ANNISTON ARMY DEPOT, Ala. -- Michaela Haynes wasn't looking for permanent employment when she joined Anniston Army Depot's cooperative education program in 2006.

At the time, she was looking for a job and a way to support herself. Knowing the installation had a variety of skill sets, she decided to begin where the cooperative education program placed her, then choose another career path.

She began with hydraulics.

The high school cooperative education program taught her the basics, but Haynes didn't feel hydraulics was the path to her future.

After graduating from Wellborn High School, she chose industrial automation for her college co-op education.

"In that course of study, we received a lot of general knowledge and learned trouble shooting," said Haynes.

During college at Gadsden State's Ayers Campus, Haynes also worked in the Nichols Industrial Area - in the Automotive Component Branch.

Always a hard worker, she set her sights on the role of leader, but didn't truly considered any promotions past that point.

"I was shooting to just be a leader and was planning to be content there," said Haynes. "Then, somewhere along the way, it dawned on me that I could be better."

She was promoted to leader in 2013 then, in July 2014, Haynes was selected for a temporary promotion as a heavy mobile equipment mechanic supervisor. Her time in that role will last one year, but she is using the opportunity to learn everything she can, hoping the promotion can one day be permanent.

She is one of a small number of women who have been supervisors in the depot's Directorate of Production.

"I figured I could better myself in this field," she said. "I want to be in a position to at least say I tried."

Haynes said her days are often unpredictable, which she has come to enjoy, though her initial days as a supervisor were a little chaotic.

"I was promoted as a new supervisor just as the building changed," she said.

The Automotive Component Branch, which had previously occupied only one end of a building, was transitioning to take over the entire building -- with disassembly on one end and assembly on the other.

She quickly began to value the mentorship of other supervisors, as many of them advised or assisted her in finding proper sources for information.

"Especially since I've been in this supervisory position, a lot of people have helped me and pointed me in the right direction," said Haynes.

In February, Haynes graduated from the Depot Leadership and Management Program, another step in her education as a supervisor.