One runs the intensive care unit at Howard County General Hospital. Another designs wastewater and sewer systems. A third oversees fire and rescue crews for the county fire department.
While their jobs are dramatically different, the three have a few things in common.
They are all women. They all work in professions dominated by men, which means they occasionally have to put up with snubs, insults and an old-boy network that can leave them out. And, they all love what they do and have done it with great success — male-dominated profession or not.
The ICU Doctor: Jeanette Nazarian, 47
The Engineer: Radhika Wijetunge, 42
The Firefighter: Stacy Ruehl, 42
Outside the National Football League, it's hard to find a more male-dominated profession than firefighting.
Nationally, 3.5 percent of firefighters are women, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In Howard County, the percentage is higher, but still an astonishingly low 12 percent.
But don't tell Stacy Ruehl that the job is not for women. One of only five female lieutenants in the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services (out of 52), Ruehl feels that while firefighting is not a good fit for all women — just as it's not a good fit for all men — it's just right for her.
"It's hard for me to say, 'It's difficult for me as a female,' because I've never looked at it that way," she says. "I just enjoy being part of a team, I enjoy learning all that I've learned. It's just so dynamic. I love this job."
Ruehl enjoys just about every aspect of firefighting: the demanding physical work, the close teamwork, the constant challenge to learn new techniques. "When I look back at these 18 years, I can't imagine having any other career," she says.
"It takes a special person to do this job," she adds. "A really confident, strong, physically and mentally, type of person. A person who wants to be challenged."
Reuhl, who lives in Ellicott City with her husband (also a county firefighter) and two children, ages eight and six, didn't grow up wanting to fight fires. Out of college, she was looking at professions in the medical field. She was in school to become an Emergency Medical Technician when Howard County called and offered her a firefighting job.
She joined the department in 1997 and has risen to the rank of lieutenant. She is a "float officer," which means she manages the 24-hour shift at stations throughout Howard.
Ruehl, who eventually completed her EMT certification and is also a trained nurse, concedes the male-heavy aspect of her job. "There've been plenty of times when I'm the only female on the shift," she says, adding that she's "never had an issue with it." She also believes that on certain calls, patients are more comfortable dealing with a woman, and she feels a certain camaraderie with other female firefighters, especially other managers in her department.
"As a specific group, if you want to look at us that way, I think we're pretty supportive of each other," she says.
Firefighting is a physical job, male or female. Ruehl is happy that the physical standards for women and men are no different and proud that she's met them.
"A length of hose or a ladder weighs the same, whether I'm picking it up or the guy next to me is," she says. "I've always had that mindset. It's very important for me that everyone I work with knows that, when we get into a [difficult] situation … and we need to do some work, I can do it."