‘Grit’ put this single mom, PCC grad on path to promising tech career

Five years ago Ariane Davaul couldn’t have imagined she’d be on her way to launching a career in the engineering field.

“My brother is a mechanical engineer, but it’s not something I ever saw for myself,” Davaul said. “As a woman, engineering isn’t something that’s pushed for us. Working with tools wasn’t something that crossed my mind.”

But here she is.

On Monday, she started an engineering technician internship with Texas Instruments. And on Wednesday evening, she will graduate from Pima Community College with an advanced certificate in automated industrial technology.

She’ll be one of 3,300 students to graduate from the college this week at PCC’s first in-person commencement since the pandemic began two years ago. At the graduation ceremony, which will be an outdoor event held at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium, the college will confer more than 4,500 degrees and certificates.

For Davaul, earning an automated industrial technology certificate is a big milestone in her plan to build a stimulating, lucrative career.

Earning that certificate puts her one step closer to finishing up her associate’s degree later this year. After that, she plans to enroll in Northern Arizona University’s industrial leadership program, which has a partnership with PCC and prepares students for management positions in the industrial technology sector.

It’s been a long road for the single mother of a 13-year-old to get to this point.

“My life is really different than it was three years ago when I started school,” said Davaul, who spent a decade working as a veterinarian’s assistant, which she said didn’t offer many avenues for advancement, before going back to school. “I was an underemployed single mom trying to raise my daughter — trying to support her on minimum wage. I just realized that wasn’t going to work.”

So, at the age of 37, she enrolled at PCC. There, she discovered the automated industrial technology program, which teaches students how to program, manage and troubleshoot automated systems that now control anything from cars to industrial cleaning equipment.

The future: Managing robotic workforce

At first, getting a bachelor’s degree wasn’t on Davaul’s radar.

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She started out with the goal of getting the certificate she’s graduating with Wednesday. Once she had that, she said, “I figured I could get an entry-level job and make more than minimum wage.” To pay for her schooling, she took on two part-time jobs and received several scholarships.

But as Davaul took more classes in the automated industrial technology program, she realized she had a penchant for problem-solving and working with computers. She didn’t want to stop at the certificate level anymore.

“Once I got into it I found it super interesting and challenging,” she said. “After I get my bachelor’s I’ll be able to manage a robotics workforce. It’s a new emerging field that also has the capability of making me quite a bit of money. That sounded like a win-win to me.”

And she knows she’ll be able to handle whatever professional challenges her career may present because she’s already managed to balance single parenting, a full course load and two jobs.

“It takes determination,” Davaul said. “When you have to deal with trials and tribulations in life, you develop grit. All the struggles and hard times have made me have a positive attitude and be even more determined not to fail.”

That spirit hasn’t been lost on her instructors at PCC.

“She’s goal-oriented and knows what she wants,” Zhongyi Yang, a robotics instructor at PCC, said. “This is a nontraditional program for female students and she finished it. She’s setting an example for her daughter and I think that’s one of her greatest motivations.”

Davaul’s mother, Cheryll Davaul, knows that’s true.

“I’m really glad that she found this field. This is something she’s finally decided is her niche,” said Cheryll, who’s helped Ariane take care of her daughter, Scarlett, over the years. “I’m sure this will end up influencing Scarlett to find out what she loves to do and do it.”

And after Ariane graduates with her certificate this week, Cheryll Davaul has no doubt her daughter will achieve all of the other educational and career goals she’s set.

“She just keeps right on moving,” said Cheryll Davaul, who added that this past spring break was the first time she’d seen Ariane take some time off since she went back to school. “The harder things get, the more she seems to want to get things done.”