From Secretary to Nuclear Power Entrepreneur

Summary

Podcast Summary: Living Your Legacy

Episode: From Secretary to Nuclear Power Entrepreneur

Host: Jason Hamilton (subbing for Rudy Mawer)
Guest: Diana Hamilton – Founder, NW Technical Training and National Metering and Technical Services
Date: July 21, 2026

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Overview

This episode spotlights Diana Hamilton, an industry educator and successful entrepreneur who pivoted from being a secretary to founding two technical training businesses specializing in power and utilities. The discussion focuses on Diana's journey navigating male-dominated industries, her thoughts on mentorship, the challenges of entrepreneurship, and advice for women aiming to thrive without sacrificing their authenticity. It’s an inspiring story aimed at empowering listeners to persevere, embrace vulnerability, and uplift others on their professional journeys.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Diana’s Journey: From Secretary to Nuclear Power Expert

• Diana describes growing up in a strict but supportive family environment, where work ethic was paramount regardless of gender.
  • “[My father was] very adamant that it doesn't matter whether you're a male or female, there's a job to be done. You better get it done.” (03:32–03:37)
• Her entry into the nuclear power industry was driven by her desire to provide for her three children and secure a financially stable, purposeful career.
• Persistence in the Face of Sexism: Diana faced blatant sexism early in her career:
  • “I've had a gentleman tell me when I was a secretary, 'You look better in a skirt behind the desk... we're not going to allow you to go out into that nuclear power plant and put those jeans on and hard hat on because you look better in a dress.'” (04:39–04:54)
• Diana emphasizes persistence as the key to bridging the gap between her perceived and actual skillset:
  • “It's called persistence. Persistence and just not giving up...” (04:39–04:43)

2. The Door Opens: Breaking Into Nuclear Power

• After several years and mainly due to industry attrition, headhunters sought to diversify nuclear power plant staff, opening doors for qualified women.
  • “There are nine women across the nation that are qualified to be in the nuclear power. Are you interested in intervening with Texas Utilities? And so here we go.” (05:09–05:29)

3. What Is Nuclear Power, Really?

• Diana clarifies nuclear power for lay listeners:
  • “It's power generation. That's all it is. Whether it's hydro, whether it's coal, whether it's gas, nuclear power is just another way to do it.” (06:04–06:10)
• Addresses safety and public perception: Nuclear plants have rigorous safety checks and backups, and though there is concern over waste, nuclear power is managed to be safe.

4. Finding Purpose and Building a Business in the Industry

• Diana was inspired by the visible impact and responsibility of power plant operators, leading her to eventually become a trainer and entrepreneur.
• Impact of Teaching and Mentoring:
  • “All of the students are adult students... you affect their livelihood. If they don't pass that class, they may lose their job... But you get to know them on a personal level.” (08:27–09:23)

5. The Value of Mentorship

• Diana is passionate about mentoring, viewing it as pivotal for both personal fulfillment and collective progress:
  • “If you can share your knowledge, the reward that you get inside and also outside by seeing what comes of that is just huge.” (10:03–10:09)
  • She challenges the common tendency to hoard knowledge out of insecurity, arguing that sharing knowledge is what truly builds a legacy:
    • “I always tell my students, I want you to be smarter than me.” (10:29–10:31)

6. Advice for Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders

• Diana encourages reaching out for help and leveraging community—being vulnerable isn’t weakness:
  • “Look around you. Because I'm a total believer that most people are good... If you're struggling, tag into your resources...” (11:34–11:57)
  • “It's okay to be vulnerable. It's okay to show a weakness. It's okay to say, I don't know this, I need help. And if you can do that, I think you're gonna, you're gonna find all kinds of help.” (12:17–12:30)
• She notes the importance of systematizing knowledge and the reward of seeing others grow.

7. Navigating Gender Dynamics in Male-Dominated Fields

• Diana sees positive change in the number of women entering technical fields, but stresses doing it without diminishing male contributions:
  • “Don’t take away from the male…you can triumph in the male dominated field without losing your femininity and without taking away what they have.” (14:30–15:21)
• Diversity makes the industry stronger, and Diana credits changes in laws and perceptions for opening doors, but acknowledges that more progress is needed.

