Victoria Rooke, Westminster Tool Inc. | Women Breaking the Mold 2023

From a young age, Victoria Rooke was a hands-on person.

She went from tinkering on cars, large equipment and semi-trucks with her dad, to attending a technical high school in her area. She knew then she wanted to be involved with work that required her to use her hands.

After job shadowing at the first manufacturing shop she had ever visited, she realized that kind of work wasn't dark and dingy like the factories back in the day. Instead, the work was based on innovation, technology and precision in a clean and technical environment. All of these factors are what drew Rooke to work in manufacturing.

"I also realized how important manufacturing is, everything we touch or see is manufactured in some way," Rooke said. "I got my start by going to a technical high school and picking a trade which, at the time, was automotive technology."

During her sophomore year of high school, she had the opportunity to job shadow at Westminster Tool. That experience changed her perspective and her career trajectory.

"As soon as I walked into the place, I was blown away by the machinery and the parts they were manufacturing. And, even better, I got to shadow a woman who ran an EDM (Electric Discharge Machining) CNC machine. At that point, I knew this was my career."

Immediately after graduation, she applied for a job with Westminster Tool, and she was hired on the spot. Her lack of manufacturing wasn't a problem, because her willingness to learn stood out.

A few of Rooke's daily tasks include CNC Machining, inspection, team improvements and meetings, job processing and project management support.

As shop floor team leader, she is responsible for not just leading by example but motivating and inspiring the team on a daily basis. 

And that willingness to learn? It's serving her well.

She continues to cross-train in as many areas of the business as possible, always learning something new and finding ways to duplicate that knowledge in her teammates.

She also plans to continue developing her leadership skills and get more exposure to the operational side of the business so that she can contribute more strategically to the direction of the company.

Among Rooke's greatest professional accomplishments is completing the QVCC Advanced Manufacturing Technology course, a nine-month certificate course. To achieve the certification, she worked during the day and went to school at night, five days a week.

"It was challenging but the most fulfilling thing I have done," Rooke said. "Another achievement, so far, was I spoke and presented at the Northeast Lean Conference. It was my first time presenting in front of a very large crowd, after that I felt like I conquered a huge fear."

Conquering that fear has opened new doors of opportunity. Today she works with sales, marketing and recruitment events, which allow her to represent the company. As a result, she regularly serves as a speaker at both technical and work force events for the company across the country.

"I am involved in advocacy for women in manufacturing in the state of Connecticut," Rooke said. "I have sat on many panels to speak about my experience and journey in this industry to hopefully inspire young women emerging into the work force or women of all ages looking for a different career path."

As with any career, learning sometimes comes from experience—and being willing to embrace those lessons life has taught along the way. Rooke has applied several lessons to her career, including realizing that things do not happen overnight.

Patience was something she had to foster, but her persistence and belief in herself has allowed her to thrive and achieve some big goals.

"Putting a harsh time limit on yourself for certain accomplishments can, in return, really hurt you when they don't happen," Rooke said. "Sometimes, taking the time will allow you to learn and grow before bigger responsibilities come your way. I often want to climb my career ladder fast but must realize taking the time to learn and grow myself is very important.

"I have a really hard time settling and have the need to constantly grow and strive for better. The thing that motivates me is when I get an opportunity, I experience it and then reflect on it. Then I do what I can to make other opportunities continue."

Years with company: 7
Years in the industry: 7

My work challenges me by often moving around the shop to learn different areas and then having to duplicate myself through cross-training to move and elevate in the company. We have a lot of systems and processes to be able to do this, but it can be challenging at times. The goal is to be able to cross-train quickly and efficiently without losing quality and skilled work. Luckily, we have systems like our Westminster Academy that help us do that. It is an online training system that we created.

I challenge myself every day with the style of work that I perform, being a machinist in the injection mold industry means tight tolerances and passion. I feel, as a team, we work though challenges every day. The type of work we do is not for the faint of heart, it is precise and different. We do not very often have an injection mold that is like that last one. We truly have to put our heads together to work through challenges.

We have a good mix of a younger and older work force, so we can put knowledge and fresh eyes to situations. Ninety-five percent of the time we hold +/- 0.0005 tolerances and even as small as +/- 0.0002 tolerances on our steel parts, and that is due to how precise our injection molds are. Whether it's from complex setups or never making a component before, we always figure it out.

I am currently new in my leadership role here at Westminster. But leadership, to me, is leading by example, which is exactly what I try to do.

I lead by example by embodying our company's vision, mission and core values. It is very important to lead by example and hold yourself accountable to following processes and making sure your work is done on time. In return, the employees around me see me as a good example and not an enemy.

In leadership, I make sure that my team members always have my full support and attention when they need it, and if a difficult conversation needs to happen, they understand it's not personal, it's just a moment for someone or a process to get better.

What drew me was seeing how injection molds were made and then quickly realizing almost everything plastic we see was created from some type of injection mold or a specific molding process.

From makeup dispenser caps to automotive parts and medical devices, I realized how important and crucial this industry is to supplying the world. What has made my career so rewarding is not only the opportunities that I have had, but knowing our products are going to the greater good to help someone going through surgery and even supplying the defense/military side of things it truly feels as though we are a community that helps everyone.

My best advice is there is no such thing as a stupid idea.

Ideas come from your experiences. If someone is questioning your ideas or credibility, be open to hearing why. Always ask "why" to understand their point of view.

Don't be afraid to keep the conversation open with open minds and, in return, hopefully, you can explain yourself. You also have to understand if the questioning is to help you get better or to flat out hurt you. Knowing your value is very important and understanding if other people see your value as well.

I utilize my quarterly reviews to review what I've accomplished and talk about areas where I've fallen short. I always talk about where I see myself moving in the company, and where I think I can add value. As far as ideas, I typically bring them up as they come whether that's among my team or with my boss.

A failure I've had was my first time training someone to duplicate myself. The training did not go well because I was stressed and felt that my information wasn't getting through to the person. Eventually, we had to stop the training because it was wasting the individual's and my time.

The failure was due to communication and planning. If I had better communication with this individual, we would have probably come to an agreement on how to move forward, and if I would have had a strong training plan, then the training would have been much more successful than it was.

This did set me back in my career progression and that was very hard for me, especially knowing that I could have done so much better.