: This experience was so valuable to me and I am so completely grateful to B and everyone at UBI and QBP who made it such a magical, life-changing experience.
“Make it happen! Do whatever you can to get there. And in the meantime, while you wait
and continue trying… learn as much as possible NOW, before you get there!”
and continue trying… learn as much as possible NOW, before you get there!”