At 10 years old, she tried a welding simulator at a museum, thought it was the coolest thing she’d ever seen, and decided right then that she would be a welder. Eleven years later, she’s going to the world stage — and no American woman has ever done what she’s about to do.
Mikala Sposito grew up in Dexter, Michigan.
She wasn’t supposed to find her calling at a museum exhibit. But in 2014, the American Welding Society set up a virtual welding simulator at the Henry Ford Museum — the kind of thing most kids try once and forget. Mikala tried it with her parents and felt something click.
“I thought it was the coolest thing ever,” she said. “I soon made it my thing. Whenever an adult would ask, ’What do you want to be when you grow up?’ I would say with excitement: A welder.”
Most kids say things like that. Mikala meant it.
Welding camps followed. Then high school classes. Then competitions — and with each one, it became clearer that this wasn’t just enthusiasm. It was talent, backed by the kind of work ethic that most adults never develop.
She arrived at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor and met her coach, Alex Pazkowski — a former WorldSkills silver medalist who had walked the exact same path from that same program. He didn’t sugarcoat what the road ahead looked like.
“He explained to me that it was going to be far from easy, and arguably the hardest thing I’d ever go through,” Mikala said. “But I was up for the challenge.”
For two years, she trained 60 to 80 hours a week. Not 60 to 80 hours a month. A week. Friends, family time, ordinary life — she set it all aside and poured everything into the welding booth.
“I’ve had to sacrifice a lot to be here,” she said. “I’ve sacrificed time with friends, time with family. This is my second family.”
In March 2026, she flew to Huntsville, Alabama, for the USA Weld Trials — three grueling qualifying rounds against the best young welders in the country. When it was over, one name sat at the top of the standings.
Mikala Sposito. First overall.
This September, she will represent the United States at the WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai, China — the event known as the Olympics of the skilled trades, where the world’s best young technical professionals compete across dozens of disciplines. She will be the first woman in American history to compete in welding at WorldSkills.
When people bring up the history-making part, Mikala keeps it in perspective.
“I don’t see the gender aspect of it,” she said. “Welding doesn’t take any brute strength or anything. It’s actually very fine and precise.”
She’s right. And that’s exactly the point.
The trades have long been seen as a man’s world not because of what the work demands — but because of who was told to stay away. Mikala never got that message, or if she did, she ignored it at age ten when she picked up a virtual torch in a museum and refused to put it down.
Pazkowski has watched elite competitors come through that program for years. He knows what sets Mikala apart.
“The most impressive thing about her is her work ethic and her ability to overcome the obstacles that you encounter when you’re training at this level,” he said. “That’s inspirational to anybody trying to get into this industry — or any industry, for that matter.”
After Shanghai, Mikala plans to earn a degree in welding engineering. And someday, she says, she’d love to come back and teach — to be the coach for the next Mikala, whoever she turns out to be.
She was ten years old when she found her path. Twenty-one when she reached the world stage.
She just wanted to weld.
And she became a trailblazer anyway.