Vitória Macedo
SÃO PAULO
In predominantly male fields like engineering, many women become pioneers. This is the case of Sherry Romanholi, 27, the first woman in Latin America responsible for operating a “worm”—the massive machine that creates space for the expansion of São Paulo’s line 2-green metro.
SÃO PAULO – SP – BRASIL – 16.10.2024: Portrait of Sherry Romanholi, 27 (Foto: Adriano Vizoni/Folhapress, COTIDIANO) – Adriano Vizoni/Adriano Vizoni/Folhapress
The giant underground excavation machine has a cutting wheel with a diameter of 11.66 meters and a length of 100 meters, making it the largest in Latin America. It is also named after one of Brazil’s foremost writers, Cora Coralina—in fact, all these machines are named after women. For Sherry, it is both a challenge and a happy surprise.
Sherry’s connection with the machine began a while ago. Before operating it, she worked in logistics and oversaw the transport of the machine’s parts and tools from China to Brazil. Then, the opportunity arose for her to move into construction and join the project, initially in quality inspection, and later in operating the excavation. The learning process to operate the machine has been happening on the job for the past seven months.
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