A Dexter welding student is State Championship bound

It’s on to the state championship for local welder and Dexter High School student Mikala Sposito.

After placing second in a welding competition held at Washtenaw Community College, Sposito went on to compete in the recent SkillsUSA Michigan regional competition. She had even more success there and finished in first place in the overall category, which in many ways is the toughest category because it combines the different types of welding.

As a student in the South and West Washtenaw Consortium welding program in Saline and also with Alex Pazkowski, a welding and fabrication instructor at WCC, Sposito’s talent and hard work are shining through in these competitions this school year.

Pazkowski said she’s succeeded in large part because she has such a great combination of things. He said she works hard during class and also takes advantage to put in even more work on her own time. She goes above and beyond, he said.

“It’s a combination of talent, but even more so, it’s her work ethic,” said Pazkowski.

Sposito is excited about the next challenge as she’s prepares for the state competition that will take place in April at Grand Rapids Community College.

“Knowing the amount of work I put in, it feels very rewarding to make it to the next level,” she said. “I’m very excited to get a chance to compete at states in hopes to make it to nationals.”

To prepare for states, she said she will spend hours in the lab practicing things that she’s not so comfortable with.

“At states I won’t know what I’m welding until I get there, so I will be practicing reading blue prints and assembling them under a time limit,” she said.

The Sun Times News asked Sposito why is welding important to her.

“Welding is important to me because I am able to have a career that I love and that can set me up for a good future, I enjoy the competitive aspect of welding as it makes me a better welder,” she said. “I’m very excited to continue my competitions in my college career with the goal of making it to a world skills competition.”