8. Key to Success

• Diana’s ultimate advice:
  • “Perseverance, kindness, looking at others, put yourself in their shoes. And then if you can see it from that side, it’s a lot easier to understand what’s going on.” (17:45–17:54)
• Perseverance is repeatedly underscored as essential for overcoming setbacks.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You keep knocking on that door and you keep showing to them, you know, get the respect.” — Diana Hamilton, 04:54
• “I always tell my students, I want you to be smarter than me. I want to be able to tag into you…” — Diana Hamilton, 10:27–10:32
• “It's okay to be vulnerable. It's okay to show a weakness. It's okay to say, I don't know this, I need help.” — Diana Hamilton, 12:17–12:30
• “Don’t take away from the male…be the woman. You can be successful and you can triumph… without losing your femininity and without taking away what they have.” — Diana Hamilton, 14:30–15:21
• “Life has hands. You gotta be able to take a punch every once in a while, because life is going to knock you down and you're gonna have to get back up.” — Jason Hamilton, 17:56–18:07

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Diana’s introduction and motivation for the episode: 02:33–03:15
• Facing gender barriers and the “door opening” moment: 04:39–05:38
• Explainer: What is nuclear power? 06:04–06:15
• Mentorship and apprenticeship experiences: 08:27–10:49
• On sharing knowledge vs. hoarding it: 10:03–10:49
• Advice to business owners on systems and vulnerability: 11:34–12:31
• Trends for women in the technical sector: 14:11–15:52
• #1 tip for success: 17:45–17:54

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Resources and Where to Find Diana

• Websites:
  • NW Technical Training
  • NWT

Diana’s upcoming “Women in Power” episode is announced for release following this podcast.

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Tone & Takeaways

The conversation is warm, candid, and supportive, marked by family banter—Jason is Diana’s cousin—which makes the powerful professional insights accessible and relatable. Diana’s message is one of tenacity, mentorship, kindness, and the importance of staying true to oneself. This episode is particularly valuable for women pursuing careers in male-dominated industries, business owners, and anyone seeking encouragement to persevere and lead with compassion.

Transcript

[Diana Hamilton]

Had a gentleman tell me when I was a secretary, you look better in a skirt behind the desk. We're not going to allow you to go out into that nuclear power plant and put those jeans on and hard hat on because you know, you look better in a dress. So it's all you do. You keep knocking on that door and you keep showing to them, you know, get the respect.

[Narrator]

Diana Hamilton is an entrepreneur, industry educator, and the founder of NW Technical Training and National Metering and Technical Services. She helps utilities and and technical professionals develop the skills, confidence, and leadership needed to succeed while empowering more women to thrive in the skilled trades.

[Jason Hamilton]

What would you say is like the value of mentorship?

[Diana Hamilton]

If you can share your knowledge, the reward that you get inside and also outside by seeing what comes of that is just huge.

[Jason Hamilton]

What would you say to the business owner out there who's like struggling to get to that next rung on the ladder?

[Diana Hamilton]

It's okay. Okay to show a weakness. It's okay to say, I don't know this. I need help. Look around you. Because I'm a total believer that

[Podcast Intro/Outro Voice]

it

[Jason Hamilton]

spans the globe like a super high cold Internet.

[Podcast Intro/Outro Voice]

Elvis. Brandon. Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone. It's not over until I win.

[Jason Hamilton]

The Living youg Legacy podcast. For those who live to leave a legacy that's extraordinary.

[Podcast Intro/Outro Voice]

The impossible. Oh, that is sensational. Jordan, Open Chicago with the lead. You said Paul is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream.

[Jason Hamilton]

Welcome back, everybody, to the Living youg Legacy podcast. I'm your host for today, Jason Hamilton, and I'm joined by my cousin Diana Hamilton in the building. Diana, welcome to the show.

[Diana Hamilton]

Thank you very much.

[Jason Hamilton]

Now, we just found out that we shared the same last name. I saw your name on, on the studio schedule and I was like, hey,

[Diana Hamilton]

you didn't get my Christmas card last year.

