A TIME TO HONOR CHANGEMAKERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. AND THERE ARE SOME, OF COURSE, RIGHT HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY. EDWINA JUSTICE WAS THE FIRST BLACK FEMALE TRAIN ENGINEER FOR UNION PACIFIC, AND SHE HOPES TO INSPIRE FUTURE GENERATIONS OF BLACK WOMEN. KETV NEWSWATCH SEVEN’S QUANECIA FRASER MET WITH HER TODAY AND HAS THIS PROJECT COMMUNITY REPORT BACK IN THE 70S. EDWINA JUSTICE’S CAREER WITH UNION PACIFIC STARTED HERE IN OMAHA. JUST A FEW YEARS LATER, SHE FOUND HERSELF WORKING IN NORTH PLATTE AS A LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEER. I APPLIED FOR THIS JOB THAT CALLED ME TO BE A TRACTION MOTOR CLERK. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT A TRACTION MOTOR WAS, BUT EDWINA JUSTICE LEARNED. EVENTUALLY, AFTER A UNION PACIFIC EMPLOYEE TOOK HER TO SEE IT FOR HERSELF. AND WHEN THEY DID THAT, AND I SAW HOW YOU OPERATE AN ENGINE, I SAID, OH, I COULD DO THAT. AND THEY SAID, WELL, WHY DON’T YOU GO DOWN AND APPLY? IN 1976, JUSTICE BECAME THE FIRST BLACK WOMAN TRAIN ENGINEER FOR UNION PACIFIC. AND SHE HAS ONE WORD. WHEN YOU ASK HER WHAT IT FELT LIKE, WEIRD. WORKING OUT OF NORTH PLATTE, SHE REMEMBERS TRAVELING THROUGH TOWNS ACROSS WESTERN NEBRASKA AND KANSAS. AND YOU HAVE PEOPLE IN THE RESTAURANTS COMING OUT AND STICKING THEIR HEADS OUT OF THE KITCHEN TO TAKE A LOOK AT YOU. BUT THAT DIDN’T STOP JUSTICE. WHAT WAS THE MOST REWARDING PART OF YOUR JOB? I THINK IT WAS THE PEOPLE THAT I MET, YOU KNOW, AND I, I LIVED IN NORTH PLATTE FOR 25 YEARS, AND I STILL REMEMBER A LOT OF THE PEOPLE. HER ADVICE TO THE NEXT GENERATION. TRY SOMETHING UNCONVENTIONAL. WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU HAD A PLUMBER? THAT WAS A WOMAN OR AN ELECTRICIAN OR. SOMEBODY THAT WORKED ON YOUR CAR? JUSTICE SAYS SHE HASN’T LEARNED OF OTHER BLACK FEMALE TRAIN ENGINEERS ANYWHERE UNTIL THE LAST TEN YEARS, BUT SHE SAYS SHE’D REALLY LIKE TO MEET ONE IN OMAHA.