Posted on 09/18/2026 10:37:19 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
A couple years ago, Mikala Sposito applied for a work ethic scholarship from my foundation. She asked for $2,700.00 to help realize her dream of becoming a welder. (Actually, her first dream was to become an Olympian. As a kid, she excelled at horseback riding, dance, soccer, and track, but not quite at the Olympic level. So, Mikala adjusted her dream and focused on something within her reach. Precisely the kind of commonsense approach to making a living we try to encourage.) Toward that end, Mikala filled out the application, jumped through all the necessary hoops, and signed the S.W.E.A.T. Pledge, as all applicants must.
According to our internal ranking system, which is inherently subjective and relative to each batch of new applicants, Mikala scored a 94, and was awarded $2,100.00, or roughly 80% of what she asked for. This is typical of the average percentage awarded to an excellent applicant. As a rule, we almost never award the entire amount requested. We want our recipients to have some skin in the game, and we encourage all applicants to apply for additional scholarship funds elsewhere, which Mikala did. But in this case, if I had it to do over again, I think I’d have awarded Mikala the full $2,700.00. Why? Because this woman is precisely why I award work ethic scholarships in the first place, as recent headlines prove. Headlines all over the country that identify Mikala Sposito as the sole welder to represent Team USA in the upcoming @WorldSkills Competition in Shanghai.
This is a very big deal. The World Skills competition is often referred to as the Olympics of the skilled trades, so it looks like Mikala’s dream is coming true after all. And it seems to me her journey is worth a brief encapsulation. Before she applied for a scholarship from mikeroweWORKS, Mikala demonstrated an affinity for welding in SkillsUSA. As a senior at Dexter High School, she won 1st Place at the SkillsUSA Michigan high school competition and went on to place 14th nationally. Then, as a freshman at Washtenaw Community College, she repeated her success by taking 1st Place in the Michigan college division. She then advanced to nationals, where she finished 8th in the country. That earned her an invitation to the Team USA pre-trials, which whittled the nation's top 16 young welders down to three. At the final USA Weld Trials at the Robotics Technology Park in Huntsville, Alabama, each competitor was evaluated on precision, safety, technical execution, craftsmanship, and multi-process capabilities under extreme time constraints. Mikala Sposito took the Gold, officially becoming the first woman to represent the United States in welding at WorldSkills. Next week, she’ll face off against the absolute best of the best from all over the world.
I should point out that Mikala would prefer it if the press didn’t make a big deal of her gender, and I completely understand. (She’s a welder – not a “weld-her.”) But today, the industry is in desperate need of proof that women can and do excel in the trades. Nationally, just 4.3% of tradespeople are female. At mikeroweWORKS, our female applicants are closer to 20%, but I assure you that percentage could be much higher. Companies are anxious to recruit talented welders of any gender, and women need to understand and believe the opportunities are real. Mikala prove that in spades, and I want to offer her my sincere congratulations, and invite all of you to do the same. Because Mikala Sposito is exactly what our country needs a lot more of. People who understand that talent is never enough to compensate for laziness.
In her application, she wrote, “Hard work beats talent any day of the week, and nobody is going to outwork me. Period.”
She also connected with every point of the S.W.E.A.T. Pledge but said the final tenet resonated with her the most. “Some people choose to be lazy. Some people choose to sleep in. I choose to work my butt off.” My favorite quote, however, is Mikala’s response to seasoned professionals who see her wield a torch and call her a “natural.”
“I’m not a natural,” she says. Far from it. And none of this came easy. I worked and trained 60-80 hours a week for two years to get here.”
Regardless of what happens in Shanghai, the job offers are already piling up, including the most recent from SpaceX. She hasn’t graduated yet, but the future looks bright, and I for one would not bet against her.
PS. I never do this, but since my name is in the title of the foundation, I suppose I can. Mikala – please accept the additional $600 you requested from mikeroweWORKS two years ago. Shanghai is expensive, and since you’re representing all of us, we’d like to provide you with a little walking around money. The check is in the mail.
Now…go get the gold!
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Mike could have mentioned the women who expertly welded the war machines of WWII.
That is no joke. My brother n law, and several nephews worked to restore the USS Wisconsin in the 80s. They all marveled at the quality of the welds on that ship. Most of those welds were done by women.
I went to a huge celebration of the 75th anniversary of the B17 that was held in 2 huge hangers at Boeing Field in Seattle. At my table were 2 actual B17 pilots and there was a parade in the center of the room that included a tail gunner (who miraculously survived) and lots of others involved in the building and flying of the B17. One of the most interesting was a video played on huge screens of an actual Rosie the Riveter. She said she made sure to do her job perfectly because she “wanted her boys to come home.”
