Daughters carry on mom's legacy as performance engine builders for General Motors
Angie Carothers has made her mark as one of the top engine builders at General Motors' Performance Build Center in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
"I was the first female in the PBC to get the first perfect ten engines in a row. In 2020 and 2021, I've built the most engines in the whole shop. All the women, all the men, out of everybody. Even the best builder," Carothers told ABC News.
Now she's passing on that legacy to her own two daughters, Latrice and Charisse, who also work building engines at the plant.
The trio work on high-performance engines for certain models of Corvettes, Camaros and Cadillacs, among others. Each engine they work on gets a small plate with their name on it.
"I take pride to put my name on it, because I know I built it from start to finish," Latrice said.
They take their lunch breaks together every day and have gotten even closer spending so much time with one another.
"Being able to work together every day – we were already bonded – but it helps us hold that bond," Charisse said.
Angie says she was influenced to come to General Motors after being inspired by her hard-working dad.
"He didn't want me in here, but I did it anyway," Angie said.
Then came Charisse, who now works as a team leader in the PBC. Latrice, an assembler, was the last to join the team.
"Once my mom and sister got here, I was like 'If they can do it, I know I can do it,'" Latrice said, adding that less than 15% of the workers are women.
"I thought factory work was a man's job until I seen that my mom did it. She came in here and she actually set the standard for me and my sister," Latrice said.
That's another point of pride for the women.
"For somebody to actually get a Charisse Walters engine, they reach out to me like, 'Oh, is it true you're really a female? Did you really build it?'" Charisse said.
"We actually work with several men. And to be able to do the same thing that they do and do it better, it makes me feel good," Latrice said.
ABC News' Clara McMichael contributed to this report.