[Jason Hamilton]

I did not.

[Diana Hamilton]

Oh, my goodness.

[Jason Hamilton]

You know what, when we wrap up this podcast, I'm going to show you. I actually have a Christmas card like from the family that I'm going to show. I'm going to show you.

[Diana Hamilton]

Is it photograph where you can tell I took it.

[Jason Hamilton]

It's a photograph of our family dog which love her to death. But Diana, talk to me a little bit about, you know, you're about to go into recording your episode. First of all, how do you feel?

[Diana Hamilton]

Extremely nervous, extremely excited. Yeah. Wonderful.

[Jason Hamilton]

You're getting those pre film jitters.

[Diana Hamilton]

Got to do a little workout.

[Jason Hamilton]

Yeah. You drop the shoulders. We're going to do some box breathing.

[Diana Hamilton]

There we go.

[Jason Hamilton]

But you Know, as we go into filming your episode, I want to know what's like the number one thing you want people to be able to learn from your story.

[Diana Hamilton]

Specifically, this is a woman in power session. So in this regard, women to know that they can be in power in a male dominated field and that they can be successful, but not at the expense of themselves or the expense of the guy. So it's about not giving into the pressures and to just keep moving forward and to be compassionate and to listen to others. And it's just a really huge thing about making it in a world where it's a little bit tougher sometimes, but don't give up on yourself.

[Jason Hamilton]

Big, big proponent of that. Huge proponent of that. I want to talk a little bit about just kind of, who is Diana? How do we get to the Diana that's sitting across from you today? Tell me a little bit of your story and how you ended up in the field that you're in now.

[Diana Hamilton]

If you want to go way back, and I'll make it very brief, is strict parents who had some really high morals, A Southern Baptist mother who was super kind and generous and a father that was very adamant that doesn't matter whether you're a male or a female, there's a job to be done. You better get it done. And so now getting into a world where I felt I needed to provide for me and my three children, it was a male dominated world that made the money and so I needed to care for them so I knew I could do the job. So here we go.

[Jason Hamilton]

And so, like, as you're, this is a, this is an experience that I talk about with a lot of our ladies from women in power. As you're kind of getting into the working world, there's kind of a, there's always kind of this gap right between where you know your skill set is and where the people above you think your skill set is. How do you, how do you navigate that? Especially like early on in your career? Like, how do you, hey, this person. I'm coming into this workplace and because I'm a woman, they think I'm only going to be at this skill level. But in reality, actually I'm Michael Jordan and I need y' all to know it exactly.

[Diana Hamilton]

It's called persistence. Persistence and just not giving up. I mean, I've had a gentleman tell me when I was a secretary, you look better in a skirt behind the desk. We're not going to allow you to go out into that nuclear power plant and put those jeans on and Hard hat on because, you know, you look better in a dress. So Is all you do. You keep knocking on that door and you keep showing to them, you know, get the respect.

[Jason Hamilton]

And eventually somebody going to open it.

[Diana Hamilton]

Someone's going to open it.

[Jason Hamilton]

So what was that moment for you where the door opened and you got to really showcase. Hey, I'm Diana and I'm here to work.

[Diana Hamilton]

It was after a couple years, and at that time, nuclear power was in a different situation than it is today. Who's actually on the forefront? And finally, some is actually attrition, to be totally honest. And then some headhunters came across and said, there are nine women across the nation that are qualified to be in the nuclear power. Are you interested in intervening with Texas Utilities? And so here we go. And that was. What happened was someone finally, you know, opened that door.

[Jason Hamilton]

Opened that door, and you walked right on through it. Yep. Now you're mentioning nuclear power a lot. And like, I hear that, and immediately my brain goes to, oh, my God, where are the bombs? But obviously for the. I'm in my own little world with film. But for the viewer out there who has no frame of reference for your line of work, give me the spark notes version.

[Diana Hamilton]

Okay. It's power generation. That's all it is. Whether it's hydro, whether it's coal, whether it's gas, nuclear power is just another way to do it.

[Podcast Intro/Outro Voice]

Gosh.

[Jason Hamilton]

And with not as much waste, from what I hear.