We were a great country then. People were literally crying at the enormity of it all.
reminds me of WW2 “Rosie the Riveter.” Women did men’s jobs then as the guys were drafted and taught how to to be soldiers.
Women make excellent welders. Men get hot and frustrated while women tend to remain calm and relaxed. When getting into tight areas that are hot and cramped they really excel.
Great story. Thanks for posting it!
This one line bothered me, though: “…the industry is in desperate need of proof that women can and do excel in the trades.” It smacks of the presumption that every trade must have equal representation of men and women. It denies the reality that men and women are different and have different roles in society, each critical to our nation’s success and to personal fulfillment.
I worked at a machine and welding shop. There was a client who rebuilt oil field drill bits. He liked hiring women to weld and build up the heads on the bits. There were two women on motor trend TV who were great fabricators, one was killed in a wreck, the other grew up in her dads garage, incredibly bright.
I was thinking of Alex Taylor and Jessie Combs. Bitchen Rides had a fabrication competition and a women won, she turned down the opportunity to be an apprentice and a guy who was run up got it.
”During World War II, Richmond, California, became a vital hub of industrial and social transformation. The Kaiser Shipbuilding Company’s shipyards drew men and women from across the country, creating a dynamic and diverse workforce. People of different racial, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds—including African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and immigrants—united with a shared purpose: to support the Allied war effort. Women, famously referred to as “Rosie the Riveters,” broke barriers by stepping into roles traditionally held by men, exemplifying resilience and innovation. Their efforts marked a turning point in gender roles, showcasing the potential for equality in the workplace.”
There was a plaque on the welder’s bench at the power plant where I worked. It read, “Welders do it in any position”
My younger brother is a very good welder, iron worker's union, and was made a leader by his company, Was accuser of gathering the best welders, and criticized for not having female welders (one that he had, falsely accused him). He told them, "send me one that can weld and I will keep her."
Nationally, just 4.3% of tradespeople are female.
Meaning as usual, rather than promoting the vocation that God uniquely constituted the women for, working in trades normally done by men is celebrated, as feminism, contraception, fornication, abortion are promoted.
each competitor was evaluated on precision, safety, technical execution, craftsmanship, and multi-process capabilities under extreme time constraints.
To which may be added, proper use of preferred personal pronouns, participation in company LGBTQAI+++ events, advocacy for reproductive rights (abortion, contraception)
To which may be added, proper use of preferred personal pronouns, participation in company LGBTQAI+++ events, advocacy for reproductive rights (abortion, contraception)
I seriously doubt you could add that to Mike Rowe’s sentiments.
I wasn't, but to that of the Left, which sadly overall control all major institutions.
I have some nice belt buckles from turkey point
.
(Sorry for the big picture, tried a couple of times to scale it via HTML, but nothing worked).
Fine. Good work and congratulations. However, if we are all so equal why should anyone be singled out as exceptional because of gender? Why does Rowe also need to mention validation of women in trades or anything? Given need and opportunity people with inclination, talent and mental and physical ability can get the job done and always have. This does not need to be proven again, it is already done. The inconvenient truth though is that we are all not equally configured for everything. That is just so and can’t be changed.
Cream always rises to the top and should and the struggles of the oppressed and disadvantaged are a thing of the past. Reverse discrimination is now normal so lets quit the crap of whining about women and other disadvantaged classes being exceptional mostly because of their class. Years of promotion and unequal preference have unbalanced the scales. She’s a welder and seems to be a good one. That she is female is insignificant and immaterial, or it should be.
Fifty years ago we had some weighted mud tanks that didn’t get stirred properly, the barite settled out and had to be shoveled out by hand by cwawling through a manhole and respirator gear was required. I went to check progress and found the crew, stripped to the waist working away including one female carrying her weight. In that job and by choice she ceased to be a female, just one of the labor gang. Her choice but if I were female and had the attributes I would most certainly take a different path to survival. I guess she was doing the best she could with what she had and under circumstances or was just not thinking well. We all should mske the best choices we can. After not much time of being a laborer / tradesman I decided an engineering degree would be a much better choice for me; in spite of getting to the point of earning just about as much as my engineering manager father with all the overtime I was able to absorb at union scale. People should pursue their best choice available.
Screen your candidates, award your scholarships on merit but don’t trouble me by standing on a pulpit and promoting any more equality messages to me Mike. That agenda is stale and gone too far. Equality means all the same from the same starting place. Nobody can be exceptional or even noteworthy because of their class under equality terms, only by merit.
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