The 22-year-old suspects it is because she will be a fully qualified electrician later today, after she graduates from Otago Polytechnic with a New Zealand Certificate in Electrical Engineering Theory and Practice (Level 4).
"I feel a little bit like a doctor trying to play golf at the golf course — you know, how all the other players come up and ask what they should do about their health problems.
"In my case, they’re coming up and asking me to do electrical things, especially my parents.
"They’re like, it’s so handy having a sparky."
As if graduating as an electrician was not rewarding enough, Miss Witchell was surprised to learn she would also be the first woman to graduate from the polytechnic’s four-year apprenticeship-based study programme which began in 2018.
"I didn’t think I’d be the first one to graduate from the programme."
It was a trade that many women were getting into now, and she was pleased at the increasing number of women around building sites, she said.
"A lot of people are still surprised when I turn up to a site and they’re like, ‘ooh, it’s a girl’.
"But that will change."
When she was initially considering career paths, there was a strong push from her family to go into nursing.
Many of her family members were nurses, but the idea of following in their footsteps did not enthuse her — she was wired differently.
It was the thought of becoming an electrician that made her eyes light up.
"I was drawn to careers that were more hands-on and practical. I’ve always been interested in fixing things, too.
"When things work after I’ve wired them, it’s a great feeling.
"It’s the kind of job I enjoy getting up for every morning.
"And the fact that I could do an apprenticeship and earn money while I was learning, that was also a major factor.
"Basically, it meant no student loan and I had money for socialising."
Having a trade also opened up other countries, she said.
She has now moved from being an apprentice at Sam I Am Electrical to a permanent role with the local company, doing a range of electrical work in residential and small commercial properties, including rewires, new builds and renovations.
As for all her new-found "friends" wanting a sparky to help with their electrical projects, she said she liked being able to help.
But she was emphatic that there would be a limit.
"I don’t mind doing it for free — for now.
"I’ll give them a year, and then I’ll start charging them, especially my parents — they have to pay. Sorry."