[Diana Hamilton]

It's not as much waste. But now the problem was, what do you do with that waste? And so that was where the fear from the public getting into it was.

[Jason Hamilton]

You know, I think that's where my brain was going.

[Diana Hamilton]

Yeah, I totally get it.

[Jason Hamilton]

What's the offshoot of it? Because we have one here in Florida. I don't ever really hear much about it, but it does kind of, you know, as a. You hear about, like, the Chernobyl incident, things like that, and you're like, what could go wrong here? I'm scared. Please, someone let an expert, please. And who I'm sitting in the room with now, guys, an expert, please let me know that this is a safe thing for us to be doing.

[Diana Hamilton]

Yes. And there's so many safety backups on those plants, it's really ridiculous. But it's a good thing when you go in there. I did my mentor, one of my male mentors, we did scram the plant one time, which is a lot of money per day to get it back up again. And NRC flew in. I mean, there's another Long story on that one. But anyway, so from nuclear power went into like a hydro. You know, power is power. Right. Whether. Whatever the source is at wherever we're getting it from. Yeah.

[Jason Hamilton]

So why that industry? What kind of jumped out at you about getting into that field?

[Diana Hamilton]

So it wasn't necessarily my dream when I was young. It was pretty much at the time I was married and there was a nuclear power plant being built in the town that I lived in. It was one of the best paying jobs because I came from the bank and it was a better paying job. And then like I said, when I saw the operators being paid to come to work, to be educated, just like a huge college education, and to be able to go out there and to do a job where you've seen a difference, it was like, well, I want that one, I want that job. You know, so. So then you just keep knocking on

[Jason Hamilton]

the door and it's going after not just like the financial compensation of it, but also that it's like fulfilling a per. Like there's purpose behind it. You know what I mean? Like you're providing a service that's affecting lives far outside your own.

[Diana Hamilton]

Absolutely.

[Jason Hamilton]

I think the best people in business are the ones that are able to get into business not because of the financial opportunity, but because they're able to say, hey, I. I'm really good at the thing. I want to go and help people with this thing that I'm good at. Would you say the same?

[Diana Hamilton]

I would. In fact, an offskirt of this later on in my career I was doing, I was a trainer, an instructor, and then started my own company and I started my own school. And when you say that, the biggest thing I think of is all of the students are adult students that go through my class. It's apprenticeship program. And then there's another Oscar of that too. But the apprenticeship program is. You got three years with this person and we, we do the academic portion of it, not necessarily hands on the academic portion for three years. Adult students who have families and like I said, almost all of them were male until there was a few women that went through. Nowadays there's some more going through, but you affect their livelihood. If they don't pass that class, they may lose their job. That means that, you know, the kids, the wife and everything else like that, you know, he's got to scramble to do something else. But you get to know them on a personal level. On a personal level, I mean, you know, when their soccer games are. Because you know, they need, we need to reschedule the classes or, you know, whatever it may be, you know, that your wife is having another baby. You know, in three years you might see two babies coming out of that family, new ones and stuff like that, because the husband's confident in knowing he's got that job and he's completing it and it's a very, very nice paying job and you see results in the field that we're in. So that's, I say it makes a difference.

[Jason Hamilton]

Yep, that's, that's what it's all about. Now, you mentioned a little bit earlier you had your own mentor. You are now, you know, people are coming into an apprenticeship underneath you. What would you say is like the, the, the value of mentorship?

[Diana Hamilton]

Oh, it is huge. If you can share your knowledge. I mean, the reward that you get inside and also outside by seeing what comes of that is, is just huge. I see too many people covet it because they're insecure, because they, because they feel like if somebody else knows what I know, they're going to have my job. And for me, it's like it comes back tenfold. I mean, whenever you show somebody or you share your knowledge, I always tell my students, I want you to be smarter than me. I want to be able to tag into you because I was still in the industry, still working in the field as well as having these companies. I want to tag into you because I know you're going to take it and run. I mean, I'm older and all that and stuff. And you guys are like fresh off the go here and you know, girl,

[Jason Hamilton]

you about 22, it's fine, don't play. You about 22, don't put a little.

