Miller, SkillsUSA announce winner of $40,000 scholarship

Appleton, Wis.-based arc welding products manufacturer Miller Electric Mfg. Co. has announced that Andrew Cardin of Sutton, Mass., has received a $40,000 scholarship for earning the welding spot on the 2015 SkillsUSA World Team. The Miller Electric International WorldSkills Competition Scholarship was awarded through the American Welding Society (AWS) Foundation.

Now in its 22nd year, the scholarship exists to inspire young welders and to support the need for training on an industrywide basis. The annual SkillsUSA event showcases and promotes the industry through education and intensive competition, like the U.S. Invitational Weld Trials, where students compete to become the SkillsUSA World Team welder and represent the U.S. at the WorldSkills event.

As the TeamUSA finalist this year, Cardin represented the U.S. at the WorldSkills event in Brazil in August, where he won a Medal of Excellence and finished fifth among a field of 38 welders.

He plans to use his $40,000 scholarship to earn an associate degree and then go on to get a bachelor’s degree, likely in education, welding engineering, or metallurgy, with the hope of someday becoming a welding instructor.