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Michigan student becomes first woman to represent US in world welding competition

2026-05-17 By Main Street Independent

  • Mikala Sposito, a 21-year-old student at Washtenaw Community College, will be the first woman to represent the United States in welding at the WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai this September.
  • She secured her spot by winning the USA Weld Trials in Huntsville, Alabama, in a close competition.
  • Sposito practices welding 80 hours a week under the mentorship of Alex Pazkowski, who finished second at WorldSkills in 2013 and will be her coach through upcoming international competitions.
  • She plans to earn a bachelor’s degree in welding engineering at Wayne State University in Detroit and hopes to eventually teach at Washtenaw Community College.
  • Washtenaw Community College has produced more WorldSkills welding competitors than any other school in the United States.

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Machine-readable details

Article metadata

Published
2026-05-17
Topic tags
achievement, competition discipline, education
Primary entities
Mikala Sposito, Alex Pazkowski, Washtenaw Community College, WorldSkills Competition
Themes
gender in trades, skilled trades, world competition, community college education
Framework version
1.3.0
Generated
2026-05-29T23:27:22Z
Consensus floor
v0.3.0
Mindspec
v0.3.0

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