[Diana Hamilton]

Man, I love you. Now you're getting a bigger Christmas present.

[Jason Hamilton]

Yes, yes. That new camera lens is on the way, guys.

[Diana Hamilton]

There you go.

[Jason Hamilton]

One of the things that I love talking to business owners about is the importance of. And this is, this, this is big for you in mentorship as well, is like being able to take your knowledge and systematize it. What would you say to the business owner out there? You know, our audience is super entrepreneurial, they're super business minded. What would you say to the business owner out there who's like struggling to get to that next rung on the ladder? And really the systems is what's going to get them there, but they're struggling with that.

[Diana Hamilton]

Look up, look around you, look around you. Because I'm a total believer that most people are good and that they do, if they were approached that they would help. I've had many mentors, not just one. I've had many mentors, men and women. And so if you're going to be wanting to, if you're struggling and stuff like that, tag into your resources, know that one. You know, being a female and a female, there are females that will help other females. Like, that's my job now is to support and to be out there and just kind of be aware of what's happening out there. But look around you. People, I think really do wanna help each other and so. And then do your own homework too.

[Jason Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Diana Hamilton]

You know, and don't give up.

[Jason Hamilton]

You gotta kind of be obsessed.

[Diana Hamilton]

You do. And it's okay to be vulnerable. It's okay to show a weakness. It's okay to say, I don't know this, I need help. And if you can do that, I think you're gonna, you're gonna find all kinds of help.

[Jason Hamilton]

I 100% agree with that. And like, I've been, I've been on both sides of that coin where I've been the one with information and like, kind of coveted it and like, oh my God, no. My competition will steal my secrets.

[Diana Hamilton]

Yes.

[Jason Hamilton]

And then I've also been the one to say, actually no, let me reach out to my left and right because I'm in positions of leadership and I have guys coming to me on set and asking questions about, hey, hey, how do we do, how do we set up this kind of lighting scenario or how do we do audio for this? And like, I've been the teacher and I've also been the one coveting the information. And it's so much more rewarding to be able to look to your left and right and know that people both respect the information that you have, but that they're humble enough to come to you and ask for help. Like that to me is the ultimate, ultimate expression of like the human experience.

[Diana Hamilton]

I agree. And you'd be amazed because some, you know, someone's thinking, well, I wouldn't do that. But wait a minute, he just did it. He came to me. That means now you can relate to them. Now you got a communication that, you know, a lot of people hide that. And again, being in the male dominated field, a lot of them do hide that and they don't want to be bald. And one of the stories that I was talking earlier was I was wiring up some stuff in a big old pad mount transformer. And here's the lineman next to me who is doing higher voltage than I am, but he's kind of like, why are you Doing that, You know, what's that got to do with that ct? What's, you know, da, da, da, da, why are you wearing this way? And then I'd be starting to tell him, but he would never say that in a pack. He would never say that because, you know, ego gets in the way. But if you start showing, you know, that you're vulnerable too because of communication, you have something in common.

[Jason Hamilton]

Now, as far as being a woman in a male dominated field, are you, what's the trend that you're seeing as time goes on? Like, are we seeing a lot more women come into these positions of power, women being empowered and empowering others? What's the trend line that we're seeing?

[Diana Hamilton]

It is becoming, thank goodness, more and more women, you know, hallelujah. In the industry. And like I said, not taken away from the male. And that is one of the things I think I wanted to say is, is being a woman in power or being in a male dominated field, don't take away from the male, you know, be the woman. And that's where the title is for mine is, you know, you can be successful and you can, you can triumph in the male dominated field without losing your femininity and without taking away what they have because we're coming into the world that has been, that has been theirs. And the minute you start taking away from what they're, you know, because it's intimidating, you know, they, it's intimidating. So that's one of the things. But the trend, coming back to that question, the trend itself has gotten better. You know, you had the EO and all this other, you know, fair work practices and all that stuff. And it, it did help. You know, like I said, the reason why I first started in the industry was because they were looking for women in the field. That was a, it was a law, you know, they had to have a quota. And, and that's not necessarily nowadays. So it's, it's not like it was. So now it's, I'm happy to see that there. It's, it's gotten better.

