Arviat (Jul 05/06) - When Laura Suluk Tassiuk walked into the Arviat hamlet garage for her first day of work in the summer of 2004, she remembers getting some stares.

"I was a little worried at first. But eventually people got used to me hanging around!" the 33-year-old recalled last week.

Tassiuk is among a handful of Nunavut women who work in male-dominated places like hamlet garages. But the mother of three is not finished there. Almost 15 years after graduating high school, Tassiuk is now aiming to become one of the few female heavy equipment operators in the North.

"I love driving," Tassiuk said last week, on the eve of beginning a course that will lead to her class three driver's licence. The certificate would allow her to pilot loaders and sewage trucks.

"I thought: it's my time to do something I like."

It is rare for women in Nunavut to pursue careers in skilled trades, said Sheila Napayok, an apprenticeship co-ordinator with the territorial government. In fact, she has only seen one other in the Arviat area since 1999.

She suspects many women have a hard time balancing motherhood and work. "Laura is a great example (for) young women," Napayok said.

Tassiuk admitted that juggling a career, children and studies can be difficult. But thanks to her husband and some precise scheduling, she still has time to visit the family cabin outside Arviat and travel on the land.

"I love challenges," she said.

She's had practice. Her first few weeks at the hamlet garage were gruelling, she said. The work was more physically demanding than her previous office jobs, which included time at the constituency office of a local MLA.

The men were also a little hesitant to accept a women, but Tassiuk said they came around once she proved she could handle the work.

Once Tassiuk has enough time behind the wheel, she plans to apply for a heavy equipment operator course in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories.

With the 17-week program under her belt, she could work almost anywhere in Nunavut. And while Tassiuk likes Arviat, she would not mind a stint at one of territory's developing mines.

"It would be neat. I would like to do something different," she said.

One thing is for sure: she has no plans of taking on another desk job.

"I wasn't really into the whole office thing," said Tassiuk, who is 5'2".

"I like to be outside and working. I love to learn new things."

Tassiuk hesitates to call herself a role model for young girls, but hopes her example gives them confidence to pursue non-traditional careers.

"That is what women need, encouragement," she said.