Jennifer Diaz has made history. In the 120 year history of Local 1 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, she is the first female head carpenter.

In a profile in The New York Times, Diaz’s long road to earning her job is laid out in detail. When she was 11 years old, she acted as an extra in “I Pagliacci” and “La Bohème” for the Metropolitan Opera House. She’d frequently visit her dad, the Met’s night crew manager, and learned a lot. At 19, she started working as a stage hand, the only female crew member on a 28-person team.

The road to becoming the boss has indeed been a difficult one. With 3,351 members and only 189 women, Local 1 isn’t only hard to get into, but once you’re in, you’re one of few women. And Diaz said that the environment hasn’t changed much in the years she’s been working in various theaters. “Accustomed to being ‘the only girl in the building,’” the Times writes, “Diaz said she’s used to it: ‘I can honestly say I have no friends who are girls.’”

Her brother Michael, also a member of the business, observed, “Backstage is a male-dominated occupation. The head carpenter is the head of the heads, and when 90 percent of the people you’re overseeing are men, and probably much older then Jen, one has to look them in the eye and say ‘Do your work’ in a way that inspires them and not complain about how they were spoken to,” he said

Diaz emphasized how high the stakes are for her at work. “One short cut or misstep can lead to you loosening a pipe and really hurting people,” she explained.

For the entire profile of Diaz, head over to The New York Times.