[Jason Hamilton]

Still a little bit of work left to do.

[Diana Hamilton]

We sure as heck do.

[Jason Hamilton]

Still a little bit of work left to do. I, you know, I had a. Hopefully

[Diana Hamilton]

he doesn't beep that one out.

[Jason Hamilton]

Oh, yeah, I had a, I had an interesting conversation with another guest on the show a few episodes back and he was talking to me about how he and his wife built their business together. And you know, a big part of it for him was that he understood that like I, as As the guy in the business, I know that my strength is to, I'm gonna kind of like almost brute force my way through problems, like build the plane as I fly it kind of a thing. But my wife is very much like, she's a planner, she's structured, she's got discipline. She's gonna make sure that we plan ahead for the future instead of just trying to break through the wall because it's made of drywall. And then you find out on the other side is concrete. Because that's just how guys do things. That's it.

[Podcast Intro/Outro Voice]

We.

[Jason Hamilton]

We break through wall first and find out about the concrete later. But I think that that plays into what we've been talking about so well in that, like, you don't need to take away. I think as men, like, we enjoy kind of getting hit by the concrete every once in a while. Fellas, don't, don't run through a wall, please.

[Diana Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Jason Hamilton]

But we enjoy like kind of that sort of problem solving on the fly energy that we have. Yeah. And then it's so beneficial for them to have women come into these male dominated fields and say, hey, actually we're good at this stuff. Let's add this to what you already have going on.

[Diana Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Jason Hamilton]

You know what I mean?

[Diana Hamilton]

Yeah.

[Jason Hamilton]

I think that's, that's, that's huge. Um, one of the, you know, we're here, we're at Inside Success.

[Diana Hamilton]

Yes.

[Jason Hamilton]

And so one of my favorite questions to ask of all my guests on the show. So everybody does this question, but what are Diana's or what is Diana's number one key tip for success?

[Diana Hamilton]

And I'm going to keep saying it again, Perseverance, kindness, looking at others, put yourself in their shoes. And then if you can see it from that side, it's a lot easier to understand what's going on.

[Jason Hamilton]

Absolutely, absolutely. And the perseverance part is key because we had to touch on that twice. Now. You got to be able to. Life has hands. You got to be able to take a punch every once in a while because life is going to knock you down and you're gonna have to get back up over and over until eventually you figure out how to get knocked down in the first place. Yeah, Huge, huge believer in that, guys. First and foremost, if you're still tuned in at this point in the pod, I want to make sure that you check out Diana's episode of Women in Power, which will be coming out shortly after this podcast airs. So you're going to get a full deep dive on her story. I'm going to learn everything that makes Diana. Diana. And also my cousin. There it is.

[Diana Hamilton]

I'm.

[Jason Hamilton]

I'm a see her. I'm going see her for Thanksgiving.

[Diana Hamilton]

You're cooking?

[Jason Hamilton]

Yep. Well, I love cooking.

[Diana Hamilton]

I'm.

[Jason Hamilton]

I'm a good chef now. But, guys, make sure you check out her episode. It's coming out right real soon after this podcast episode airs. Diana, for the people out there, where can they find you on social media, your website? Where can an aspiring, someone who wants to get into your field come to take your become an apprentice?

[Diana Hamilton]

Northwest NW technical training.com and also nwt.net

[Jason Hamilton]

all right, we'll make sure we put that somewhere on the screen. My editors know that when I start pointing around in random directions, we're going to put something on the screen somewhere. So shout out the editors. But, guys, this has been an incredible episode. Diana, it has been such a pleasure having you on the show.

[Diana Hamilton]

Thank you so much.

[Jason Hamilton]

Do we get a little bit of the jitters out? Are we ready for a little bit?

[Diana Hamilton]

My heart's not pounded as fat as it was.

[Jason Hamilton]

There we go. I think we're ready. You ready to go record your episode?

[Diana Hamilton]

Go do her.

[Jason Hamilton]

Let's do it. All right, guys.

[Diana Hamilton]

Thank you.

[Jason Hamilton]

Been another episode. We'll catch you guys in the next one.