Photo by Sarah Soprano 

Few of us have an appreciation for sawdust, but Emily Broussard loves the making of it. She caught the woodworking bug when she was 10, making baseball bats and tops. She has enough love of woodworking to have long felt a responsibility to share it by way of teaching it in the woodworking class at New Iberia Senior High (NISH.)

What made you pursue woodworking as a career?

My dad was my biggest influence having done woodworking all his adult life. I’ve been participating in craft shows with my work since middle school, making spoons, bowls, benches, swings- even tables. In college, I’d make things all summer to sell during the breaks, allowing me to make enough money for tuition. I’ve been teaching math at NISH, just waiting for the opportunity to get into the woodworking shop.

What do you like about working with wood?

I enjoy the beauty of the art and being able to make something I need around the house. You can start a project with wood and finish in an hour.

Which woods do you work with most?

Old cypress. It’s a soft wood making it easy to reshape and correct a mistake. No two pieces are alike. Three weeks out of the year, when the basin floods, my dad, siblings and I will get all sizes of driftwood.

As a woman teaching woodworking, what sort of reactions have you gotten from first-time students? My first year was a proving year and I’d hear guys say, “Oh my gosh, I didn’t know you could cut that well.” Still now when selling woodwork at the craft shows, when people see that it’s made by a woman, they take a second glance.

How does woodworking help teens? It gives them something to do with their time at home and a finished product to be proud of. I allow them to come with their own ideas for projects, which contributes to taking pride in what they create.

What advice do you have for women considering male-dominated professions? Women have a different take on things; I think, in general, we give more attention to detail and we take our time. I would advise any woman to take advantage of being the only girl and being the example. My 7-year-old daughter has been working in the shop with me for two years.