Mikala Sposito: Paving the Way in Welding at WorldSkills

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Mikala Sposito from Dexter, Michigan, is set to make history. The 21-year-old will be the first woman to represent the United States in welding at the WorldSkills Competition in China. Her journey began with dreams of being the first female to achieve notable accomplishments, and this dream is coming true.

Sposito is a student at Washtenaw Community College (WCC) and earned her spot at the WorldSkills competition by winning the USA Weld Trials held in Huntsville, Alabama. ‘It was very close the whole time, but I made it to Shanghai,’ Sposito noted.

WorldSkills, often described as the Olympics of skilled trades, identifies the top talents across various technical disciplines, including construction, IT, manufacturing, robotics, and welding.

Mikala Sposito is the sixth student from WCC to qualify for WorldSkills, a record for any US institution, according to the Ann Arbor college. WCC takes pride in this achievement, with notable welder alums such as Alex Pazkowski, who finished second in 2013. Pazkowski is Sposito’s instructor and mentor. He accompanied her to the American championships and will be her coach in upcoming competitions in Canada and Australia before the event in September.

Sposito invests 80 hours weekly in welding practice at WCC, preparing herself for the competitions. ‘It’s a long, hard road ahead,’ said Pazkowski. Yet, he believes success at WorldSkills will ‘open up all kinds of doors.’

The competition will evaluate Sposito on technical execution and craftsmanship against stringent international standards and time constraints. Despite the challenge, she’s eager to test her skills against top welders worldwide, and she’s excited about traveling abroad for the first time.

Although she doesn’t focus on the gender aspect in welding, Sposito is aware that women are a minority in the field she embraced at age ten. She believes welding requires precision over strength, saying, ‘Being the first female to do it is very cool.’

Sposito aims to earn a bachelor’s degree in welding engineering at Wayne State University in Detroit. Long-term, she may pursue teaching at WCC like Pazkowski. She aspires to be an inspiration to women in the trades, saying, ‘I’m happy to be inspirational for many women in the trades who have possibly struggled.’